Dr Sanne van Munster

Sanne van Munster, MD, PhD, is a gastroenterology resident at University Medical Center Utrecht and a clinical postdoctoral researcher in gastroenterology at both University Medical Centers Amsterdam and UMC Utrecht. She obtained her medical degree from Utrecht University and completed her PhD in Gastroenterology at Amsterdam UMC, alongside a postgraduate degree in Epidemiology. Her research focuses on Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer, with a particular interest in improving the value of care by reducing unnecessary surveillance and low-value interventions. She combines clinical research, nationwide registry data, epidemiological methods, and mathematical modelling to develop more personalised and evidence-based strategies for patients with Barrett’s esophagus. She is the initiator and scientific lead of the Dutch Barrett’s Icebreaker initiative, a national Less Is More project that challenges the traditional approach to evidence generation and de-implementation. Icebreaker combines guideline-based discontinuation of low-value surveillance with prospective nationwide outcome monitoring, aiming to generate evidence while simultaneously changing clinical practice. Through this work, she is involved in developing a broader national strategy for de-implementation and value-based gastroenterological care in the Netherlands.