Symposium 2025

CARIM symposium 2026 took place on Wednesday 27 November 2025.

Missed it or want to relive (part of) the day?  Click here to rewatch the livestream or download the pictures from UMployee.

Click here for the invitation flyer.

Programme 

09.00 - 09.15 Coffee and welcome

09.15 - 09.35 Opening by Tilman Hackeng

Veni, Vidi, Vici (moderator: Kristiaan Wouters)

09.35 - 09.55 Veni: Sabine Daemen - ‘Macrophages to the rescue: Targeting liver fibrosis from within’

09.55 - 10.15 Veni: Uyen Nguyen - ‘The implication of fibrosis on pacing therapy in heart failure’

10.15 - 10.40 Break

10.40 - 11.00 Vidi: Bart Spronck - ‘The aorta as a key to personalised hypertension treatment’

11.00 - 11.20 Vici: Judith Sluimer - ‘Resetting fibroblast function to rejuvenate aged vasculature’

11.20 - 11.35 Update Topsector Prevention Armand Jaminon - ‘KBM2: Enhancing the impact of biomedical models at Maastricht University’ (moderator: Leon Schurgers)

11.35 - 12.15 Presentations nominees Prof. R. Reneman Young Investigator Award:Anouk Achten, Ilse Huijberts and Elien Bollen (moderators: Lisa den Brok and Stan Muitjens)

12.15 - 14.00 Poster session and lunch

14.00 - 14.45 Keynote lecture Patrick van Veen - ‘Monkey see, monkey do: Leadership, social cooperation
and monkey business in a clinical environment’ (moderator: Ingrid Dijkgraaf)

Dutch Heart Foundation Dekkers (moderator: Joost Lumens)
14.45 - 15.05 Postdoc: Elisa D’Alessandro - ‘At the edge of the atria: disentangling the crosstalk between atria and epicardial fat in atrial fibrillation’

15.05 - 15.25 Postdoc: Job Stoks - ‘From myocardial infarction to ventricular arrhythmia: unraveling the temporal dynamics’

15.25 - 16.00 Break

16.00 - 17.00 Robert Reneman Lecture Henk Marquering - ‘The long road to impact: Delivering on the promise of AI and digital twins in cardiovascular health’ (moderator: Wim van Zwam)

Awards & Prizes

17.00 - 17.15 Presentation winner Harry Crijns Research Grant (moderator: Harry Crijns) (sponsored by Recordati, Amgen & Hart en Vaat onderzoekfonds Limburg)

17.15 - 17.45 CARIM awards, CARIM Priori and wrap-up

17.45 Evening celebration: Thiessen Wijnkoopers, Grote Gracht 18 Maastricht

Recap and awards CARIM Day 2025

We are proud to look back on the success of CARIM+HVC Symposium 2025. The morning featured presentations by our recent NWO Talent Program laureates, an update on Topsector Prevention by Dr. Armand Jaminon, and the CARIM PhD abstract competition, followed by a lively poster session showcasing CARIM+HVC's latest research.

In the afternoon, behavioural biologist Patrick van Veen delivered an engaging lecture on social behaviour in apes and humans, after which our Dutch Heart Foundation Dekker laureates presented their work. The day concluded with the announcement of the Harry Crijns Research Grant winner and the CARIM Prizes and Awards.

This year’s Robert Reneman Lecture was given by Prof. Henk Marquering, who shared insights into AI-driven innovations in stroke care.

CARIM+HVC Symposium 2025 was an inspiring and energising event for our entire research community.

Four HS-BAFTAs have been awarded:

• Talented PhD candidates: Nick Wilmes, Pepijn Saraber, Mobina Izadpanah, Madelon Engels

The CARIM commitment award of 2025 was presented to Judith Cosemans (Dept of Biochemistry). Judith's career has been defined by resilience, purpose, and a commitment to change. She has transformed challenges into strength, championing the advancement of female researchers and bringing fresh ideas and bold thinking to CARIM. Known for her direct and honest communication, she always speaks in service of progress. Her dedication, sincerity, and tireless efforts have made her a driving force for positive change within our community.

The CARIM dissertation prize 2025 was awarded to Dr Jerremy Weerts for the thesis 'Expanding the horizon of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF): advancing knowledge and detection through novel approaches'. Jerremy was selected for his outstanding and original contribution to cardiovascular research. His thesis represents a remarkable combination of scientific depth, methodological innovation, and clinical relevance. The work spans multiple domains, from mechanistic studies on microvascular and atrial dysfunction to pioneering diagnostic strategies integrating digital tools and registry-based research, demonstrating both conceptual breadth and technical excellence.

The thesis is strongly embedded within CARIM, with active involvement of numerous CARIM researchers across different scientific layers, ranging from basic and translational to clinical research. Jerremy’s pivotal role is evident in the conception, coordination, and execution of multicentre and international studies, as well as in his leadership within research consortia. His creativity, independence, and collegial spirit make him an exemplary ambassador of CARIM’s values and an outstanding early-career scientist.

The following researchers have been awarded a poster prize:

• Division Blood: Jip de Kok - Socioeconomic disparities and the role of comorbidity in hospital mortality of intensive care patients (Poster judges: Jordy Kocken & Miranda Nabben)
• Division Vessels: Lia Bica - Patient-derived vascular smooth muscle cells as a translational platform for risk stratification and drug discovery in aneurysm disease (Poster judges: Bart Spronck & Lieve Temmerman)
• Division Heart: Peter Deissler - Mechano-Electrical Trigger Mechanisms of Torsades-de-Pointes Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias (Poster judges: Magdaléna Harakal’ová & Yannick Nielen)

Kas van der Heijden (master student FHML) received the 2025 Harry Crijns Research Grant for the project ‘Keep on walking, a multicenter prospective randomized study'. Participation centers are Laurentius Hospital Roermond, VieCuri Venlo, Zuyderland MC and the Department of Vascular Surgery of Maastricht UMC+. 

The first Prof.Dr. R.S. Reneman Young Investigator Awards have been presented. This new initiative aims to highlight the innovation, creativity, and scientific potential of our talented PhD candidates working in the field of cardiovascular disease. The process began with 19 submissions, from which the top five were selected for the pitch round. Ultimately, the three strongest candidates advanced to present their work at the CARIM+HVC Symposium.

We extend our appreciation to Anouk Achten, Ilse Huijberts, and Elien Bollen for their outstanding work and dedication throughout the competition. After a very close final round, Anouk Achten was awarded first place and received €2,500 to support her research. Ilse Huijberts and Elien Bollen were each awarded €500 in recognition of their excellent contributions.