Sander Verheule

Associate professor

Dr Sander Verheule has studied Biology at the University of Utrecht, with internships at the Hubrecht Laboratory for Developmental Biology and at the Department of Neurophysiology (VU Amsterdam). As a PhD student in the group of Dr Habo Jongsma (Department of Medical Physiology, Utrecht), he investigated the distribution and electrophysiological behavior of gap junction channels in various regions of the heart, defending his PhD thesis in 1999. From 1999-2003, he worked as an AHA post-doctoral fellow in the group of Dr Jeffrey Olgin and Dr Douglas Zipes at the Krannert Institute of Cardiology in Indianapolis, Indiana. There, his research focussed on the impact of structural remodeling on atrial conduction.

In 2003, Dr Verheule joined the electrophysiology group at the Department of Physiology in Maastricht. In his current research, he investigates the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying atrial fibrillation, and the recognition of these mechanisms in patients. His two main research questions are 1) How do atrial vascular and metabolic remodeling contribute to the progression of atrial fibrillation? and 2) How do changes in atrial tissue structure affect atrial electrical propagation?

Department of Physiology
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht
Room number: F3.118
T: +31(0)43 388 10 76

2024
- Hermans, B., Özgül, O., Wolf, M., Gonçalves Marques, V., van Hunnik, A., Verheule, S., Chaldoupi, S. M., Linz, D., El Haddad, M., Duytschaever, M., Bonizzi, P., Vernooy, K., Knecht, S., Zeemering, S., & Schotten, U. (2024). Selecting repetitive focal and rotational activation patterns with the highest probability of being a source of atrial fibrillation. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology Plus, 7, Article 100064. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772976124000047
2023
- Winters, J., Isaacs, A., Zeemering, S., Kawczynski, M., Maesen, B., Maessen, J., Bidar, E., Boukens, B., Hermans, B., van Hunnik, A., Casadei, B., Fabritz, L., Chua, W., Sommerfeld, L., Guasch, E., Mont, L., Batlle, M., Hatem, S., Kirchhof, P., ... Schotten, U. (2023). Heart Failure, Female Sex, and Atrial Fibrillation Are the Main Drivers of Human Atrial Cardiomyopathy: Results From the CATCH ME Consortium. Journal of the American Heart Association, 12(22), Article e031220. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.123.031220
- Carstensen, H., Nissen, S. D., Saljic, A., Hesselkilde, E. M., van Hunnik, A., Hohl, M., Sattler, S. M., Flogstad, C., Hopster-Iversen, C., Verheule, S., Bohm, M., Schotten, U., Jespersen, T., & Buhl, R. (2023). Long-Term Training Increases Atrial Fibrillation Sustainability in Standardbred Racehorses. Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research, 16(5), 1205-1219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-023-10378-6
- Ozgul, O., Hermans, B. JM., van Hunnik, A., Verheule, S., Schotten, U., Bonizzi, P., & Zeemering, S. (2023). High-density and high coverage composite mapping of repetitive atrial activation patterns. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 159(1), Article 106920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.106920
2022
- D'Alessandro, E., Winters, J., van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., Schotten, U., & Verheule, S. (2022). The Complex Relation between Atrial Cardiomyopathy and Thrombogenesis. Cells, 11(19), Article 2963. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11192963
- Maesen, B., Verheule, S., Zeemering, S., La Meir, M., Nijs, J., Lumeij, S., Lau, D. H., Granier, M., Crijns, H. J., Maessen, J. G., Dhein, S., & Schotten, U. (2022). Endomysial fibrosis, rather than overall connective tissue content, is the main determinant of conduction disturbances in human atrial fibrillation. EP Europace, 24(6), 1015-1024. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euac026
- Kawczynski, M. J., Zeemering, S., Gilbers, M., Isaacs, A., Verheule, S., Zink, M. D., Maesen, B., Bramer, S., Van Gelder, I. C., Crijns, H. J. G. M., Schotten, U., & Bidar, E. (2022). New-onset perioperative atrial fibrillation in cardiac surgery patients: transient trouble or persistent problem?-Authors' reply. EP Europace, 24(6), 1037-1038. Article 317. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euab317
- van der Heijden, C. A. J., Verheule, S., Olsthoorn, J. R., Mihl, C., Poulina, L., van Kuijk, S. M. J., Heuts, S., Maessen, J. G., Bidar, E., & Maesen, B. (2022). Postoperative atrial fibrillation and atrial epicardial fat: Is there a link?IJC Heart and Vasculature, 39, Article 100976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcha.2022.100976
- Zink, M. D., Laureanti, R., Hermans, B. J. M., Pison, L., Verheule, S., Philippens, S., Pluymaekers, N., Vroomen, M., Hermans, A., van Hunnik, A., Crijns, H. J. G. M., Vernooy, K., Linz, D., Mainardi, L., Auricchio, A., Zeemering, S., & Schotten, U. (2022). Extended ECG Improves Classification of Paroxysmal and Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Based on P- and f-Waves. Frontiers in physiology, 13, Article 779826. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.779826
- Ramos, K. S., Pool, L., van Schie, M. S., Wijdeveld, L. F. J. M., van der Does, W. F. B., Baks, L., Sultan, H. M. D., van Wijk, S. W., Bogers, A. J. J. C., Verheule, S., de Groot, N. M. S., & Brundel, B. J. J. M. (2022). Degree of Fibrosis in Human Atrial Tissue Is Not the Hallmark Driving AF. Cells, 11(3), Article 427. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11030427

Overview

Latest news & events

Professorship Julie Staals

22 April 2024

ERC Advanced Grant awarded to Prof. Andy Baker

15 April 2024

Sander Verheule

Associate professor