Dr Elisa D’Alessandro (Dept of Physiology) and Dr Job Stoks (Dept of Cardiology) have been awarded a Dekker Postdoc grant from the Dutch Heart Foundation. The goal of this grant is to support young researchers in developing into independent investigators

Targeting heart fat and scar tissue to curb atrial fibrillation – Dr Elisa D’Alessandro

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder and increases the risk of heart failure, stroke, and dementia. The condition often worsens due to scarring in the atria, caused by inflamed fat tissue surrounding the heart. Elisa will investigate how this process works in detail, with the aim of intervening using medication. Her goal is to treat atrial fibrillation at an earlier stage, before serious complications develop.

From heart attack to cardiac arrest: searching for early warning signs – Dr Job Stoks

After a heart attack, scar tissue in the heart can lead to life-threatening arrhythmias, but these often take years to develop. Job will be the first to map how the heart changes in the years following a heart attack and which patients go on to develop arrhythmias. The findings will help identify high-risk patients more effectively and enable more targeted and effective use of treatments such as implanting an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator).