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Social and economic background influences survival in intensive care: Research with societal impact

Social and economic background influences survival in intensive care: Research with societal impact

18 August 2026

A large-scale study by researchers from Maastricht UMC+ and Amsterdam UMC demonstrates that lower socioeconomic status (SES) of patients admitted to Dutch intensive care units contributes to worse survival.

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Fatma Karapinar appointed as Professor in Medication Safety

Fatma Karapinar appointed as Professor in Medication Safety

12 August 2026

As of 1 June 2026, Dr Fatma Karapinar has been appointed Professor of Medication Safety at Maastricht University.

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Carim Maastricht
Carim Maastricht

Heidi Noels

Post doc

Although Dr Heidi Noels studied Civil Chemical Engineering, she performed a master thesis at the Faculty of Bio-Engineering as well as a PhD study in Medical Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Leuven, Belgium. She received her doctoral degree in 2008, with the title of her thesis 'Deregulation of the antigen receptor signaling pathway to NF-kappaB by the fusion protein API2-MALT1 in MALT lymphoma' under supervision of Prof. Marynen and Prof. Baens.

In 2008, she started with a von Humboldt fellowship as postdoc in the Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research (IMCAR) at the University Hospital of Aachen, at that time led by Prof. Weber. Since 2011, Dr Noels is leading her own research group at the RWTH Aachen, where she in 2021 also successfully accomplished her Habilitation in Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine. Since 2020, Dr. Noels is also associated with the Dept. of Biochemistry in CARIM.

Previous work resulted in the characterization of the role of chemokine receptors and their ligands in regulating inflammatory processes in atherosclerosis, as well as revealed novel insights in signaling molecules affecting atherosclerosis by influencing key regulators of inflammation. Currently, Dr Noels is focusing on the identification and characterization of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of cardiovascular disease as well as the increased cardiovascular risk in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Ongoing studies focus on pathophysiological mechanisms in the context of myocardial infarction, cardiac remodeling and increased inflammatory and thrombotic risk in CKD.

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

Dr Noels is PI in/Managing Director of the Transregional Collaborative Research Consortium SFB/TRR219 funded by the German Research Foundation (2018-2025). Also, she was programme manager of the international Marie Skłodowska-Curie International Training Network 'CaReSyAn' (2018-2021), which included CARIM and IMCAR as partners, amongst others.

