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ERC Advanced Grant awarded to Prof. Andy Baker

ERC Advanced Grant awarded to Prof. Andy Baker

15 April 2024

Prof. Andy Baker (Dept of Pathology) has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant of €2,5M for his research project PolymiRize: Poly-miRNA targeting to prevent and reverse complex tissue remodelling after acute cardiovascular events'.

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Longer and better lives for patients with atrial fibrillation

Longer and better lives for patients with atrial fibrillation

15 April 2024

An international panel of experts published recommendations to improve management of atrial fibrillation (AF).

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Carim Maastricht
Carim Maastricht

Sander Verheule

Associate professor

Dr Sander Verheule has studied Biology at the University of Utrecht, with internships at the Hubrecht Laboratory for Developmental Biology and at the Department of Neurophysiology (VU Amsterdam). As a PhD student in the group of Dr Habo Jongsma (Department of Medical Physiology, Utrecht), he investigated the distribution and electrophysiological behavior of gap junction channels in various regions of the heart, defending his PhD thesis in 1999. From 1999-2003, he worked as an AHA post-doctoral fellow in the group of Dr Jeffrey Olgin and Dr Douglas Zipes at the Krannert Institute of Cardiology in Indianapolis, Indiana. There, his research focussed on the impact of structural remodeling on atrial conduction.

In 2003, Dr Verheule joined the electrophysiology group at the Department of Physiology in Maastricht. In his current research, he investigates the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying atrial fibrillation, and the recognition of these mechanisms in patients. His two main research questions are 1) How do atrial vascular and metabolic remodeling contribute to the progression of atrial fibrillation? and 2) How do changes in atrial tissue structure affect atrial electrical propagation?

 

Sander-verheule

Department of Physiology
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht
Room number: F3.118
T: +31(0)43 388 10 76

