Jelle Barentsz, MD, PhD

Professor Jelle Barentsz, MD, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Radiology at Radboud University Medical Center and Director of Imaging at Andros Clinics in the Netherlands.

His work has helped bring MRI to the forefront of prostate cancer diagnosis. In 2012 he took the initiative to describe and publish PI-RADS and, together with his ESUR colleagues, introduced its first version. Developed further in international collaboration, PI-RADS became a worldwide standard for prostate MRI. He also contributed to the evidence supporting MRI before biopsy, including the Dutch 4M study, helping clinicians target clinically significant disease while reducing unnecessary procedures. He founded the Prostate MR Reference Center in Nijmegen, combining research with specialist training and quality improvement.

His current research focuses on ferumoxtran-enhanced macrophage MRI for lymph node staging, the clinical and economic value of imaging, and the quality and accessibility of prostate MRI. Recent collaborations address artificial intelligence, MRI-based screening and standardised image-quality assessment.

Having had to learn to walk again after serious complications, he knows the patient's side of care. Empathy is the centre of his work; perseverance carried ferumoxtran MRI through years of setbacks, and openness to criticism keeps that perseverance in balance.

He is an Honorary Member of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (2026), an elected member of Academia Europaea (2023) and a Fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. His honours include the ESUR Innovator in Urogenital Imaging Award, the EAU Innovators in Urology Award, the Society of Abdominal Radiology Lifetime Achievement Award, the Wertheim–Salomonson Medal and a knighthood in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

An enthusiastic educator and mentor, he has supervised 39 completed doctorates and is committed to turning imaging advances into earlier, more precise diagnosis and better-informed care for patients.