Prof. dr. Mannaerts, a double Dutch board certified Gastro-intestinal and Oncology surgeon, is the Chair of Surgical
Institute at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain and an Adjunct Full Professor at the UAE University.

In his previous assignment at the St. Franciscus Gasthuis teaching hospital in Rotterdam (The Netherlands), he was the Head of Surgery and the lead in the high volume bariatric unit (2002-2014). Moreover, he is internationally known from the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) bariatric courses that he organised there for bariatric surgeons from all over the world.

His total experience of 10000 minimal invasive bariatric procedures, including the whole spectrum of bariatric revisional procedures, makes him one of the most experienced bariatric surgeons in the Gulf region. Besides that, he has a vast experience in oncological surgery including over 1000 performed laparoscopic colorectal procedures, laparoscopic gastric cancer resections and adrenalectomies.

Furthermore, he has a strong scientific background and as such is the principle investigator in multiple Dutch government registered randomised controlled trials, leading to over 75 Pubmed registered publications. Furthermore, he has obtained a PhD on the multimodal treatment of locally advanced rectal and locally recurrent rectal cancer (ISBN 90-367-1418-4) at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands).