ABOUT

About me

Valerie Storms Ir PhD

I was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a rare and life-threatening disease, and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a young adult. I have always been driven to make a difference for patients. Currently, I serve as a Board member of the European Cystic Fibrosis Patient Organisation, and from 2019 to 2023, I was a board member of the European Cystic Fibrosis Patient Registry, which collects health data from approximately 50,000 CF patients in Europe.

In 2018, I co-founded the ‘Patient Embassy’ at the Faculty of Medicine & Life Sciences - Hasselt University to actively engage patients in the medical education program. In 2022, I launched my own boutique consultancy, ‘PEP Matters,’ to provide expertise on Patient Engagement and Participation for hospitals, universities, the pharmaceutical industry, and tech start-ups.

I hold a PhD in Bio-Informatics and a master’s degree in BioTech Engineering from KU Leuven, a renowned university in Belgium. After a 12-year academic career in Mobile Health Technology at the Research Lab - Mobile Health Unit - of Hasselt University, and leading the Patient Engagement Department for Roche Belgium, I am now the ‘Head of Digital Health Innovation Mid-Sized countries’ within the European Innovation Hub - DSPACE of Daiichi-Sankyo.

"Trained as PhD in bio-informatics, and living with a rare disease,
I drive access to more empathic, personalised
and innovative health care."

Check-out my LinkedIn

PODCASTS

Healthnerd Podcast

Healthusiasm Podcast

INTERVIEWS

COLLABORATING WITH

PUBLICATIONS

White Papers

Interview iScope - From research to real life applications: Valerie Storms: mHealth - from research to real-life applications
Whitepaper: Heartbeats & Algorithms: decoding the future of Cardiology with AI - Daiichi-Sankyo-Whitepaper-Heartbeats-and-Algorithms.pdf

Digital Health Publications in peer review journals

NEW! Recommendations for Successful Development and Implementation of Digital Health Technology Tools. Loo R, Nasta F, Macchi M, Baudot A, Burstein F, Bove R, Greve M, Fröhlich H, Khalid S, Küderle A, Moore S, Storms V, Torous J, Glaab E. J Med Internet Res 2025;27:e56747.
Remote Monitoring of Hypertension Diseases in Pregnancy: A Pilot Study. Lanssens D, Vandenberk T, Smeets CJ, De Cannière H, Molenberghs G, Van Moerbeke A, van den Hoogen A, Robijns T, Vonck S, Staelens A, Storms V, Thijs IM, Grieten L, Gyselaers W. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2017 Mar 9;5(3):e25.
Clinical Validation of Heart Rate Apps: Mixed-Methods Evaluation Study. Vandenberk T, Stans J, Mortelmans C, Van Haelst R, Van Schelvergem G, Pelckmans C, Smeets CJ, Lanssens D, De Cannière H, Storms V, Thijs IM, Vaes B, Vandervoort PM. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2017 Aug 25;5(8):e129.
Changes in Intrapersonal Factors of Participants in the Pregnancy Remote Monitoring Study Who Are at Risk for Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension: Descriptive Quantitative Study. Lanssens D, Vandenberk T, Storms V, Thijs I, Grieten L, Bamelis L, Gyselaers W, Tang E, Luyten P. J Med Internet Res. 2023 Sep 6;25:e42686.
Prenatal Remote Monitoring of Women With Gestational Hypertensive Diseases: Cost Analysis. Lanssens D, Vandenberk T, Smeets CJ, De Cannière H, Vonck S, Claessens J, Heyrman Y, Vandijck D, Storms V, Thijs IM, Grieten L, Gyselaers W. J Med Internet Res. 2018 Mar 26;20(3):e102.
Midwives', Obstetricians', and Recently Delivered Mothers' Perceptions of Remote Monitoring for Prenatal Care: Retrospective Survey. Lanssens D, Vandenberk T, Lodewijckx J, Peeters T, Storms V, Thijs IM, Grieten L, Gyselaers W. J Med Internet Res. 2019 Apr 15;21(4):e10887.
Bioimpedance Alerts from Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Devices: Observational Study of Diagnostic Relevance and Clinical Outcomes. Smeets CJ, Vranken J, Van der Auwera J, Verbrugge FH, Mullens W, Dupont M, Grieten L, De Cannière H, Lanssens D, Vandenberk T, Storms V, Thijs IM, Vandervoort PM. J Med Internet Res. 2017 Nov 23;19(11):e393.
A Vendor-Independent Mobile Health Monitoring Platform for Digital Health Studies: Development and Usability Study. Vandenberk T, Storms V, Lanssens D, De Cannière H, Smeets CJ, Thijs IM, Batool T, Vanrompay Y, Vandervoort PM, Grieten L. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Oct 29;7(10):e12586.
Towards the Monitoring of Functional Status in a Free-Living Environment for People with Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis: Design and Evaluation of the JOLO Blended Care App. Emmerzaal J, De Brabandere A, Vanrompay Y, Vranken J, Storms V, De Baets L, Corten K, Davis J, Jonkers I, Vanwanseele B, Timmermans A. Sensors (Basel). 2020 Dec 5;20(23):6967.
A Home Hospitalisation Strategy for Patients with an Acute Episode of Heart Failure Using a Digital Health-Supported Platform: A Multicentre Feasibility Study - A Rationale and Study Design. Scherrenberg M, Storms V, van der Velde AE, Boyne J, Bruins W, Vranken J, Leenen JPL, Brunner-La Rocca HP, De Kluiver EP, Dendale P. Cardiology. 2021;146(6): 793-800.
Relationship Between Adherence to Remote Monitoring and Patient Characteristics: Observational Study in Women With Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension. Vandenberk T, Lanssens D, Storms V, Thijs IM, Bamelis L, Grieten L, Gyselaers W, Tang E, Luyten P. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Aug 28;7(8):e12574.
Metadata Correction: Clinical Validation of Heart Rate Apps: Mixed-Methods Evaluation Study. Vandenberk T, Stans J, Mortelmans C, Van Haelst R, Van Schelvergem G, Pelckmans C, Smeets CJ, Lanssens D, De Cannière H, Storms V, Thijs IM, Vaes B, Vandervoort PM. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Mar 14;6(3):e19.
A Prenatal Remote Monitoring Program in Pregnancies Complicated with Gestational Hypertensive Disorders: What Are the Contributors to the Cost Savings? Lanssens D, Vonck S, Vandenberk T, Schraepen C, Storms V, Thijs IM, Grieten L, Gyselaers W. Telemed J E Health. 2019 Aug;25(8):686-692.
The impact of a remote monitoring program on the prenatal follow-up of women with gestational hypertensive disorders. Lanssens D, Vonck S, Storms V, Thijs IM, Grieten L, Gyselaers W. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2018 Apr;223:72-78.
Protocol-driven remote monitoring of cardiac resynchronization therapy as part of a heart failure disease management strategy. Smeets CJP, Verbrugge FH, Vranken J, Van der Auwera J, Mullens W, Dupont M, Grieten L, De Cannière H, Lanssens D, Vandenberk T, Storms V, Thijs IM, Vandervoort P. Acta Cardiol. 2018 Jun;73(3):230-239.
A Novel Intelligent Two-Way Communication System for Remote Heart Failure Medication Uptitration (the CardioCoach Study): Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial. Smeets CJ, Storms V, Vandervoort PM, Dreesen P, Vranken J, Houbrechts M, Goris H, Grieten L, Dendale P. JMIR Cardio. 2018 Apr 4;2(1):e8.

