Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences

During National Postdoc Appreciation Week, we are excited to shine a spotlight on the postdoctoral researchers at Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences. Postdocs are a vital part of our institute: they contribute to groundbreaking research, mentor young scientists, and bring new perspectives. In this series of short articles, we introduce some of our postdocs to you. We asked them about their research, their motivations, and their experiences as postdocs. Get to know the people behind the science and be inspired by their stories! Today in the spotlight: Aida Llucià-Valldeperas, Postdoctoral researcher at Pulmonary
Medicine.

Aida Llucià-Valldeperas

What is the most important or interesting topic you are currently working on, and why does it appeal to you?

I am trying to develop a human in vitro cardiac model to study the pathophysiology of PAH using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients. I would like to reproduce in the lab all the changes that the heart goes through and finally lead to right heart failure.

What impact do you hope your research will have on the field of cardiovascular science or on society?
Currently, there are no specific treatments for right heart failure, and the main reason is the absence of reliable pre-clinical models. My goal is to use iPSC-derivates to build a human cardiac model that resembles the patients' heart as accurate as possible. This model could be used for both disease modelling and drug screening, reducing the difficult translation from the bench to the bedside.

What do you enjoy most or find most challenging about working as a postdoc, and do you have any tips for other early-career researchers?
I enjoy working with cells and all the brainstorming behind an idea, especially the freedom on the project design. The most challenging aspect is that you always need to be one step further to have novel ideas and be able to get some funding.

My advice is to be passionate and perseverant. It's a challenging position with a "roller coaster profile," so your passion will keep you afloat.

Postdoc appreciation week
From 15–19 September 2025, the Netherlands will host the first edition of Postdoc
Appreciation Week NL (PAW_NL). 

Events will be taking place accross the country. This is your opportunity to
connect, learn, and celebrate the contributions of postdoctoral researchers at
both local and national level

The program is published on the LinkedIn page Postdoc Appreciation Week NL and on the PostdocNL website Announcing Postdoc Appreciation Week – POSTDOCNL.

Photo: Adobe Stock