Dr. I. (Ingrid) van der Pluijm, PhD

Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Aging

My ambition is to promote human (cardiovascular) healthspan without reducing quality of life.

My lab therefore aims to

1. Unravel which processes in the vasculature cause aging
2. Identify which of those are specifically affected by therapeutic or dietary intervention
3. Mimic these effects with a drug to alleviate vascular aging 

About Ingrid van der Pluijm

Ingrid van der Pluijm studied Fundamental Biomedial Sciences at the University of Utrecht, and graduated cum laude. After unravelling an important process that plays a role in aging, by using a gene expression-based approach during her PhD, she started to perform (food) intervention studies that could modify this response to battle age-related disease.

In parallel she discovered two compounds that alleviated aging phenotypes in a mouse model for Cockayne Syndrome (CS), a premature aging disease in young children. Her findings contributed to the start-up of DNage B.V., a small medium enterprise that aimed at developing intervention therapies for premature aging.

As Director of Research at DNage B.V. (2006-2011), she succeeded to complete all preclinical work to start Phase I/II clinical trials in CS patients. She was responsible for daily management of the Research and Development staff, headed several (inter)national and commercial grants, managed the research budget and identified IP opportunities in ongoing aging research.

In 2011, she continued her scientific career at both the department of Molecular Genetics and the department of Vascular Surgery.

Currently, she focusses on which processes change from a normal to an aging diseased aorta, with a special focus on aneurysm formation, by use of genetic, proteomic and molecular techniques, and on how to intervene either pharmacological or with nutrition.

Especially the link between clinic and fundamental research is of great importance to her;

It is her ultimate goal to increase healthspan for the aging human population; not by increasing the years in life, but by reducing age-related vascular disease, thereby increasing quality of life.

Research Interest

DNA damage is a major contributing factor when it comes to aging. Patients and mouse models that –due to a genetic defect- are unable to repair DNA damage properly, suffer from a wide range of age-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Vascular disease is an important subgroup of CVD, in which arteries and veins of the circulatory system cause severe or fatal health problems. Age-related  vascular degeneration plays a major role by (in)directly resulting in several forms of organ damage in essential end-organs like heart and brain.

Often, no symptoms of underlying blood vessel disease appear, until a catastrophic event like a heart attack or stroke occurs. Paradigms are aneurysms; large aorta dilatations resulting in aortic rupture, associated with high mortality when not detected in time. Besides genetic factors, smoking, hypertension, diet and high cholesterol, age is one of the main risk factors for CVD.

Hence, cardiovascular diseases will only increase with the increasing age of our population. When our cardiovascular system ages, so do our organs, as they are directly dependent on proper oxygen and nutrient supply. Although multiple therapeutic and dietary interventions exist that alleviate vascular aging to a great extent, the fundamental molecular processes underlying cardiovascular aging and the positive effects of interventions are mostly unknown. 

Our group intends to identify the molecular mechanisms that drive vascular aging. Moreover, we aim to find out which of these processes are positively affected by therapeutic or dietary intervention. Our ultimate goal is to identify compounds that positively impact these mechanisms in order to alleviate vascular aging and thereby increase healthspan.

Erasmus MC Hart en Vaat Instituut (Cardiovascular Institute)

Ingrid van der Pluijm is leading research coordinator of the Cardiovascular Institute of the Erasmus MC (HVI).

In this role she actively contributes to the visibility of the cardiovascular research (including my own) at the Erasmus MC, both internally as well as externally.

Netherlands Women’s Health Research & Innovation Center

Ingrid van der Pluijm is member of the management team Netherlands Women’s Health Research and Innovation Centre (NL-WHRIC).

Tasks include strategic leadership, program and project development in close collaboration with RDO and funding organizations, research coordination, including ensuring scientific integrity and promoting transdisciplinary collaboration, lobby and project acquisition in close cooperation with RDO, and developing and implementing education and trainings-programs for the next generation of medical and health research and innovation professionals.

Academic Center for Aortic Aneurysms

Ingrid van der Pluijm is principal coordinator of the Aortic Aneurysm ACE (academic center of excellence), in which fundamental science is uniquely combined with clinicians, to provide care from bench to bedside and back for patients with aortic aneurysms.
See for details on the Academic Center for Aortic Aneurysms
See for details on the  Aorta Expertise Centrum