Heidi noels

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

  • 2019
    • Sternkopf, M., Thoroee-Boveleth, S., Beck, T., Oleschko, K., Erlenkoetter, A., Tschulena, U., Steppan, S., Speer, T., Goettsch, C., Jankowski, V., Jankowski, J., Noels, H., & European Uremic Toxin Work Group-EUTox (2019). A Bifunctional Adsorber Particle for the Removal of Hydrophobic Uremic Toxins from Whole Blood of Renal Failure Patients. Toxins, 11(7), Article 389. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins11070389
    • Noels, H., Weber, C., & Koenen, R. R. (2019). Chemokines as Therapeutic Targets in Cardiovascular Disease The Road Behind, The Road Ahead. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, 39(4), 583-592. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.118.312037
    • van der Vorst, E. P. C., Mandl, M., Mueller, M., Neideck, C., Jansen, Y., Hristov, M., Gencer, S., Peters, L. J. F., Meiler, S., Feld, M., Geiselhoeringer, A.-L., de Jong, R. J., Ohnmacht, C., Noels, H., Soehnlein, O., Drechsler, M., Weber, C., & Doering, Y. (2019). Hematopoietic ChemR23 (Chemerin Receptor 23) Fuels Atherosclerosis by Sustaining an M1 Macrophage-Phenotype and Guidance of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells to Murine Lesions-Brief Report. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, 39(4), 685-693. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.119.312386
  • 2018
    • Kork, F., Jankowski, J., Goswami, A., Weis, J., Brook, G., Yamoah, A., Anink, J., Aronica, E., Fritz, S., Huck, C., Schipke, C., Peters, O., Tepel, M., Noels, H., & Jankowski, V. (2018). Golgin A4 in CSF and granulovacuolar degenerations of patients with Alzheimer disease. Neurology, 91(19), E1799-E1808. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000006457
    • Noels, H., Theelen, W., Sternkopf, M., Jankowski, V., Moellmann, J., Kraemer, S., Lehrke, M., Marx, N., Martin, L., Marx, G., Jankowski, J., Goetzenich, A., & Stoppe, C. (2018). Reduced post-operative DPP4 activity associated with worse patient outcome after cardiac surgery. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Article 11820. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30235-w
    • Schmitz, C., Noels, H., El Bounkari, O., Straussfeld, E., Megens, R. T. A., Sternkopf, M., Alampour-Rajabi, S., Krammer, C., Tilstam, P. V., Gerdes, N., Burger, C., Kapurniotu, A., Bucala, R., Jankowski, J., Weber, C., & Bernhagen, J. (2018). Mif-deficiency favors an atheroprotective autoantibody phenotype in atherosclerosis. Faseb Journal, 32(8), 4428-4443. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.201800058R
    • Domschke, G., Linden, F., Pawig, L., Hafner, A., Akhavanpoor, M., Reymann, J., Doesch, A. O., Erbel, C., Weber, C., Katus, H. A., Noels, H., Erfle, H., Gleissner, C. A., & Runz, H. (2018). Systematic RNA-interference in primary human monocyte-derived macrophages: A high-throughput platform to study foam cell formation. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Article 10516. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28790-3
  • 2017
    • Gajjala, P. R., Jankowski, V., Heinze, G., Bilo, G., Zanchetti, A., Noels, H., Liehn, E., Perco, P., Schulz, A., Delles, C., Kork, F., Biessen, E., Narkiewicz, K., Kawecka-Jaszcz, K., Floege, J., Soranna, D., Zidek, W., & Jankowski, J. (2017). Proteomic-Biostatistic Integrated Approach for Finding the Underlying Molecular Determinants of Hypertension in Human Plasma. Hypertension, 70(2), 412-419. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.116.08906
    • Doring, Y., Noels, H., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Neideck, C., Egea, V., Drechsler, M., Mandl, M., Pawig, L., Jansen, Y., Schroeder, K., Bidzhekov, K., Megens, R. T. A., Theelen, W., Klinkhammer, B. M., Boor, P., Schurgers, L., van Gorp, R., Ries, C., Kusters, P. J. H., ... Weber, C. (2017). Vascular CXCR4 Limits Atherosclerosis by Maintaining Arterial Integrity Evidence From Mouse and Human Studies. Circulation, 136(4), 388-403. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.027646
    • Asare, Y., Ommer, M., Azombo, F. A., Alampour-Rajabi, S., Sternkopf, M., Sanati, M., Gijbels, M. J., Schmitz, C., Sinitski, D., Tilstam, P. V., Lue, H., Gessner, A., Lange, D., Schmid, J. A., Weber, C., Dichgans, M., Jankowski, J., Pardi, R., de Winther, M. P. J., ... Bernhagen, J. (2017). Inhibition of atherogenesis by the COP9 signalosome subunit 5 in vivo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(13), E2766-E2775. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1618411114
