R.U. (Rik) Lubbers

Rik U. Lubbers, BSc, MSc

PhD Candidate, Global Health and Spatial Sciences
UMCG Global Health Unit, University Medical Center Groningen
Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen

Contact Information
Phone: +31 6 346 268 94
Email: r.u.lubbers@rug.nl
LinkedIn: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/rik-lubbers
Website: https://riklubbers.com

Profile

PhD candidate in Global Health and Spatial Sciences focusing on maternal and child health under climate stress in Uganda. My research examines how floods, droughts, and compound climate events affect healthcare accessibility, care seeking, and undernutrition among children under five. I integrate geospatial accessibility modelling with large scale population survey analysis and qualitative fieldwork. My work is interdisciplinary and policy oriented, combining spatial methods, epidemiology, and health systems research.

Current Academic Position

University Medical Center Groningen, PhD Candidate
2023–present, Groningen

• Develop geospatial accessibility models using AccessMod to quantify flood impacts on access to maternal and child health services

• Conduct pooled Demographic and Health Survey analyses to study drought related pathways to care seeking and undernutrition

• Design and implement qualitative fieldwork on vulnerability and resilience during floods and droughts in Uganda

• Collaborate with academic and policy partners in Uganda and Switzerland

Previous Academic Positions

Ministry of Health Uganda and UNFPA, Invited Facilitator
2024, Kampala

• Provided national level technical support on GIS based accessibility modelling for EmONC service network optimisation

Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Research Assistant
2021–2022, Rotterdam

• Built a structured evidence database on substandard and falsified medicines

• Conducted reproducible data extraction and evidence synthesis

Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Research Intern
2021, Rotterdam

• Contributed to development of a sub national pharmaceutical systems framework for essential medicines access

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Student Assistant Statistics
2020–2021, Amsterdam

• Taught applied statistics to pre master Health Sciences students in small group sessions

• Guided practical exercises and supported statistical and methodological learning

Teaching and Invited Lectures, selected

• Guest lecturer on maternal and child health and planetary health, University of Groningen

• Guest lecturer MNCH and planetary health, University Medical Center Utrecht

• Invited speaker Global Health Summer Schools, UMCG

• Teaching contributions in project based and public health education settings

Education

MSc Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology, Health Systems and Prevention
University of Groningen, 2021–2023

MSc Health Sciences, International Public Health
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 2019–2021

BSc Nursing (Honours)
Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, 2015–2019

Skills

• Geospatial accessibility modelling, AccessMod

• Survey weighted and spline based statistical modelling

• R programming

• Quantitative and qualitative mixed methods research

• Reproducible spatial data workflows

Languages

Dutch, native
English, proficient
German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, limited working proficiency