Selected publications

• S J M Stefens 1, J van der Linden 1, J M Heredia-Genestar 1, R M C Brandt 1, S Barnhoorn 1, I Nieuwenhuizen-Bakker 1, N van Vliet 1, J H M Odijk 1, Y Ridwan 2, D Stuijts 1, M Batenburg 1, J H J Hoeijmakers 1 3 4 5, R Kanaar 1 4 6, J Essers 1 6 7, I van der Pluijm 1 7
  Dietary Restriction Mitigates Vascular Aging Modulates the cGAS-STING Pathway and Reverses Macrophage-Like VSMC Phenotypes in Progeroid DNA-Repair-Deficient Ercc1Δ /- Mice
  Aging Cell, 25 Apr 25:e70062. doi: 10.1111/acel.70062
• E D van Deel, M Snelders, N van Vliet, L Te Riet, T P P van den Bosch, L R Fiedler, A C C van Spreeuwel, N A M Bax, N Boontje, C M Halabi, T Sasaki, D P Reinhardt, J van der Velden, C V C Bouten, J H von der Thüsen, A H J Danser, D J Duncker, M D Schneider, I van der Pluijm, J Essers
  Induction of cardiac fibulin-4 protects against pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure
  Commun Biol 2025 Apr 24;8(1):661. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-08087-8.
• Sanne J M Stefens, Nicole van Vliet, Arne IJpma, Joyce Burger, Yunlei Li, Paula M van Heijningen, Jan H N Lindeman, Danielle Majoor-Krakauer, Hence J M Verhagen, Roland Kanaar, Jeroen Essers, Ingrid van der Pluijm
  Increased vascular smooth muscle cell senescence in aneurysmal Fibulin-4 mutant mice
  NPJ Aging. 2024 Jun 20;10(1):31. doi: 10.1038/s41514-024-00154-4.
• Nathalie P de Wagenaar, Lisa M van den Bersselaar, Hanny J H M Odijk, Sanne J M Stefens, Dieter P Reinhardt, Jolien W Roos-Hesselink, Roland Kanaar, Judith M A Verhagen, Hennie T Brüggenwirth, Ingrid M B H van de Laar, Ingrid van der Pluijm, Jeroen Essers
  Functional analysis of cell lines derived from SMAD3-related Loeys-Dietz syndrome patients provides insights into genotype-phenotype relation
  Hum Mol Genet. 2024 Jun 5;33(12):1090-1104. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddae044.
• Bibi S van Thiel, Martine de Boer, Yanto Ridwan, Marion G J de Kleijnen, Nicole van Vliet, Janette van der Linden, Isa de Beer, Paula M van Heijningen, Wilbert P Vermeij, Jan H J Hoeijmakers, A H Jan Danser, Roland Kanaar, Dirk J Duncker, Ingrid van der Pluijm, Jeroen Essers 
  Hybrid Molecular and Functional Micro-CT Imaging Reveals Increased Myocardial Apoptosis Preceding Cardiac Failure in Progeroid Ercc1 Mice
  Mol Imaging Biol. 2024 Aug;26(4):628-637. doi: 10.1007/s11307-024-01902-4. Epub 2024 Mar 18.
• Janette van der Linden, Sanne J M Stefens, José María Heredia-Genestar, Yanto Ridwan, Renata M C Brandt, Nicole van Vliet, Isa de Beer, Bibi S van Thiel, Herman Steen, Caroline Cheng, Anton J M Roks, A H Jan Danser, Jeroen Essers, Ingrid van der Pluijm
  Ercc1 DNA repair deficiency results in vascular aging characterized by VSMC phenotype switching, ECM remodeling, and an increased stress response
  Aging Cell. 2024 May;23(5):e14126. doi: 10.1111/acel.14126. Epub 2024 Mar 7.
  
   

All publications

Monitor fundamenteel onderzoek

Opportunities Student projects and Internship

We have several research projects for students who are interested to study the molecular mechanism of vascular aging:

• Effect of intervention on cardiovascular aging
• Contribution of senescence to cardiovascular aging
• Set-up of 3D in vitro model to study vascular aging
• Cell-specific changes in gene expression in aging aorta and heart

Bloedvat in Beeld (Arterystic)

In this project Ingrid van der Pluijm wants to create more visibility for vascular research, with a special focus on aortic aneurysms.

She started a project with high school students to make this happen. First, she explains to them what (her) vascular research entails, and why it is so important. Next, they get to do their own research and visualize this by means of, for example, a movie, poster or cartoon.

It is an extremely fun project where both teacher and student learn a lot! 

At the end of the project the students get a tour at the Erasmus MC research lab, where they amongst others get to see actual cells under the microscope and digested DNA.

After the tour they present their end products in front of an audience of researchers. And of course the best one also wins a prize.

After the project is finished Ingrid van der Pluijm posts the movies/posters/cartoons on social media to gain more visibility for aneurysmal disease and to the research she performs to identify the underlying mechanistic cause of aneurysmal disease. 

Project posts can be followed on social media: 
LinkedIn
Facebook
Instagram

Want to know more about: Ingrid van der Pluijms research or would like to donate


PhD program Biomedical Sciences


Msc program Molecular Medicine


COEUR