Four Amsterdam UMC researchers have been awarded a personal research Dekker grant from the Dutch Heart Foundation. The Dekker grants are awarded annually to talented scientists. They received in total € 1.7 million to set up or expand their own line of research in the cardiovascular field in the coming years.

The Dekker grants are being awarded for the 36th time this year. Ten talented researchers received a Dekker grant, of which four are from Amsterdam UMC and affiliated with the Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences research institute.

Jorien Treur (Adult Psychiatry) received the Senior Scientist Dekker grant to investigate the causal relationship between cardiovascular disease and mental health problems.

Anke Tijsen (Exp. Cardiology) received a Senior Scientist Dekker grant for research on rewriting DNA to cure heart failure.

Ralf Harskamp (General Practice) was awarded a Senior Clinical Scientist Dekker grant for his research on acute chest pain in general practice.

Molly O’Reilly (Exp. Cardiology) received the Postdoc Dekker grant to study the role of neuronal cells in the heart in inherited arrhythmias.

Visit the Heart Foundation website for more information regarding their awarded projects.

Left to right: Jorien Treur, Anke Tijsen, Ralf Harskamp, Molly O'Reilly Left to right: Jorien Treur, Anke Tijsen, Ralf Harskamp, Molly O'Reilly

About the Dekker grants

The Dekker grants are named after Dr. E. Dekker, former director of the Dutch Heart Foundation. He was the initiator in the Netherlands of civilian assistance in the event of a cardiac arrest. Dekker grants are personalized grants for talented cardiovascular researchers at various stages of their careers.

Scientific research is desperately needed to prevent people from dying or becoming ill from cardiovascular disease. That's why the Heart Foundation attracts top talent with its personalized Dekker grants and helps them build their own line of research. 

Source: Dutch Heart Foundation