Team – Hemosum

Steering comite

Dr. Judith Cosemans

Platelet Biologist

Dr. Judith Cosemans holds a PhD degree (2009) in platelet biology, which focused on the dynamic regulation of thrombus stability. As a postdoc, she further developed flow chamber technology as a compatible alternative for experimental animal models of arterial thrombosis. She obtained two personal grants from the Dutch Heart Foundation (2011, 2015) and a personal Vidi grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (2016). As of April 2020, she leads the platelet research group in Maastricht, NL. With her research team she aims to:

• provide novel mechanistic insight into the pathophysiology of thrombosis in the heart and in the brain;
• develop better diagnostic tools and novel druggable targets to prevent recurrent thrombotic events.

Prof. Dr. Yvonne Henskens

Laboratory specialist in clinical chemistry

Prof. Dr. Yvonne Henskens is a laboratory specialist in clinical chemistry who has been working in (university) hospital laboratories for more than 20 years (Delft, Amsterdam, Maastricht). She is head of the laboratory units for hematology, hemostasis and transfusions of the Central Diagnostic Laboratory, Maastricht UMC+ since 2003. Since 2020 she has a personal professorship in Clinical chemistry, specialized in hemostasis, on different themes concerning coagulation and diagnostics:

• laboratory predictors and algorithms of bleeding, thrombosis and anticoagulation
• pre- and peri-operative management of bleeding and coagulopathies
• platelet function testing

She is active in the boards of the Dutch societies for hematological laboratories and clinical chemistry, in advisory boards and guideline committees. Furthermore she is involved in training and education of medical and life sciences students, laboratory technicians and residents. She founded a re-training program on hemostasis and transfusion for technicians, medical residents and clinical biochemists for the south-east part of The Netherlands.

Dr. Paola van der Meijden

Platelet Biologist

Initially trained in Biological Health Sciences at Maastricht University, Dr. Paola van der Meijden obtained a PhD in Biochemistry on the interaction mechanisms of platelets and coagulation; focus on P2Y12 receptor and factor XII.

In 2010 she acquired a unique bridging position, encapsulated within the Maastricht Thrombosis Expertise Center, aiming to link basic research on thrombosis and hemostasis with clinical research and applications. In 2014 she received the ISTH-EHA Fellowship to gain new insights into the determinants of bleeding in patients with thrombocytopenia due to hematological malignancies and chemotherapy. The focus of her current work is on the interactions between platelets and coagulation in acquired hemostatic dysfunction as a consequence of disease and treatment. She has a special interest in the priming of platelets and the functional specialization of platelet populations. The aim is to develop and integrate diagnostic tools for thrombosis and hemostasis that enable improved disease management.

Dr. Henri Spronk

Biochemist in coagulation

Following classical training in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Radboud University Nijmegen, Dr. Spronk completed his PhD thesis on the role of vitamin K-dependent proteins in vascular calcification. Triggered by the pleiotropic effects of the anticoagulant vitamin K antagonists (warfarin and coumarin) and the observation that almost all coagulation factors are present or expressed within the arterial vessel wall and more precisely, within atherosclerotic lesions, the research focused on the role of hypercoagulability and cardiovascular disease. Research demonstrated that active coagulation enzymes, mainly thrombin and factor Xa, contribute to the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Inhibition of the coagulation enzymes causes diminished plaque formation and recent data suggest that regression of atherosclerosis is possible through inhibition of factor Xa.

Besides atherosclerosis, the impact of hypercoagulability on the development and progression of atrial fibrillation was demonstrated, thereby providing additional evidence that coagulation is a key player in development of cardiovascular disease. In line with this, the applicability of assays for plasma thrombin generation and active coagulation enzymes as predictors for thrombotic cardiovascular events or bleeding are studied in animal models and (large) patient cohorts.

Translational research work includes the development of biomarker assays and subsequent technical and clinical validation. Expertise and knowledge on (global) haemostatic assays, is applied in the development of a new diagnostic devices for routine measurement of activated platelet and point-of-care thrombin generation.

Team members

Bas van Bussel

MD, PhD - Internist-intensivist, MUMC+

Bas van Bussel is internist-intensivist, epidemiologist B, researcher at CARIM, board member of the Stichting Nice and board member Stichting ICU data. He is an expert in the field of data in healthcare and has been the co-PI of the international CoDaP project. He also initiated and still coordinates the Maastricht Intensive Care Covid cohort and the Euregio Covid Cohort, and he is involved in several National and European research grants and projects.

Floor Heubel-Moenen

MD, PhD - Internist-hematologist, MUMC+

Floor Heubel-Moenen is internist-haematologist and haemophilia practitioner at the MUMC+. Her focus is on diagnosing and treating patients with bleeding disorders, patients with myeloproliferative disorders and mastocytosis, patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and patients with aplastic anemia. In January 2022 she completed her PhD research 'Diagnostics and Mechanisms of Hemostasis in patients with mild bleeding disorders and thrombocytopenia'. She is convinced that good cooperation between doctors, the laboratory and the research departments forms the perfect basis for innovation and excellent patient care.

Geert-Jan Kuiper

MD, PhD - Anesthesiologist, MUMC

Dr. Kuiper has over 10 years of research experience in the field of point-of-care hemostasis testing. After obtaining his PhD in 2018 he worked at the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada, focusing on high-risk anesthesia in transplant recipients, in oncological patients, and in patients for cardiac anesthesia. As of 2020, he returned to Maastricht to reinvigorate hemostasis research at the anesthesia department of Maastricht UMC+. For HEMOSUM he will focus on tailoring viscoelastic testing in acute and critical care with integration of other point-of-care testing.

Liesbeth Scheepers

MD, PhD - Gynaecologist, MUMC+

Liesbeth Scheepers is gynaecologist and primary investigator of several studies on postpartum haemorrhage (PPH): the FLUXIM study, on the implementation of guidelines for PPH prevention and management, resulting in a nationwide implementation of a safety checklist; and the REFILL study, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the effects of liberal or restrictive fluid resuscitation in mild PPH on clinical outcome and coagulation. Besides PPH management, we established reference values for ROTEM in pregnancy and during labour.

Pim Schol

MD, PhD - Gynaecologist, MUMC+

Pim Schol is gynaecologist specialising in obstetric care. Her PhD focused on postpartum haemorrhage with the REFILL study as main component. The REFILL study was an randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the effects of liberal or restrictive fluid resuscitation in mild PPH on clinical outcome and coagulation.

Kristien Winckers

Internist-vascular medicine

Kristien Winckers is an internist specialized in vascular medicine. She is now employed at the Maastricht University Medical Centre. Her expertise is venous thrombosis, thrombophilia and antithrombotic management. A project during the last year of her medical study aroused her interest in thrombosis and haemostasis and as a result, she started a PhD project in 2008 on the role of tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) in venous and arterial thrombosis at the department of biochemistry under supervision of prof. Dr. H. ten Cate and prof Dr. T. Hackeng. She successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled: `The role of tissue factor pathway inhibitor in venous and arterial thrombosis and she received her doctorate degree . In 2017 she started her fellowship in vascular medicine at the Maastricht University Medical Centre. During that fellowship she did an internship in general vascular medicine in Zuyderland Medisch Centrum (Heerlen, the Netherlands) and on thrombosis and haemostasis at the university hospital Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) under supervision of prof. Dr. P. Verhamme.