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I am born in Utrecht, on the 9th of August, 1956. Since May 2012, I fulfill a professorship in Cardiology for women at the department of Cardiology, working on the theme Vascular damage.
Where do you live and with whom?
I live in Apeldoorn with my husband Ernst. Our two sons are grown up and live elsewhere.
When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? Can you tell us something about your child years?
My father was a GP with a practice at home, in a very nice area in Utrecht, close to the Wilhelminapark. Since early childhood I also wanted to become a doctor. My 3 sisters and 1 brother were not interested in medicine and they have made other choices.
When I was about 16 years I read in the paper that prof Barnard from South Africa was coming to Utrecht to give a lecture about the first heart transplant in the world. I went to listen and was fascinated, but never realized at the time that it could be possible to become a cardiologist.
What was your previous academic training, where did you study and why did you choose that study/those studies?
After the gymnasium in Utrecht I went to Groningen to study Medicine. I did my internship during two years on Curaçao, the Caribbean. This gave me the opportunity to travel around in central and south America. These years are still very relevant in my life, I made so many friends and contacts which still exist. Over the last decade I have been back several times and I organized the first conference on Women’s Health in the Caribbean in 2019 on Curaçao.
I did my cardiology studies in a non-academic hospital, the St Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein. Afterwards I worked 5 years in Arnhem and 20 years as a cardiologist in Zwolle.
Of which of your research discoveries, you are most proud of?
That women after preeclampsia/HELLP are at higher CV risk and this should be mentioned as such in the guidelines. This has been effectuated a few years ago!
What is your most important scientific challenge in the coming 5 years?
To implement gender-sensitive cardiology in clinical practice. We have made great progress over the past years and I am very positive about this.
If you could choose any mentor, who would this be?
I had many mentors during my career, and they often did not know. To mention two great examples, prof Nanette Wenger, cardiologist in Atlanta. She is the ‘mother of Cardiology for women’. We have met on many occasions over the past decades and we have worked together on a large project. She is still active and just turned 90 years old! The other one is Prof Noel Bairey Merz, director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Health Clinic at Cedars Sinai in LA. We wrote a book together (Manual Gynecology-2017) and she is a good friend of mine.
What is your favorite topic: molecules - patients - population?
Patients, without any hesitation.
What should be changed / improved in the scientific community?
We should interact much more among the various basic and clinical disciplines. Innovation is hidden on the dividing line of different disciplines. We should take the lifecourse of patients more into account and not the limitations of our own sub-specialities.
Is there anything we can wake you up for in the middle of the night?
The upcoming elections of the new US president!
What is the thing that irritates you most?
Clinicians who are not open minded to new insights.
Who would you like to have dinner with, if you had the chance?
Angela Merkel. She is a role-model for everyone, men and women.
How do you relax from the demanding job being a scientist?
Walking outside and Netflix inside. We love to attend concerts , mostly in Amsterdam.
Do you have a tip for our most junior scientists?
Learn from your failures and from leadership courses. Personal development is crucial.
Can you share a photo that represents a remarkable event or experience you were part of? Please explain.
The group picture was taken on Curaçao in 2019 at the first conference on Women’s Health in the Caribbean. I love the mix of cultures.