  • 2016
    • Antonopoulos, A. S., Margaritis, M., Verheule, S., Recalde, A., Sanna, F., Herdman, L., Psarros, C., Nasrallah, H., Coutinho, P., Akoumianakis, I., Brewer, A. C., Sayeed, R., Krasopoulos, G., Petrou, M., Tarun, A., Tousoulis, D., Shah, A. M., Casadei, B., Channon, K. M., & Antoniades, C. (2016). Mutual Regulation of Epicardial Adipose Tissue and Myocardial Redox State by PPAR-gamma/Adiponectin Signalling. Circulation Research, 118(5), 842-855. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.115.307856
  • 2015
    • Schotten, U., Hatem, S., Ravens, U., Jais, P., Mueller, F.-U., Goette, A., Rohr, S., Antoons, G., Pieske, B., Scherr, D., Oto, A., Casadei, B., Verheule, S., Cartlidge, D., Steinmeyer, K., Goetsche, T., Dobrev, D., Kockskaemper, J., Lendeckel, U., ... Camm, A. J. (2015). The European Network for Translational Research in Atrial Fibrillation (EUTRAF): objectives and initial results. EP Europace, 17(10), 1457-1466. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euv252
    • Lau, D. H., Maesen, B., Zeemering, S., Kuklik, P., van Hunnik, A., Lankveld, T. A. R., Bidar, E., Verheule, S., Nijs, J., Maessen, J., Crijns, H., Sanders, P., & Schotten, U. (2015). Indices of bipolar complex fractionated atrial electrograms correlate poorly with each other and atrial fibrillation substrate complexity. Heart Rhythm, 12(7), 1415-1423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2015.03.017
    • Chilukoti, R. K., Giese, A., Malenke, W., Homuth, G., Bukowska, A., Goette, A., Felix, S. B., Kanaan, J., Wollert, H. .-G., Evert, K., Verheule, S., Jais, P., Hatem, S. N., Lendeckel, U., & Wolke, C. (2015). Atrial fibrillation and rapid acute pacing regulate adipocyte/adipositas-related gene expression in the atria. International Journal of Cardiology, 187, 604-613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.03.072
    • van Bragt, K. A., Nasrallah, H. M., Kuiper, M., van Hunnik, A., Kuijpers, N. H. L., Schotten, U., & Verheule, S. (2015). Dynamic regulation of atrial coronary blood flow in healthy adult pigs. Heart Rhythm, 12(5), 991-1000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2015.01.016
    • Linz, D., van Hunnik, A., Hohl, M., Mahfoud, F., Wolf, M., Neuberger, H.-R., Casadei, B., Reilly, S. N., Verheule, S., Boehm, M., & Schotten, U. (2015). Catheter-Based Renal Denervation Reduces Atrial Nerve Sprouting and Complexity of Atrial Fibrillation in Goats. Circulation-Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, 8(2), 466-U294. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCEP.114.002453
    • Kuklik, P., Zeemering, S., Maesen, B., Maessen, J., Crijns, H. J., Verheule, S., Ganesan, A. N., & Schotten, U. (2015). Reconstruction of Instantaneous Phase of Unipolar Atrial Contact Electrogram Using a Concept of Sinusoidal Recomposition and Hilbert Transform. Ieee Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 62(1), 296-302. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2014.2350029
  • 2014
    • Linz, D., Hunnik, A. V., Ukena, C., Mahfoud, F., Ewen, S., Verheule, S., Böhm, M., & Schotten, U. (2014). Effects of renal denervation on atrial arrhythmogenesis. Future Cardiology, 10(6), 813-22. https://doi.org/10.2217/fca.14.43
    • Greiser, M., Kerfant, B.-G., Williams, G. S. B., Voigt, N., Harks, E., Dibb, K. M., Giese, A., Meszaros, J., Verheule, S., Ravens, U., Allessie, M. A., Gammie, J. S., van der Velden, J., Lederer, W. J., Dobrev, D., & Schotten, U. (2014). Tachycardia-induced silencing of subcellular Ca2+ signaling in atrial myocytes. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 124(11), 4759-4772. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI70102
    • Verheule, S., Eckstein, J., Linz, D., Maesen, B., Bidar, E., Gharaviri, A., & Schotten, U. (2014). Role of endo-epicardial dissociation of electrical activity and transmural conduction in the development of persistent atrial fibrillation. Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology, 115(2-3), 173-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2014.07.007
    • Bidar, E., Maesen, B., Nieman, F., Verheule, S., Schotten, U., & Maessen, J. G. (2014). A prospective randomized controlled trial on the incidence and predictors of late-phase postoperative atrial fibrillation up to 30 days and the preventive value of biatrial pacing. Heart Rhythm, 11(7), 1156-1162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2014.03.040
    • van Bragt, K. A., Nasrallah, H. M., Kuiper, M., Luiken, J. J., Schotten, U., & Verheule, S. (2014). Atrial supplydemand balance in healthy adult pigs: coronary blood flow, oxygen extraction, and lactate production during acute atrial fibrillation. Cardiovascular Research, 101(1), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvt239
  • 2013
    • Maesen, B., Zeemering, S., Afonso, C., Eckstein, J., Burton, R. A. B., van Hunnik, A., Stuckey, D. J., Tyler, D., Maessen, J., Grau, V., Verheule, S., Kohl, P., & Schotten, U. (2013). Rearrangement of Atrial Bundle Architecture and Consequent Changes in Anisotropy of Conduction Constitute the 3-Dimensional Substrate for Atrial Fibrillation. Circulation-Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, 6(5), 967-975. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCEP.113.000050
