Blanche Schroen

Professor

Between 2002 and 2006, Blanche Schroen completed her PhD at Maastricht University’s CARIM School for Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Cardiology with Professors Yigal Pinto, Harry Crijns and Stephane Heymans. The research focused on uncovering molecular and genetic factors that increase heart failure risk using ‘omics techniques. She then continued as a postdoctoral fellow in cardiac genomics at Imperial College London in the lab of Professors Timothy Aitman and Stuart Cook, supported by an NWO Rubicon grant.

In 2008, she returned to Maastricht University to study non-coding RNAs as risk factors for heart failure. Several personal grants, including NWO Veni and Vidi and NHS Dekker awards, enabled her to expand her research into cardiac genomics and the underlying mechanisms of heart failure. Her group’s work on cardiac inflammatory microRNAs helped show that immune activation plays an early role in heart failure and may be a promising therapeutic target.

Her main expertise includes the genetics and molecular biology of non-coding RNAs related to heart failure, with a focus on fibrosis, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and metabolism, inflammation and immune cell roles, and vascular and platelet functions.

Schroen’s group is now based in the Department of Physiology at CARIM. In addition to leading her research group, she chairs the faculty’s Science Committee, holds several educational coordinator roles, and actively collaborates through consortium grants that support team science.

Department of Cardiology
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht

2025
- D'Italia, G., Coenen, D. M., Lemmens, T. P., Brandts, L., Wielders, S. J. H., Nagy, M., Mourmans, S. G. J., Achten, A., Al-Abadi, A., Weerts, J., Aizpurua, A. B., van Empel, V., Schroen, B., & Cosemans, J. M. E. M. (2025). Immuno-haemostatic dysregulation in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Esc heart failure, 12(5), 3444-3460. https://doi.org/10.1002/ehf2.15361
- Weerts, J., Schroen, B. L. M., Barandiaran Aizpurua, A., Berendschot, T. T. J. M., Brandts, L., Webers, C. A. B., Simons, S. O., Meex, S. J. R., Henry, R., van der Kallen, C. J. H., Brunner-La Rocca, H.-P., Knackstedt, C., Heymans, S. R. B., de Boer, R. A., van Empel, V. P. M., & Houben, A. J. H. M. (2025). Microvascular dysfunction across organs in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: the PROSE-HFpEF case-control study. Cardiovascular Diabetology, 24(1), Article 310. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-025-02850-1
- D'Italia, G., Schroen, B., & Cosemans, J. M. E. M. (2025). Commonalities of platelet dysfunction in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and underlying comorbidities. Esc heart failure, 12(2), 1013-1028. Article 15090. https://doi.org/10.1002/ehf2.15090
2024
- Jusic, A., Erpapazoglou, Z., Dalgaard, L. T., Lakkisto, P., de Gonzalo-Calvo, D., Benczik, B., Ágg, B., Ferdinandy, P., Fiedorowicz, K., Schroen, B., Lazou, A., Devaux, Y., & AtheroNET COST Action CA21153 (2024). Guidelines for mitochondrial RNA analysis. Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids, 35(3), Article 102262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102262
2023
- van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., Schroen, B., Barile, L., van Middendorp, L., Prinzen, F. W., & Auricchio, A. (2023). Plasma Extracellular Vesicles as Liquid Biopsy to Unravel the Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiac Reverse Remodeling Following Resynchronization Therapy?Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(2), Article 665. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12020665
2022
- Weerts, J., Mourmans, S. G. J., Barandiaran Aizpurua, A., Schroen, B. L. M., Knackstedt, C., Eringa, E., Houben, A. J. H. M., & van Empel, V. P. M. (2022). The Role of Systemic Microvascular Dysfunction in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction. Biomolecules, 12(2), Article 278. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12020278
2021
- De Majo, F., Martens, L., Hegenbarth, J. C., Ruhle, F., Hamczyk, M. R., Nevado, R. M., Andres, V., Hilbold, E., Bar, C., Thum, T., de Boer, M., Duncker, D. J., Schroen, B., Armand, A. S., Stoll, M., & De Windt, L. J. (2021). Genomic instability in the naturally and prematurely aged myocardium. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(36), Article e2022974118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022974118
2020
- Robinson, E. L., Gomes, C. P. C., Potocnjak, I., Hellemans, J., Betsou, F., de Gonzalo-Calvo, D., Stoll, M., Yilmaz, M. B., Agg, B., Beis, D., Carmo-Fonseca, M., Enguita, F. J., Dogan, S., Tuna, B. G., Schroen, B., Ammerlaan, W., Kuster, G. M., Carpusca, I., Pedrazzini, T., ... EU-CardioRNA COST Action (2020). A Year in the Life of the EU-CardioRNA COST Action: CA17129 Catalysing Transcriptomics Research in Cardiovascular Disease. Non-coding RNA, 6(2), Article 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ncrna6020017
- Suthahar, N., Meems, L. M. G., van Veldhuisen, D. J., Walter, J. E., Gansevoort, R. T., Heymans, S., Schroen, B., van der Harst, P., Kootstra-Ros, J. E., van Empel, V., Mueller, C., Bakker, S. J. L., & de Boer, R. A. (2020). High-Sensitivity Troponin-T and Cardiovascular Outcomes in the Community: Differences Between Women and Men. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 95(6), 1158-1168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.01.017
- De Majo, F., Hegenbarth, J.-C., Ruehle, F., Baer, C., Thum, T., de Boer, M., Duncker, D. J., Schroen, B., Armand, A.-S., Stoll, M., & De Windt, L. J. (2020). Dichotomy between the transcriptomic landscape of naturally versus accelerated aged murine hearts. Scientific Reports, 10(1), Article 8136. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65115-9

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Blanche Schroen

Professor