Dr van Dieën is a full professor and department head at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His work blends biomechanics and neurophysiology and involves collaborations with epidemiologists and clinical researchers in physiotherapy, orthopedics and related disciplines. He studies the primary causes of low-back pain, the effects of pain and disease on motor control and performance. His work has helped to generate more awareness of the large variance of motor control changes caused by pain and has drawn attention to the adaptive nature of these changes. He has published >500 peer-reviewed journal articles on the mechanics and control of human movement, of which most are related to pain and disease and he has supervised more than 60 PhD students.