About
Introduction
Patients with Congenital Heart Diseases are prone to develop heart failure, specifically failure of the right ventricle, which is connected to the pulmonary circulation. Our goal is to improve treatment for these children. We aim to develop techniques to treat or prevent heart failure in Congenital Heart Disease.
Field(s) of expertise
Early identification
We aim to develop reference values for normal recovery and development, and use these for early identification.
Develop treatment opportunities
New developments in regenerative medicine hold promise for patients with Congenital Heart Disease suffering from right ventricular dysfunction. We aim to test if we can strengthen the heart with new techniques in experimental models.
Education and career
Ever since my MD I have been intrigued by the function of the heart, as a pump. After my MD, I obtained my PhD studiyng the changes in cardiac metabolism around birth. After my training as pediatrician, I worked as a postdoc studying effects of metabolic defects on heart function at Vanderbilt University.In Groningen, I have been trained as pediatric cardiologist and studied adaptation of the right heart to abnormal loading e.g. in pulmonary hypertension or in congenital heart diseases.
Teaching activities
Associate professor in Pediatric Cardiology.
