Peter De Paepe
Tags: Steering Committee, Pharmaceutical Care, Rational Drug Use , Pharmacometrics, Clinical Drug Research, Biomarker research
Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, Ghent Precision Dosing Unit
Ghent University Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine
Ghent University Hospital, Executive Board
Research focus
Peter De Paepe is an emergency physician and clinical pharmacologist-toxicologist at Ghent University Hospital. Since 2024, he has been Chief Medical Officer of the Ghent University Hospital. Peter is co-chief investigator at the Ghent Precision Dosing Unit within the Department of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences at Ghent University.
During drug development, pharmaceutical companies primarily focus on the “average patient” when deriving drug dosing regimens, which often insufficiently reflects the complexity and variability encountered in real-life clinical practice. Consequently, clinicians are frequently challenged to individualize dosing in patients with dynamic physiology, comorbidities, and polypharmacy. In response, the Ghent Precision Dosing Unit focuses on applied pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) research that integrates pharmacometric modelling and simulation, Bayesian forecasting, and therapeutic drug monitoring to develop evidence-based, tailored dosing regimens that are directly applicable in routine clinical care. This research is embedded in daily hospital practice and conducted in close collaboration with the hospital pharmacy and clinical departments at Ghent University Hospital, ensuring continuous translation into hands-on, individualized dosing advice at the bedside.
As a clinician, I see how patients benefit when the right medicine is given at the right dose, at the right time. As Chief Medical Officer, I see how essential it is to organise this expertise sustainably across the hospital. By uniting UGent and UZ Gent within the Ghent Centre of Expertise for Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, we are embedding clinical pharmacology at the heart of patient care—where scientific insight, clinical decision-making, and patient safety converge to deliver truly personalised and responsible use of medicines.” Peter De Paepe, Medical Director & Clinical Pharmacologist, UZ Gent