Erasmus MC · Thorax Center · Department of Cardiology
How do cancer and cardiovascular disease shape one another — and what can we do about it, at the level of the patient, the cell, and the molecule.
Identifying patients prone to cardiotoxic events, and monitoring cardiac health throughout cancer treatment. Biomarkers such as cardiac troponins and NT-proBNP help detect early signs of cardiotoxicity, enabling timely intervention without interrupting cancer treatment.
We use state-of-the-art in vitro models — 2D iPSC-derived cell models and 3D cardiac organoids spanning cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts and endothelial cells — to study how cancer treatment affects the heart beyond the muscle cell alone.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed cancer treatment, but are associated with cardiovascular complications including myocarditis — rare, but potentially life-threatening. We work on biomarkers and early detection, evaluating cardiac troponin T across large cohorts, and on immunomodulatory management of these complications.
In parallel, we're studying the role immune checkpoints play in cardiac disease more broadly, using pre-clinical models and bioinformatics to identify disease-specific cell populations and interactions worth targeting.
Cardio-oncology began with patients developing cardiac events after cancer treatment. Given the shared risk factors between cardiovascular disease and cancer, our group pioneered work in the other direction: how heart failure itself affects cancer outcome.
Pre-clinically, we study how cardiac injury drives tumor growth, and which factors — secreted proteins, a reprogrammed immune system, gut microbiome dysbiosis — are responsible.
This is a selection. See the full list on PubMed ↗
Obtained his medical degree at Maastricht University, and later his PhD (cum laude) at the experimental cardiology department under prof. de Boer and prof. van Veldhuisen, focused on heart failure and cardio-oncology. He pioneered the reciprocal relationship between cancer and heart failure, and founded the field of cardio-immuno-oncology. The first Dutch cardiologist-in-training to complete a post-doctoral fellowship in cardio-oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center with prof. Moslehi, he is now a fellow of both the European Society of Cardiology and the Heart Failure Association, and continues his training in advanced heart failure and cardio-oncology at Erasmus MC, where he leads this group.
Laura Yousif obtained her undergraduate degree from the University College Roosevelt (UCR, Middelburg) in 2017. Following up, she received her Master’s degree in Biology of Disease from Utrecht University in 2020. During her Master’s period, she enrolled in a minor at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, with a special interest in cardiovascular immunology. Her educational background in translational research, combining molecular and cellular work with in vivo studies, and her interest in cardiology, immunology and oncology are put to work in her doctoral research into the role of immune checkpoints in cardiovascular biology and disease. In the summer of 2024, she went on a research visit to the University of Virginia in Charlotteville, US, to study the effect of cancer treatment on cardiac injury in CHIP carriers.
Ymke Appels obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Life Sciences with a minor in Biomedical Sciences at Utrecht University in 2021. Building on her undergraduate studies, she completed her Master’s in Regenerative Medicine & Technology at Utrecht University in 2023. During her Master’s period, she combined fundamental disciplines such as stem cell biology and material science with applied disciplines of cardiovascular regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and disease modelling. She moved to the Erasmus MC to further embark on her academic journey as a PhD student and apply her previous experience into the field of heart failure and cardio-oncology.
Aukje Sijtema obtained her bachelor’s degree in Medical Biology from the Radboud University in 2021. She went on to do her master’s in Human Biology at the same university. Recently she started her internship at the Erasmus Medical Centre. In the upcoming year she is eager to contribute to the research and apply her bioinformatics skills in combination with a training in wet-lab, in the field of cardiology, immunology and oncology. Aukje successfully finished her internship and joined the group as a PhD candidate to further incorporate bioinformatics into the field of cardio-oncology.
Koen Veroude obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Life Sciences from Utrecht University in 2023. Subsequently, he followed the master’s in Drug Innovation in Utrecht as well. During his Master’s he completed internships in the fields of adipocyte (Utrecht) and cancer biology (Dublin). Currently, Koen joined the group as a PhD candidate within the PRECISE consortium to study the molecular mechanisms within cardiomyopathy.
Keemaya Sahni obtained her Bachelor’s degree at University College Roosevelt (UCR, Middelburg) in 2024, after which she pursued a Master’s degree in Regenerative Medicine & Technology at Utrecht University. During her Master’s, she developed a multidisciplinary background in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and biofabrication. As part of her research at Regenerative Medicine Utrecht, she worked on engineering patient-specific ossicular grafts, gaining hands-on experience with advanced cell culture techniques, hydrogel systems, and 3D printing technologies. She subsequently did a research fellowship at Harvard University, where her research focused on studying the electrophysiology of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) in preclinical models. She will apply this knowledge during her PhD where she will apply complex 3D models to cardio-immunology.
Kaylin Molijn is currently completing her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Medical Laboratory Research at Leiden University of Applied Sciences. Her internship focuses on heart failure and cardio-oncology. She will be working on preclinical in vivo projects, a field in which she intends to specialize further. With a strong interest in immunology and infectious diseases, she is motivated to further develop her skills at the intersection of fundamental and applied research.
Chemistry, Utrecht University; Biomolecular Sciences, VU Amsterdam. Background in membrane biochemistry and cancer metabolism.
Erasmus Universiteit. Completing Molecular Medicine, bridging cardiovascular pathophysiology and translational research.
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Clinical cardio-oncology, biomarker and pathway analyses, with a research stay at the University of Leicester.
Life Science with a minor in Medical Biology. Worked on drug-induced cardiotoxicity using iPSC and organoid models.
Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Italy. Research spanning cancer resistance, COVID-19 lung pathology, and thrombus biophysics.
Studied HDAC inhibitors’ protective function in myocardial ischemia before moving into cardio-oncology at Erasmus MC.