  • 2016
  • 2015
    • Pawig, L., Klasen, C., Weber, C., Bernhagen, J., & Noels, H. (2015). Diversity and inter-connections in the CXCR4 chemokine receptor/ligand family: molecular perspectives. Frontiers in Immunology, 6(AUG), Article 429. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2015.00429
    • Kuijpers, M. J. E., Mattheij, N. J. A., Cipolla, L., van Geffen, J. P., Lawrence, T., Donners, M. M. P. C., Boon, L., Lievens, D., Torti, M., Noels, H., Gerdes, N., Cosemans, J. M. E. M., Lutgens, E., & Heemskerk, J. W. M. (2015). Platelet CD40L Modulates Thrombus Growth Via Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase beta, and Not Via CD40 and I kappa B Kinase alpha. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, 35(6), 1374-1381. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.114.305127
  • 2014
    • Noels, H., Zhou, B., Tilstam, P. V., Theelen, W., Li, X., Pawig, L., Schmitz, C., Akhtar, S., Simsekyilmaz, S., Shagdarsuren, E., Schober, A., Adams, R. H., Bernhagen, J., Liehn, E. A., Doering, Y., & Weber, C. (2014). Deficiency of Endothelial Cxcr4 Reduces Reendothelialization and Enhances Neointimal Hyperplasia After Vascular Injury in Atherosclerosis-Prone Mice. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, 34(6), 1209-1220. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.113.302878
    • Schober, A., Nazari-Jahantigh, M., Wei, Y., Bidzhekov, K., Gremse, F., Grommes, J., Megens, R. T. A., Heyll, K., Noels, H., Hristov, M., Wang, S., Kiessling, F., Olson, E. N., & Weber, C. (2014). MicroRNA-126-5p promotes endothelial proliferation and limits atherosclerosis by suppressing Dlk1. Nature Medicine, 20(4), 368–376. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3487
    • Doering, Y., Noels, H., Mandl, M., Kramp, B., Neideck, C., Lievens, D., Drechsler, M., Megens, R. T. A., Tilstam, P. V., Langer, M., Hartwig, H., Theelen, W., Marth, J. D., Sperandio, M., Soehnlein, O., & Weber, C. (2014). Deficiency of the Sialyltransferase St3Gal4 Reduces-Ccl5Mediated Myeloid Cell Recruitment and Arrest. Circulation Research, 114(6), 976-981. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.114.302426
    • Tilstam, P. V., Gijbels, M. J., Habbeddine, M., Cudejko, C., Asare, Y., Theelen, W., Zhou, B., Doering, Y., Drechsler, M., Pawig, L., Simsekyilmaz, S., Koenen, R. R., de Winther, M. P. J., Lawrence, T., Bernhagen, J., Zernecke, A., Weber, C., & Noels, H. (2014). Bone Marrow-Specific Knock-In of a Non-Activatable Ikk alpha Kinase Mutant Influences Haematopoiesis but Not Atherosclerosis in Apoe-Deficient Mice. PLOS ONE, 9(2), Article e87452. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0087452
    • Döring, Y., Pawig, L., Weber, C., & Noels, H. (2014). The CXCL12/CXCR4 chemokine ligand/receptor axis in cardiovascular disease. Frontiers in physiology, 5, 212. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00212
  • 2013
    • Asare, Y., Shagdarsuren, E., Schmid, J. A., Tilstam, P. V., Grommes, J., El Bounkari, O., Schuetz, A. K., Weber, C., de Winther, M. P. J., Noels, H., & Bernhagen, J. (2013). Endothelial CSN5 impairs NF-kappa B activation and Monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells and is highly expressed in human atherosclerotic lesions. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 110(1), 141-152. https://doi.org/10.1160/TH13-02-0155
  • 2012
    • Nazari-Jahantigh, M., Wei, Y., Noels, H., Akhtar, S., Zhou, Z., Koenen, R. R., Heyll, K., Gremse, F., Kiessling, F., Grommes, J., Weber, C., & Schober, A. (2012). MicroRNA-155 promotes atherosclerosis by repressing Bcl6 in macrophages. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 122(11), 4190-4202. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI61716
    • Doering, Y., Noels, H., & Weber, C. (2012). The Use of High-Throughput Technologies to Investigate Vascular Inflammation and Atherosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, 32(2), 182-195. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.111.232686
  • 2011
    • Weber, C., & Noels, H. (2011). Atherosclerosis: current pathogenesis and therapeutic options. Nature Medicine, 17(11), 1410-1422. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2538
Overview