BioInformatics publications in peer reviewed journals

MotifSuite: workflow for probabilistic motif detection and assessment. Claeys M, Storms V, Sun H, Michoel T, Marchal K. Bioinformatics. 2012 Jul 15;28(14):1931-2. 18
Query-based biclustering of gene expression data using Probabilistic Relational Models. Zhao H, Cloots L, Van den Bulcke T, Wu Y, De Smet R, Storms V, Meysman P, Engelen K, Marchal K. BMC Bioinformatics. 2011 Feb 15;12 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S37.
The effect of orthology and coregulation on detecting regulatory motifs. Storms V, Claeys M, Sanchez A, De Moor B, Verstuyf A, Marchal K. PLoS One. 2010 Feb 3;5(2):e8938.
ModuleDigger: an itemset mining framework for the detection of cis-regulatory modules. Sun H, De Bie T, Storms V, Fu Q, Dhollander T, Lemmens K, Verstuyf A, De Moor B, Marchal K. BMC Bioinformatics. 2009 Jan 30;10 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S30.

Patient Expert Publications in peer reviewed journals

Adherence to inhaled antibiotics in people with cystic fibrosis: insights from a virtual patient advisory board. Gambazza S, Storms V, Purohit V. Expert Rev Respir Med. 2023 Jul-Dec;17(10):961-963.
Factors for severe outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 infection in people with cystic fibrosis in Europe. Jung A, Orenti A, Dunlevy F, Aleksejeva E, Bakkeheim E, Bobrovnichy V, Carr SB, Colombo C, Corvol H, Cosgriff R, Daneau G, Dogru D, Drevinek P, Vukic AD, Fajac I, Fox A, Fustik S, Gulmans V, Harutyunyan S, Hatziagorou E, Kasmi I, Kayserová H, Kondratyeva E, Krivec U, Makukh H, Malakauskas K, McKone EF, Mei-Zahav M, de Monestrol I, Olesen HV, Padoan R, Parulava T, Pastor-Vivero MD, Pereira L, Petrova G, Pfleger A, Pop L, van Rens JG, Rodic M, Schlesser M, Storms V, Turcu O, Woz Niacki L, Yiallouros P, Zolin A, Downey DG, Naehrlich L. ERJ Open Res. 2021 Dec 27;7(4):00411-2021.