Hester den Ruijter

Hester den Ruijter
Professor of Cardiovascular Disease in Women
UMC Utrecht
Personalised Medicine & Health

"I'm really inspired by women."

Heart disease develops differently in men and women, and the last two decades have seen an increase in awareness and research into gender-specific differences. For example, small vessel disease occurs when there is a narrowing, damage or blockage of the tiny blood vessels in the heart (not the main arteries). It’s more common in women and is often under-diagnosed, resulting in delayed or inadequate treatment. Hester’s research focuses on gender-specific biomarkers (biological indicators of disease) for heart disease in women.

Key words
Cardiovascular, heart failure, heart disease, epidemiology, biomarkers, sex, gender, women

Brief bio of Hester
Hester received MSc degrees in Clinical Epidemiology from Utrecht University, and in Nutrition and Health from Wageningen University. Her PhD thesis at the University of Amsterdam focused on the helpful properties of fish oil on irregular heartbeat, and she was a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Experimental Cardiology, Amsterdam Medical Center. In 2012 Hester became Associate Professor in the Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, UMC Utrecht. In addition to her research, Hester has been an associate editor for Frontiers in Cardiac Electrophysiology, is a member of the Board of Directors, Vrienden UMC Utrecht and a member of the KNAW Young Academy; she is the scientific manager at Arthero-Express Biobank and a consultant for Cavadis, BV and ACS Biomarker, BV.