Neeltje Steeghs

Neeltje Steeghs, MD, PhD is Head of the Clinical Pharmacology and Phase I Unit at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI-AVL) in Amsterdam, one of Europe's leading comprehensive cancer centers. She is an internationally recognized expert in early-phase oncology drug development and clinical pharmacology, with particular expertise in pharmacokinetically guided dose escalation, drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in oncology patients, and phase I trial design methodology. Dr. Steeghs has led or co-led over 80 phase I and first-in-human trials at the NKI, covering targeted agents, immunotherapies, ADCs, and novel combinations. She has published extensively on the application of accelerated titration designs and model-based Bayesian dose escalation approaches (CRM, BOIN) at the NKI, contributing to Dutch and European adoption of these methods over the 3+3 design. Her work on DDI studies in cancer patients—assessing the impact of CYP enzyme induction/inhibition on oncology drug exposure—has generated data that informed dosing labels for multiple approved agents. Dr. Steeghs also leads NKI's sarcoma early-phase trial program, contributing to the development of trabectedin, pazopanib, and other sarcoma-active agents.