Page 22 - CBAC Newsletter 2014

I wanted to come to St. Louis and work in his lab. I gladly
accepted his invitation.

CBAC: While growing up, what kind of upbringing and ex-
periences that may have inspired your career choice?

As a child, I did not have an idea of what I wanted to
become, but I always asked questions and was highly
reluctant to believe peoples’ opinions for no reason. So
maybe, in hindsight, I already was a small scientist. During
high school, I really liked chemistry, physics, mathemat-
ics and biology. At that time, mathematics maybe suited
me better but I found biology more interesting. Therefore,
that is why I chose to study biomedical sciences at the
University of Utrecht.
as Boukens’ office is just a few doors down so it wasn’t
Bhard for me to find him. Peering into his office, one can CBAC: How did you get into your area of specialization?
see an easygoing young man comfortably dressed in jeans
and a grey sweater. We chatted for a bit and he showed My university education was composed of 3 years bach-
me the apparatus that he uses to conduct his research in elor and 2 years master. The master was composed of
the basement of Whitaker Hall. two internships of 9 and 6 months and three classes. I
chose the master biology of disease in which I selected
CBAC: How long have you been in your current position? classes on physiology. I did my first internship (6 months)
Can you give me an overview of what it is you do in your at the Department of Sports Medicine at the University
research? Medical Center Utrecht (UMC). [I did] my second intern-
ship at the Department of Experimental Cardiology at the
I started to work at the Department of Biomedical Engi- Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. During that peri-
neering in the lab of Dr. Efimov on the 1st of July 2013. od, I learned how to measure the intact heart in a Langen-
My personal interest is the relation between cardiac dorff set-up but also, and maybe more importantly, I was
molecular biology and electrophysiology. However, my introduced into the philosophy of science. That inspired
core expertise is in experimental cardiac electrophysiolo- me and I strongly advise Ph.D. students to learn about
gy. Currently, I am trying to understand the repolarization Karl Popper. So it is after that internship that I knew that I
patterns that give rise to the T wave and the mechanism wanted to become a philosophical doctor.
underlying right ventricular outflow tract based arrhyth-
mias. Furthermore, I am involved in several Ph.D. proj- CBAC: Describe your doctoral and post-doctoral training
ects with a main focus on panoramic optical imaging of experiences.
ventricular fibrillation and the optimization of forward and
inverse calculations between local electrical events on In the Netherlands, the Ph.D. period is not linked to a grad-
the heart and the body surface electrocardiogram. uate school like here in the USA. It is composed of four
years of research at a department at the university or aca-
CBAC: How did you come about being part of Dr. Efimov’s demic medical center. This period can be prolonged when
lab? there is money. I worked during my Ph.D. period at the de-
partment of Experimental Cardiology and the department
During my Ph.D. period, I presented my research on many of Anatomy, Embryology & Physiology. After four years, my
conferences in the USA. There, I met Dr. Efimov sever- mentors and I decided to prolong my Ph.D. period so that
al times. But before that I knew Dr. Efimov already from I had the opportunity to finish several projects. After 5.5
his work on the atrioventricular node and of his stud- years I received my Ph.D. certificate with Honors. After my
ies involving optical mapping. When a committee had Ph.D. period, I worked for seven months as a postdoctor-
to be selected for my thesis defense, I suggested to my al researcher at the department of Anatomy, Embryology

mentors to invite Dr. Efimov to serve as an opponent. & Physiology. In this same period, I visited the National
When Dr. Efimov was in Amsterdam, he asked me whether Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London for one

17 | CBAC Center Heartbeat