Dr Erik Beune is an assistant professor at the Amsterdam UMC in the department of public and occupational health. Trained in interdisciplinary social science (cum laude) and physiotherapy, he obtained his PhD on “Culturally appropriate hypertension care among African origin populations in the Netherlands”. His academic work concentrates on the development, implementation and evaluation of culturally sensitive interventions for cardiovascular disease risk factors in public health and primary care, with a particular focus on disadvantaged populations, ethnic minorities, and multi-cultural urban settings. Mixed-methods designs, qualitative research, and community-based participatory approaches are central in his work.

Dr Beune has longstanding experience in international collaboration, especially in Ghana, Kenya, and several European countries, and has coordinated or led several EU-funded projects, including:

• RODAM and Pros-RODAM (“Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants in Ghana and Europe”),
• EuroDHYAN (“Innovative Prevention Strategies for Type 2 Diabetes in South Asians Living in Europe”),
• Generation-H project (“Multi-component interventions to reduce unhealthy diets and physical inactivity among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa”), which he currently leads.

Together with AIGHD senior fellow Wieger Voskuijl, Dr Beune serves as coordinator of the ATTRACT-Global Health programme, which focuses on training and capacity-building in low-resource settings. In addition, he has served as policy advisor (internationalisation) at the University of Amsterdam’s faculty of medicine, providing strategic support on international partnerships and global engagement of students.

In addition to his research, Dr Beune contributes actively to education at the bachelor, master and PhD level and also helps organize international educational activities such as a summer school at the University of Ghana. He has (co)authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications and received several awards, including the Unilever Research Prize and the UMC Amsterdam Diversity Prize, which acknowledge his scientific work and his engagement with diversity and inclusion.