Arlene John, assistant professor in the Biomedical Signals and Systems (BSS) department of the Faculty of EEMCS (TechMed Centre, University of Twente), has been awarded the TOPX Females to Follow Award 2025 in the category Rising Star in Science. This honour places her among the most promising female researchers in the Netherlands and Belgium in the field of Life Sciences & Health.
The award was announced during the TOPX Summit on 13 November. It recognises her outstanding contributions to developing transparent, affordable and clinically deployable AI technologies with global impact on healthcare.
Arlene John: “Winning this award means a great deal to me. It reinforces to me that building explainable, accessible, and equitable algorithms for healthcare is not only scientifically important but deeply valued by our community. I view this recognition as motivation to continue on this path, pushing biomedical artificial intelligence towards a future where trust and transparency are central.”
AI for better, fairer and more accessible healthcare
Dr Arlene John’s research lies at the intersection of the biosciences, explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) and clinical practice. She develops AI solutions capable of continuously monitoring patient health and supporting medical decision-making, in both high-tech hospital environments and settings with limited resources.
With experience across four countries, five universities and three industry partners, Dr John has built an international career connecting healthcare, technology and society. Within the 4TU RECENTRE programme, she works on predicting the long-term effects after cancer and obesity treatments. She also leads a national project focused on monitoring brain health in newborns.
She will soon visit the Texas Children’s Hospital, where she will develop transparent AI models for analysing electrocardiograms in children. In addition, she is creating AI technologies to support the early detection of cardiovascular problems during pregnancy, a topic that remains underrepresented in cardiology.
Impact on science, education and society
Dr John publishes in leading scientific journals. Her forthcoming monograph with Springer Nature (2025) is set to become a key reference on multimodal AI in healthcare. Her commitment to open science is demonstrated through openly accessible publications and the sharing of the software underpinning her analyses.
Her impact extends beyond research. She coordinates the bachelor’s course Medical Sensors and Measurements, has supervised more than 25 bachelor’s and master’s students, and currently oversees three PhD candidates. She is also active as a mentor, a podcast host on Spotify, and an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion within the EEMCS faculty.
Internationally, she collaborates with hospitals and industry partners such as Apple and Philips. She has served as Associate Editor for the IEEE EMBC Conference and is Vice-Chair of the Big Data & AI theme at the Cardiovascular Health Technology Centre of the University of Twente.
Recognition for future leaders
The TOPX Females to Follow Awards are an initiative of the TOPX Network and Hyphen Projects. They shine a spotlight on promising female talent in Life Sciences & Health. A total of 30 professionals were nominated across three categories. Arlene John was selected as one of the ten Rising Stars in Science nominees and now proudly holds the title of category winner.
Winning this award highlights her innovative research, societal engagement and international leadership. It marks a remarkable achievement for Arlene and for the University of Twente.
