The Young@Heart Board
The board consists of previous scientific council members who have show great interest and ambitions in their work with Young@Heart and they are periodically invited to apply for a position on the board.
Like most scientific council members, all board members are available as mentors in the mentor program
Diederik Kuster (Amsterdam UMC) – Chair
Diederik Kuster is assistant professor at the department of Physiology of Amsterdam UMC. He uses his training is in chemistry, combined with knowledge of physiology and biophysics to unravel disease mechanisms in cardiomyopathies. The main focus of this research is to understand regulation of contraction and relaxation and build new tools to measure this. The chance to guide and inspire young scientist to become independent thinkers with exciting careers in and outside academia is one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.
Anneline te Riele (UMCU) – Public Relations
Anneline te Riele is a cardiology fellow and clinical scientist at the University Medical Center Utrecht. She is fascinated by sudden cardiac death in inherited cardiomyopathies: an intriguing paradox of a deathly event among those feeling full of life. In her research, she uses advanced data science methods to improve early detection and risk stratification of these diseases. She is committed to promoting the successes of the next generation of cardiovascular talents both in and outside of academic medicine.
Monika Gladka (Amsterdam UMC) – Outreach
Monika Gladka is an assistant professor at the Department of Medical Biology at the Amsterdam UMC. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate cardiac repair, intending to identify new players to develop novel, improved gene therapies. She uses several state-of-the-art techniques enabling an in-depth mechanistic understanding of the biological processes involved in heart repair. She understands the struggle that young scientists have to go through to get recognized in the cardiovascular community and is willing to help them to become successful.
Martijn Hoes (UMCG) – Communication & Scientific Council
Martijn Hoes is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Experimental Cardiology at the University Medical Center Groningen. His research is focused on the development of stem cell-based in vitro disease modeling, which can be related to various topics, including cardiac iron deficiency, in vitro hypertrophy, but the focus is on pregnancy-related heart failure and putative molecular pathological mechanisms. He is keen on helping (young) researchers whenever he can and he believes Young@Heart can be the perfect platform for young researchers to meet and discuss ideas about projects, networking, and teamwork.
Anke Smits (LUMC) – Scientific Council
Anke Smits is an assistant professor in cardiovascular cell biology at the Department of Cell and Chemical Biology at the Leiden University Medical Center. Her scientific interest is best described as translational cell biology to repair the heart. In her research she focuses on endogenous cardiac repair mechanisms based on processes that occur in the developing embryonic heart. By combining (stem) cell biology, in vitro systems with in vivo cardiac injury models and state-of the art imaging techniques she aims to maximize the post-injury response. Being aware of the challenges in career perspective for young scientists she wants to contribute via Young@Heart to help shape their future.
Jozine ter Maaten (UMCG) – Secretary
Jozine ter Maaten is a cardiologist in training and clinical scientist at the University Medical Center in Groningen. Her research focuses on improving treatment of acute heart failure by focusing on diuretic response, renal function and congestion markers. She recently started her first RCT studying natriuresis guided therapy in patients with acute heart failure. From her own experience, especially as a clinical scientist, she is committed to helping and encouraging young physicians combining a clinical and scientific career and believes Young@Heart provides a fantastic environment for this.
Jan Willem Buikema (UMCU)
Jan Willem Buikema works as fellow-cardiologist at UMC Utrecht and combines his clinical work with studying the molecular mechanisms of heart growth and cardiac disease development in human induced pluripotent stem cells. Scientifically, Jan Willem is interested in the molecular targets for the prevention and/or cure of diverse genetic forms of cardiomyopathy in men and women. Unlike most current medical treatments in heart failure, this patient-specific approach very much acknowledges the diversity between patients and will eventually lead to “one-pill-per-patient” regimens.
In 2019, as member of the Young & Heart scientific council, Jan Willem helped organizing the symposium “Conquer the world with your PhD”, which gave insights in the career opportunities for young PhDs. Jan Willem joined the board of Young & Heart in 2021.
Past Board Members
Board and Scientific Council Membership
The board membership is for at least 2 years. To ensure continuity of Y@H, the first term of the current board members may be extended to max. 3 years. The scientific council provides and appoints future candidates. Scientific council members are committed and active participation is expected. Representation of gender and Dutch university medical centers is pursued, but is subjected to the applications.