    • Kirchhof, P., Marijon, E., Fabritz, L., Li, N., Wang, W., Wang, T., Schulte, K., Hanstein, J., Schulte, J. S., Vogel, M., Mougenot, N., Laakmann, S., Fortmueller, L., Eckstein, J., Verheule, S., Kaese, S., Staab, A., Grote-Wessels, S., Schotten, U., ... Mueller, F. U. (2013). Overexpression of cAMP-response element modulator causes abnormal growth and development of the atrial myocardium resulting in a substrate for sustained atrial fibrillation in mice. International Journal of Cardiology, 166(2), 366-374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2011.10.057
    • Eckstein, J., Zeemering, S., Linz, D., Maesen, B., Verheule, S., van Hunnik, A., Crijns, H., Allessie, M. A., & Schotten, U. (2013). Transmural Conduction Is the Predominant Mechanism of Breakthrough During Atrial Fibrillation Evidence From Simultaneous Endo-Epicardial High-Density Activation Mapping. Circulation-Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, 6(2), 334-341. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCEP.113.000342
    • Verheule, S., Tuyls, E., Gharaviri, A., Hulsmans, S., van Hunnik, A., Kuiper, M., Serroyen, J., Zeemering, S., Kuijpers, N. H. L., & Schotten, U. (2013). Loss of Continuity in the Thin Epicardial Layer Because of Endomysial Fibrosis Increases the Complexity of Atrial Fibrillatory Conduction. Circulation-Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, 6(1), 202-211. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCEP.112.975144
  • 2012
    • Gharaviri, A., Verheule, S., Eckstein, J., Potse, M., Kuijpers, N. H. L., & Schotten, U. (2012). A computer model of endo-epicardial electrical dissociation and transmural conduction during atrial fibrillation. EP Europace, 14, V10-V16. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/eus270
    • Lau, D. H., Maesen, B., Zeemering, S., Verheule, S., Crijns, H. J., & Schotten, U. (2012). Stability of Complex Fractionated Atrial Electrograms: A Systematic Review. Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, 23(9), 980-987. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-8167.2012.02335.x
    • Kornet, L., van Hunnik, A., Michels, K., Verheule, S., Della Scala, A., West, T., Kessels, R., & Cornelussen, R. (2012). Stimulation of the intra-cardiac vagal nerves innervating the AV-node to control ventricular rate during AF: specificity, parameter optimization and chronic use up to 3 months. Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology, 33(1), 7-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10840-011-9619-4
  • 2011
    • Reilly, S. N., Jayaram, R., Nahar, K., Antoniades, C., Verheule, S., Channon, K. M., Alp, N. J., Schotten, U., & Casadei, B. (2011). Atrial Sources of Reactive Oxygen Species Vary With the Duration and Substrate of Atrial Fibrillation Implications for the Antiarrhythmic Effect of Statins. Circulation, 124(10), 1107-U91. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.111.029223
    • Kirchhof, P., Kahr, P. C., Kaese, S., Piccini, I., Vokshi, I., Scheld, H.-H., Rotering, H., Fortmueller, L., Laakmann, S., Verheule, S., Schotten, U., Fabritz, L., & Brown, N. A. (2011). PITX2c Is Expressed in the Adult Left Atrium, and Reducing Pitx2c Expression Promotes Atrial Fibrillation Inducibility and Complex Changes in Gene Expression. Circulation : Cardiovascular Genetics, 4(2), 123-U84. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.110.958058
    • Kuijpers, N. H. L., Potse, M., van Dam, P. M., ten Eikelder, H. M. M., Verheule, S., Prinzen, F. W., & Schotten, U. (2011). Mechanoelectrical coupling enhances initiation and affects perpetuation of atrial fibrillation during acute atrial dilation. Heart Rhythm, 8(3), 429-436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2010.11.020
    • Eckstein, J., Maesen, B., Linz, D., Zeemering, S., van Hunnik, A., Verheule, S., Allessie, M., & Schotten, U. (2011). Time course and mechanisms of endo-epicardial electrical dissociation during atrial fibrillation in the goat. Cardiovascular Research, 89(4), 816-824. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvq336
    • Schotten, U., Verheule, S., Kirchhof, P., & Goette, A. (2011). Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Atrial Fibrillation: A Translational Appraisal. Physiological Reviews, 91(1), 265-325. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00031.2009
  • 2010
    • Verheule, S., Tuyls, E., van Hunnik, A., Kuiper, M., Schotten, U., & Allessie, M. (2010). Fibrillatory Conduction in the Atrial Free Walls of Goats in Persistent and Permanent Atrial Fibrillation. Circulation-Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, 3(6), 590-U64. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCEP.109.931634
    • Blana, A., Kaese, S., Fortmueller, L., Laakmann, S., Damke, D., van Bragt, K., Eckstein, J., Piccini, I., Kirchhefer, U., Nattel, S., Breithardt, G., Carmeliet, P., Carmeliet, E., Schotten, U., Verheule, S., Kirchhof, P., & Fabritz, L. (2010). Knock-in gain-of-function sodium channel mutation prolongs atrial action potentials and alters atrial vulnerability. Heart Rhythm, 7(12), 1862-1869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2010.08.016
Overview