As chair of the DAB, Mariska Kool will take a helicopter view

Frank van Wijck, science journalist 

After the departure of Ele Visser, lawyer Mariska Kool from The Data Lawyers took over as chair of the Data Access Board (DAB). She sees a role for herself in translating developments in the legal field into what they mean for Hartwig Medical Foundation. 

The fact that Mariska Kool became a member of the DAB in 2022 was in line with her aim to take on a supervisory role. “It had to be one with social relevance and it had to be network related,” she says. “I wanted to meet people different from the people I encountered in my work. When I was tipped for this role, I already knew Hartwig Medical Foundation, but not the DAB. Although my medical knowledge is limited, I knew enough about the organization to understand how relevant the goal it pursues is. I admire the way it was set up, and that it is now flourishing. It’s nice to see so many people committed to it. And as a member of the DAB, you can really help think about the future.” 

At the start, she had to figure out how to best fulfill her role. “One way is to assess data requests reactively,” she says. “But you can also play a more active role based on developments that can influence the work of the organization. The latter – informing about new rules and other developments – is more interesting for me personally than to just play the reactive role. I also found it very interesting that Eline Bunnik joined the DAB as an ethicist. She asks different questions than I would ask based on my legal knowledge. That makes you think.” 

Immediate interest  
 
When Visser’s term as chair of the DAB came to an end, Kool was the most senior remaining member. “The others had been there for a shorter period than me,” she says. “I knew what was going on in the DAB, so when it became clear that the position of chair was becoming vacant, I thought: I’ll take it.” 

Mariska has always said she believes it is important that people who share their data should be represented in the DAB from a privacy, legal, and ethical perspective. “That is certainly true,” she says. “I take that legal perspective, but I am also a human being. I want to be critical to ensure the data that Hartwig manages is handled with care.  

“In my part of the DAB assessment, the focus is on the question whether sharing data with the country making the request is legally permitted. If this is not clear upfront, the legal team from Hartwig Medical Foundation prepare an analysis to understand legal framework of the country from which the application is filed. That analysis forms the basis for our critical assessment.” 

The AI Act and European Health Data Space   
 
Kool looks at the developments in AI with great interest. “I keep an eye on the AI Act,” she says. “After all, the Hartwig Medical Foundation datasets are also used to train algorithms. I don’t know yet whether this will lead to other questions for us, but as the DAB we will be informed about this.” 

Further into the future lies the European Health Data Space (EHDS). “Theoretically, this could contribute positively to making data available for research purposes – exactly what Hartwig Medical Foundation already does and where it has an advantage.” says Kool. “It is too early to tell exactly what the EHDS will mean for Hartwig but it is a subject about which the DAB will form an opinion in the coming year.” 

Natural tranquility  
 
What Kool noticed about Ele Visser was his calmness as chair. “He filled that role in a very natural way,” she says. “He always told us a lot about the Transvaal Pharmacy where he worked, and I really appreciated him giving us a tour on the last day of his term.” 

During her first meeting as chair, Kool noticed that she somewhat adopted her predecessor’s way of asking questions. “Over time I will make it my own,” she says. “My biggest challenge is to take a helicopter view, to see what we as the DAB can do to prepare Hartwig Medical Foundation for developments in the field.” 

More information 

• Data Access Board 

• Interview Ele Visser, DAB 

• Interview Eline Bunnik, DAB – will soon be published 

• Interview Warnyta Minnaard, DAB – will soon be published