Jolanda Kluin’s research focuses on translational research in cardiothoracic surgery. True translational cardiothoracic research involves the whole spectrum, from molecular biology, computational modelling, engineering, and preclinical animal studies to clinical studies and finally epidemiological follow-up studies. Besides fundamental research on the cellular and molecular level, collaboration between cardiac surgeons on one side and computational and engineering expertise on the other leads to innovations that improve the care of patients with heart disease. By planning and conducting the proper studies and trials, Kluin aims to translate laboratory findings to clinical practice.

As professor at the UvA, Kluin’s primary focus will be on regenerative medicine, congenital cardiac surgery, heart failure and valve surgery. This includes heart valve tissue engineering, the development of a soft robotics total artificial heart and long-term clinical follow-up studies on aortic valve repair surgery. She will build bench to bedside research lines on these topics. These lines are truly translational in the sense that they will include molecular biology, computational modelling and engineering, preclinical animal and clinical studies, as well as epidemiological follow-up studies.

About Jolanda Kluin

Kluin has been a staff member at the Amsterdam University Medical Center’s (Amsterdam UMC) department of Cardiothoracic Surgery since 2015, where she currently holds a post as congenital cardiothoracic surgeon. From 2006 to 2014, she was a staff member at Utrecht University Medical Center (UMC Utrecht). She was trained in Rotterdam where she obtained her doctorate cum laude. 

Kluin is the recipient of, among others, prestigious grants from the European Union (Future and Emerging Technologies), the Netherlands Heart Foundation (CVON) and the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). She is the recipient of various awards and publishes extensively in international peer-reviewed journals. In addition, she is reviewer for many international journals and acts as adviser to the Ministries of Health of Great Britain, Ireland, Czech Republic, Germany and France on the awarding of grants. She has been a faculty member of many international meetings on cardiothoracic surgery and collaborates with scientists, engineers, cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons from around the world.