Mireli A. Mongen, M.D., is a first-year neurosurgical resident at the Leiden University Medical Center, where she is also pursuing a PhD. Her research focuses on the impact of prehabilitation on symptomatic cervical spinal stenosis in the population of Curaçao. Prior to this, she earned her medical degree at Leiden University in 2021 and gained valuable experience as a neurology and neurosurgical junior doctor at the Department of Mind and Brain at Curaçao Medical Center.
Since then, she has worked as a junior doctor in neurosurgery at Leiden University Medical Center and presented an epidemiological study on the incidence and prevalence of cervical spinal stenosis in the Curaçao population at the World Federation of Neurosurgery Societies in South Africa. She was born in the Netherlands to Curaçaoan parents and raised on the Island, where her passion for becoming a doctor started. Growing up, she noticed the lack of specialists in different fields of medicine, which led to long waitlists. Also, the lack of native doctors working on the Island was prevalent, which only furthered her desire to return to the Island. Neurosurgery was the first specialty to garner her interest. It is a delicate and precise specialty that is very technical and robust. She hopes to soon share her enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge for this beautiful profession with the people of Curaçao.