Stef Zeemering

Associate professor

Dr Stef Zeemering is Associate Professor at the Department of Physiology within CARIM, Maastricht University. He has a background in applied mathematics and computer science, with degrees in Knowledge Engineering and Operations Research from Maastricht University and a PhD on sparse optimisation and atrial fibrillation.

His research focuses on improving the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) through the integration of clinical, electrophysiological, molecular, and imaging data. Using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced signal processing, he develops methods to identify disease mechanisms, quantify atrial remodelling, and predict disease progression and treatment outcome.

A major focus of his work is multimodal AI: combining information from electrocardiograms (ECGs), intracardiac mapping, blood biomarkers, clinical characteristics, and molecular data to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of atrial fibrillation and atrial cardiomyopathy. His research aims to translate these insights into clinical decision-support tools that enable more personalized management of patients with AF.

Dr Zeemering coordinates and contributes to several national and European research initiatives, including the Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network TrackAF. He has developed analytical software and research tools that are used by national and international collaborators and have supported numerous scientific studies and publications.

Department of Physiology
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht
Room number: 3.108
T: +31(0)43 388 13 20

2026
- Habibi, Z., Verhaert, D. V. M., Ozgul, O. F., Betz, K., Hermans, B. J. M., Philippens, S. A. M., Chaldoupi, S.-M., Maesen, B., Sandgren, E., Maessen, J. G., Isaacs, A. J., Westra, S. W., Nijveldt, R., Zeemering, S., Vernooy, K., Linz, D., & Schotten, U. (2026). Pre-procedural time spent in atrial fibrillation using intermittent ECG monitoring is associated with arrhythmia recurrence after ablation: the ISOLATION cohort study. EP Europace, 28(3), Article euag044. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euag044
- Fantazi, N., Hermans, B. J. M., Zeemering, S., Berbers, J., Emrani, M., Napp, A., Marx, N., Gramlich, M., Schotten, U., & Zink, M. D. (2026). Acute effect of cryoballoon pulmonary vein isolation on the signal-averaged P-wave. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 12, Article 1728939. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1728939
- Marques, V. G., Gharaviri, A., Ozgul, O., Pezzuto, S., Auricchio, A., Vernooy, K., Linz, D., Hermans, B., Bonizzi, P., Zeemering, S., & Schotten, U. (2026). Ablation of atrial fibrillation sources identified through sequential high-density mapping: in silico comparison against anatomy-based approaches. EP Europace, 28(1), Article euaf304. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euaf304
2025
- Zeemering, S., Borof, K., Schotten, U., Obergassel, J., Camm, A. J., Crijns, H. J. G. M., Eckardt, L., Fabritz, L., Goette, A., Habibi, Z., Heijman, J., Hermans, B. J. M., Lemoine, M. D., Magnussen, C., Metzner, A., Rillig, A., Schnabel, R. B., Schuijt, E., Suling, A., ... Kirchhof, P. (2025). Estimated atrial fibrillation burden on early rhythm-control and cardiovascular events in the EAST-AFNET 4 trial. EClinicalMedicine, 88, Article 103457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103457
- Blok, M., den Ouden, B. L., Kuiper, M., Ophelders, D. R. M. G., Jongbloed, M. R. M., Zeemering, S., Jensen, B., van Hunnik, A., & Boukens, B. J. (2025). Functional conduction system mapping in sheep reveals Purkinje spikes in the free wall of the right ventricular outflow tract. Frontiers in physiology, 16, Article 1631426. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2025.1631426
- Habibi, Z., Verhaert, D. V. M., Betz, K., Hermans, B. J. M., Winters, J., Philippens, S. A. M., Chaldoupi, S. M., Maesen, B., Maessen, J. G., Isaacs, A., Westra, S. W., Nijveldt, R., Gillet, L., Wienhues-Thelen, U. H., Koehler, M., Zeemering, S., Vernooy, K., Linz, D., & Schotten, U. (2025). Association of atrial fibrillation burden and clinical profile with blood biomarkers: Results from the ISOLATION Ablation Cohort. Heart Rhythm O2, 6(5), 661-670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hroo.2025.02.017
- Isaacs, A., Zeemering, S., Winters, J., Batlle, M., Bidar, E., Boukens, B., Casadei, B., Chua, W., Crijns, H. J. G. M., Fabritz, L., Guasch, E., Hatem, S. N., Hermans, B., Kääb, S., Kawczynski, M., Maesen, B., Maessen, J., Mont, L., Sinner, M. F., ... Stoll, M. (2025). Lateral Atrial Expression Patterns Provide Insights into Local Transcription Disequilibrium Contributing to Disease Susceptibility. Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine, 18(1), Article e004594. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCGEN.124.004594
- Ozgul, O., Marques, V. G., Hermans, B. JM., van Hunnik, A., Verheule, S., Gharaviri, A., Pezzuto, S., Auricchio, A., Schotten, U., Bonizzi, P., & Zeemering, S. (2025). High-density and high-coverage composite atrial activation maps: an in-silico validation study. Ieee Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 72(1), 79-89. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2024.3439502
- Marques, V. G., Gharaviri, A., Pezzuto, S., Guasch, E., Mont, L., Bonizzi, P., Zeemering, S., & Schotten, U. (2025). The Impact of Anatomical Variability on Atrial Fibrillation Dynamics: A Novel Personalized In-Silico Approach. Computing in Cardiology, 52. https://doi.org/10.22489/CinC.2025.146
2024
- Reyat, J. S., Sommerfeld, L. C., O'Reilly, M., Cardoso, V. R., Thiemann, E., Khan, A. O., O'Shea, C., Harder, S., Müller, C., Barlow, J., Stapley, R. J., Chua, W., Kabir, S. N., Grech, O., Hummel, O., Hübner, N., Kääb, S., Mont, L., Hatem, S. N., ... Fabritz, L. (2024). PITX2 deficiency leads to atrial mitochondrial dysfunction. Cardiovascular Research, 120(15), 1907-1923. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvae169

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Stef Zeemering

Associate professor