Hedwig Kruitwagen is a veterinarian with special expertise in companion animal medicine. Her main interest lies in the field of hepatology. This interest was raised during her studies, when she did a two year research project on developing a new therapeutic strategy for canine liver disease. After graduating in July 2010 she briefly worked as a clinician in private practice. She then joined the research lab of the Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals as a PhD candidate. On the 14th of December 2017 she defended her PhD thesis entitled: 'Growth factors and hepatic progenitor cells in liver regeneration - translating bench to bedside.' She now works as a postdoc with a primary focus on adult liver stem cell transplantations in dogs with metabolic liver disease.