Spotlight on the burden of flu for people living with diabetes

Nationality: Dutch 

Position: Intensivist,  Spaarne Gasthuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Research fields: Special interest in acute care and infectious diseases

ESWI member since 2016

Marco Goeijenbier graduated from medical school at the University of Amsterdam in 2010. During his internships he did research on rodent-borne hemorrhagic fever. Goeijenbier received his PhD in virology (“Haemostasis and Virus Infection”) from the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2015. He was previously a specialist in acute internal medicine and started a fellowship in intensive care at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. He currently holds the position of intensivist at Spaarne Hospital in Amsterdam.

Some of Goeijenbier’s most recent published articles include ; “Thrombocytopenia in Virus Infections. (J Clin Med, feb 2021)” “Determinants of Vaccination Uptake in Risk Populations  (Vaccines, Aug 2020)” 

And Benefits of flu vaccination for persons with diabetes mellitus (Vaccine, Sep 2017).

Dr. Goeijenbier is ESWI’s lead member and Chair in the Influenza Diabetes Community (IDC). The IDC connects leading diabetes, patient, scientific and professional organisations around the common aim of protecting persons living with diabetes from influenza and other viral respiratory diseases like COVID-19.

Dr. Kirsty Short is an NHMRC research fellow and head of the viral pathogenesis lab at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland.



Dr. Short and her group focus on reducing the severity of emerging respiratory viral infections. Their group performs a large amount of research on the role of chronic metabolic conditions (namely diabetes and obesity) in severe viral infections. Their work also includes a focus on avian influenza (‘bird flu’) in the context of pandemic preparedness.



Their group also works with SARS-CoV-2 with a particular focus on the role of children in disease transmission, the development of novel therapies and reducing disease severity in patients living with diabetes and obesity.

Dan Howarth is the Head of Care for Diabetes UK. He has been a Diabetes Specialist Nurse (DSN) since 2005 and has been based in the UK, New Zealand and Belgium. He is a registered nurse in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Dan’s sub specialty is insulin therapy, young adults, and inpatient/emergency management. Dan completed his Cert in diabetes care at the University of Warwick at the start of his DSN career, and has since completed post grad advanced practice at the University of Auckland. He later completed an MSc in Diabetes Care at the University of Salford, Manchester.

Dan has worked with in most areas of diabetes management, including community and inpatient care in the UK. He moved to New Zealand to set up a young adult clinic and co-lead on the regional DAFNE group. After three years growing and evolving the MDT young adult service Dan returned to Europe and worked for the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). During his time at IDF in Brussels, Dan managed various global education projects which included regular training provided to health professionals across the world. Dan has been at Diabetes UK since April 2016, prior to that, he returned to the South Pacific and was clinical lead for inpatients at Waitemata DHB, Auckland, NZ. Dan thrives on the educating people about diabetes, so much so he continues this work in his own time and often volunteers with international charities in Palestine, India, South East Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Dan is a passionate rugby fan. He has played for various different clubs and is currently the club captain of his team in London.