Van Horen conducts research into the interaction between the financial sector and the real economy. She studies the impact of major economic shocks - such as financial crises - on companies and households, the effects of new policy instruments - such as capital buffers - on the behaviour of banks, and the link between banks and governments. Much of her previous research has focused on the role of internationally operating banks in corporate lending and shock transmission. Van Horen has published in leading scientific journals, including Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, and American Economic Journal - Macroeconomics.

As an UvA professor, Van Horen will use her experience with socially relevant research in the education and research programmes of the UvA's Faculty of Economics and Business.

Van Horen joined the Bank of England on 1 June 2016. She is also a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). She has previously worked as a researcher at both De Nederlandsche Bank and the World Bank. She has held positions as a visiting scholar at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Federal Reserve Board. In addition, she is co-editor of Journal of Money, Credit and Banking and serves on the editorial board of Economic Policy. She obtained her PhD at the UvA with the thesis Economic Effects of Financial Integration for Developing Countries.