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Uyên Châu Nguyên wins UM Dissertation Prize 2025

Uyên Châu Nguyên wins UM Dissertation Prize 2025

29 January 2026

During the Dies Natalis of Maastricht University, Uyên Châu Nguyên received the UM Dissertation Prize 2025.

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Global research network launched to study menopause and heart health

Global research network launched to study menopause and heart health

20 January 2026

Ten international health research funders, including the Dutch Heart Foundation, are investing $10 million in a new global research network to improve early prevention of cardiovascular disease in women. The initiative focuses on understanding how menopause affects heart health and how early intervention can reduce risk.

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Carim Maastricht
Carim Maastricht

Lieve Temmerman

Post doc

Dr Lieve Temmerman graduated Master in Biomedical Sciences at the KU Leuven (Belgium) in 2005. She was selected for a PhD at the EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory) Mouse Biology Unit with Prof. Dr. Nadia Rosenthal. Her work focussed on the possibly differential role of several isoforms of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), where she created and studied severel IGF-1 isoform knockout mice.

In April 2011, she joined the group of Prof. Erik Biessen at Maastricht University. Her first years as a post-doc focussed on the role of antigen presenting cells (DC subsets and macrophages) in mouse models of atherosclerosis. In 2015-2016 she received a grant from the UM board to co-manage eNovum, a University-wide initiative to spearhead e-innovations at the UM. Since 2017, she is again dedicating her time to research, now leading the high content analysis cluster in Prof. Biessen's group.

Our current research centres on macrophages, and how we can better understand and potentially manipulate their plasticity in a cardiovascular disease context. We have developed a high content analysis platform based on automated fluorescent microscopy, which enables us to get a full functional profile of macrophage activation. Combined with machine learning techniques, transcriptomics, and through close collaboration with clinicians, we are able to map the response of macrophages to patient material, compounds and materials. Ongoing projects are studying the effect of pre-eclampsia in the development of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (part of the Queen of Hearts Study, Dutch Heart Foundation), stratifying cardiovascular risk in the obese population (STW project), characterizing cardiovascular patient monocytes, mapping a functional response to biomaterials (collaboration with DSM).

Lieve-temmerman

Department of Pathology
Universiteitsingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht
Room number: 5.08
T: +31 (0)43 387 71 67

  • 2025
    • Saar-Kovrov, V., Pawlowska, A., Guillot, A., Gijbels, M. J. J., Sluimer, J. C., Temmerman, L., Goossens, P., Mees, B. M. E., Tacke, F., Jankowski, V., Jankowski, J., Donners, M. M. P. C., & Biessen, E. A. L. (2025). Correction: Protein carbamylation in atherosclerotic plaques correlates with uremia and disease progression, localizing predominantly to foam cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 16, Article 1637511. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1637511
    • Saar-Kovrov, V., Pawlowska, A., Guillot, A., Gijbels, M. J. J., Sluimer, J. C., Temmerman, L., Goossens, P., Mees, B. M. E., Tacke, F., Jankowski, V., Jankowski, J., Donners, M. M. P. C., & Biessen, E. A. L. (2025). Protein carbamylation in atherosclerotic plaques correlates with uremia and disease progression, localizing predominantly to foam cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 16, Article 1532250. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1532250
    • Vermeulen, I., Li, M., van Mourik, H., Yadati, T., Eijkel, G., Balluff, B., Godschalk, R., Temmerman, L., Biessen, E. A. L., Kulkarni, A., Theys, J., Houben, T., Cillero-Pastor, B., & Shiri-Sverdlov, R. (2025). Inhibition of intracellular versus extracellular cathepsin D differentially alters the liver lipidome of mice with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. FEBS Journal, 292(7), 1781-1797. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.17358
    • van Mourik, H., Westheim, A., Schneider, C. V., Stoffels, L., Wieczerzak, E., Steeghs, J., Schneider, K. M., Temmerman, L., Biessen, E., Godschalk, R., Theys, J., & Shiri - Sverdlov, R. (2025). Extracellular Cathepsin B Is a potential Therapeutic Target in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Liver International, 6(1), Article e70016. https://doi.org/10.1002/lci2.70016
  • 2024
    • Medina, I., Wieland, E. B., Temmerman, L., Otten, J. J. T., Bermudez, B., Bot, I., Rademakers, T., Wijnands, E., Schurgers, L., Mees, B., van Berkel, T. J. C., Goossens, P., & Biessen, E. A. L. (2024). Colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (Csf1r) expressing cell ablation in mafia (macrophage-specific Fas-induced apoptosis) mice alters monocyte landscape and atherosclerotic lesion characteristics. European Journal of Immunology, 54(11), Article 2350943. https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.202350943
    • Christ, A., Maas, S. L., Jin, H., Lu, C., Legein, B., Wijnands, E., Temmerman, L., Otten, J., Isaacs, A., Zenke, M., Stoll, M., Biessen, E. A. L., & van der Vorst, E. P. C. (2024). In situ lipid-loading activates peripheral dendritic cell subsets characterized by cellular ROS accumulation but compromises their capacity to prime naïve T cells. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 210, 406-415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2023.11.044
  • 2023
    • Nagenborg, J., Jin, H., Ruder, A. V., Temmerman, L., Mees, B., Schalkwijk, C., Müller-Klieser, D., Berg, T., Goossens, P., Donners, M. M. P. C., & Biessen, E. A. L. (2023). GM-CSF-activated STAT5A regulates macrophage functions and inflammation in atherosclerosis. Frontiers in Immunology, 14, Article 1165306. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1165306
    • Ruder, A., Wetzels, S. M. W., Temmerman, L., Biessen, E. A. L., & Goossens, P. (2023). Monocyte heterogeneity in cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular Research, 119(11), 2033-2045. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvad069
    • van Kuijk, K., McCracken, I. R., Tillie, R. J. H. A., Asselberghs, S. E. J., Kheder, D. A., Muitjens, S., Jin, H., Taylor, R. S., Schreur, R. W., Kuppe, C., Dobie, R., Ramachandran, P., Gijbels, M. J., Temmerman, L., Kirkwoord, P. M., Luyten, J., Li, Y. M., Noels, H., Goossens, P., ... Sluimer, J. C. (2023). Human and murine fibroblast single-cell transcriptomics reveals fibroblast clusters are differentially affected by ageing and serum cholesterol. Cardiovascular Research, 119(7), 1509-1523. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvad016
    • Ruder, A. V., Temmerman, L., van Dommelen, J. M. A., Nagenborg, J., Lu, C., Sluimer, J. C., Goossens, P., & Biessen, E. A. L. (2023). Culture density influences the functional phenotype of human macrophages. Frontiers in Immunology, 14(1), Article 1078591. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1078591
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