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Catheter treatment is not only effective, but also cost-effective for ischemic stroke

Catheter treatment is not only effective, but also cost-effective for ischemic stroke

29 September 2026

With ischemic stroke, every minute counts. However, many patients do not seek hospital care until it is too late, for example, because symptoms are not immediately recognized or because people wake up with signs of neurological deficits. As a result, a group of patients is no longer eligible for catheter treatment. 

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Platelets: more than a band-aid

Platelets: more than a band-aid

23 September 2026

Some processes in our body might seem obvious to us. If you cut your finger, the bleeding will stop shortly and form a scab. Behind that seemingly simple process hides a sophisticated system of platelets and clotting factors. By now, we know that platelets do much more than halt bleeding: they function as information carriers and regulators of disease processes. 

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Carim Maastricht
Carim Maastricht

Heidi Noels

Professor

Prof. Heidi Noels is leading the research group 'Molecular cardiovascular and cardio-renal-metabolic research' within the Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research (IMCAR) of the University Hospital Aachen. In parallel, she holds an honorary affiliation with the Biochemistry Department of the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CARIM) of Maastricht University, and is cofounder of the 'Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Cardiorenal Research (AMICARE)', which characterises the close cooperation between both universities.

Her research group studies pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy and myocardial infarction. This includes a strong focus on kidney-heart communication, and by extension kidney-heart-metabolic crosstalk, with a focus on inflammation and metabolic disturbances.

Dr Noels initially obtained her PhD in Medical Sciences in the Medical Faculty of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, with a focus on the transcription factor NF-kB, a key regulator of inflammation. After her move to IMCAR, her work provided novel insights into the role of inflammation in atherosclerosis through diverse regulatory mechanisms involving NF-kB. New findings also resulted in the characterisation of the role of chemokine receptors and their ligands in regulating inflammatory processes in atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation.

Recent work includes the study of cellular and molecular mediators and mechanisms of kidney-heart crosstalk in cardiorenal and cardio-renal-metabolic disease. This includes the study of vascular inflammation/dysfunction and atherosclerosis as well as ischemic and non-ischemic cardiac remodeling. The aim is to support novel therapies to reduce the cardiovascular and cardio-renal-metabolic burden which highly impacts our society.

Dr Noels is integrated in multiple interdisciplinary and international collaborations. She Furthermore, she is Coordinator of the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Network LipidBRIGHT (UM, 2026-2030), Managing Director of the DFG-funded research consortium SFB/TRR219 (RWTH, 2018-2029) and Coordinator of two DFG-funded graduate schools (SFB/TRR219; SFB1739; RWTH). Previously, she was Co-Coordinator of the European (MSCA) Doctoral Network 'CaReSyAn' (2018-2021).

For her research, Dr Noels received the W.H. Hauss Award of the German Atherosclerosis Society (2018) as well as the international Werner Risau Award in Vascular Biology (2015).

Beyond research, Dr Noels is also involved in teaching in the Medical Faculty of RWTH Aachen, where she heads the qualification profile 'Organ crosstalk & comorbidities' for medical students.

Heidi noels

Department of Biochemistry
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht

  • 2026
    • Vondenhoff, S., Antwerpen, A., Junho, C. V. C., Martin, P., Hourtz, S., Zou, J., Kurt, B., Haas, C., Fleig, S., Schulte, C., Lauxen, J., Wessiepe, M., Späte-Schulze, U., Kramann, R., Floege, J., Soehnlein, O., Jankowski, J., Goettsch, C., Döring, Y., ... Noels, H. (2026). Immature Neutrophil Phenotype and Enhanced Myeloperoxidase in Male Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease and Cardiovascular Comorbidity. Acta Physiologica, 242(9), Article e70290. https://doi.org/10.1111/apha.70290
    • Öztürk, B. Y., Zhang, L., von Stillfried, S., Klinkhammer, B. M., Möllmann, J., Nguyen, L., Droste, P., Buhl, E. M., Hohl, M., Noels, H., Jankowski, V., Jankowski, J., Goettsch, C., Marx, N., Olson, L. E., Rosenkranz, S., Floege, J., Wong, D. W. L., & Boor, P. (2026). The role of platelet-derived growth factor in uremic vascular calcification. Kidney International, 110(3), 643-663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2026.05.011
    • Junho, C. V. C., Dai, Y., Schieren, L., Hourtz, S., Rykova, T., Vondenhoff, S., Wessiepe, M., Zou, J., Jankowski, J., Goettsch, C., & Noels, H. (2026). Advanced glycation end product (AGE)-modified albumin does not enhance neutrophil extracellular trap formation and minimally impacts endothelial inflammation in large vessels. Life Sciences, 398, Article 124467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2026.124467
    • Schulte, C., Wollenhaupt, J., Hourtz, S., Harlacher, E., Moellmann, J., Junho, C. V. C., Kohlhaas, M., Jankowski, V., Jin, H., Reugels, M., Maryam, S., Hausmann, F., Wong, D. W. L., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Berger, M., Vondenhoff, S., Kurt, B., Ghesquiere, B., Mueller, C., ... Noels, H. (2026). CKD disrupts cardiac energy metabolism and aggravates cardiac inflammation, oxidative stress, and dysfunction post-infarction. Cardiovascular Research, 122(13), 1834–1850. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvag152
    • Evans, B. R., Schulz, J., Triantafyllidou, V., Yerly, A., Thakur, M., Angliker, N., Siegrist, M., Jansen, Y., Yan, Y., Maas, S. L., Gold, C., Farina, F. M., Bayer, B., Bartelt, A., Weber, C., Wettich, J., Maegdefessel, L., Sachs, N., Schindewolf, M., ... Doering, Y. (2026). ChemR23 prevents phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells into macrophage-like foam cells in atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular Research, 122(2), 195-213. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvaf258
    • Thakur, M., Quillard, T., Angliker, N., Siegrist, M., Jansen, Y., Yan, Y., Wollenhaupt, J., Goettsch, C., Maegdefessel, L., Sachs, N., Schindewolf, M., Kotelis, D., Noels, H., & Döring, Y. (2026). DDR1 Regulates Femoral Arterial Calcification in Lower-Extremity Artery Disease Through NF-Kappa B Activation. Acta Physiologica, 242(1), Article e70146. https://doi.org/10.1111/apha.70146
    • Mikolajetz, D., Kalim, S., Noels, H., Wu, Z., Jankowski, V., Jankowski, J., & de la Puente-secades, S. (2026). Impact of amino acid supplementation on cardiovascular and chronic kidney diseases: a systematic review. Cardiovascular Research, 122(2), 178-194. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvag007
    • Bhargava, S., Rao, Z., Vanholder, R., Tacke, F., Noels, H., Jankowski, V., Hermann, J., & Jankowski, J. (2026). The impact of gut-liver-derived mediators on the organ crosstalk with brain, heart, and kidney: A systematic review. Molecular Metabolism, 103, Article 102295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2025.102295
    • Schnidrig, K., Thakur, M., Tuleja, A., Bernhard, S. M., Noels, H., Kotelis, D., Schindewolf, M., & Doring, Y. (2026). Implications of inflammation and sex in lower extremity arterial disease. European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 56(1), Article e70144. https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.70144
  • 2025
    • Yerly, A., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Schindewolf, M., Kotelis, D., Noels, H., & Doring, Y. (2025). Chemokine-receptor-guided B-cell immunity in cardiovascular disease. Basic Research in Cardiology, 120(6), 1075-1090. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00395-025-01140-x
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