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Uyên Châu Nguyên wins UM Dissertation Prize 2025

Uyên Châu Nguyên wins UM Dissertation Prize 2025

29 January 2026

During the Dies Natalis of Maastricht University, Uyên Châu Nguyên received the UM Dissertation Prize 2025.

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Global research network launched to study menopause and heart health

Global research network launched to study menopause and heart health

20 January 2026

Ten international health research funders, including the Dutch Heart Foundation, are investing $10 million in a new global research network to improve early prevention of cardiovascular disease in women. The initiative focuses on understanding how menopause affects heart health and how early intervention can reduce risk.

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Carim Maastricht
Carim Maastricht

Christian Weber

Professor

Prof. Christian Weber is the Chair in Vascular Medicine and the Director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention at Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, Germany, and Professor at the CARIM. After graduating and completing his training in internal medicine at LMU and Harvard Medical School, Boston, he was board-certified in clinical cardiology and appointed as a Chair in Molecular Cardiology at RWTH Aachen University. His group has a strong interest in the molecular interactions and patho-physiological functions of chemokines and immune cell subsets, as well as the role of microRNAs and their targets in vascular disease and atherosclerosis, while his clinical interests focus on developing novel biomarkers and biopharmaceuticals. He is the Spokesman of the DFG Collaborative Research Centre SFB1123 and coordinates the partner site Munich Heart Alliance in the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). Among numerous awards, he is a double ERC Advanced Investigator Grant recipient and Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher with more than 560 publications and an h-index of 97. He serves as the Editor-in-Chiefof Thrombosis&Haemostasis, Senior Associate Editor of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis & Vascular Biology andco-founderofCarolusTherapeutics Inc. and Cartesio Therapeutics Inc.

  • Vascular Immunotherapy, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (BMBF DZHK
  • MHA VD1.2), 2019-2020
  • Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), DFG Excellence Initiative, 2019-2026
  • ERC Advanced Grant °692511, PROVASC: Cell-specific vascular protection by CXCL12/CXCR4, 2016- 2022 ERC AdG
  • NIH 1R01HL122843, Molecular mechanisms linking CXCL12 to atherosclerosis, 2017-2020
  • DFG Collaborative Research Centre 1123 Atherosclerosis: new therapeutic targets, 2014-2022
Christian-weber

Department of Biochemistry
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht

  • 2022
    • Habenicht, L. K. L., Wang, Z. H., Zhang, X., Li, Y. F., Mogler, C., Huspenina, J. S., Schmid, R. M., Weber, C., Mohanta, S. K., Ma, Z., & Yin, C. J. (2022). The C1q-ApoE complex: A new hallmark pathology of viral hepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Frontiers in Immunology, 13, Article 970938. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.970938
    • Brandhofer, M., Hoffmann, A., Blanchet, X., Siminkovitch, E., Rohlfing, A. K., El Bounkari, O., Nestele, J. A., Bild, A., Kontos, C., Hille, K., Rohde, V., Froehlich, A., Golemi, J., Gokce, O., Krammer, C., Scheiermann, P., Tsilimparis, N., Sachs, N., Kempf, W. E., ... Bernhagen, J. (2022). Heterocomplexes between the atypical chemokine MIF and the CXC-motif chemokine CXCL4L1 regulate inflammation and thrombus formation. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 79(10), Article 512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-022-04539-0
    • Nitz, K., Lacy, M., Bianchini, M., Wichapong, K., Kücükgöze, I. A., Bonfiglio, C. A., Migheli, R., Wu, Y., Burger, C., Li, Y., Forné, I., Ammar, C., Janjic, A., Mohanta, S., Duchene, J., Heemskerk, J. W. M., Megens, R. T. A., Schwedhelm, E., Huveneers, S., ... Atzler, D. (2022). The Amino Acid Homoarginine Inhibits Atherogenesis by Modulating T-Cell Function. Circulation Research, 131(8), 701-712. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321094
    • Hettwer, J., Hinterdobler, J., Miritsch, B., Deutsch, M.-A., Li, X., Mauersberger, C., Moggio, A., Braster, Q., Gram, H., Robertson, A. A. B., Cooper, M. A., Groß, O., Krane, M., Weber, C., Koenig, W., Soehnlein, O., Adamstein, N. H., Ridker, P., Schunkert, H., ... Sager, H. B. (2022). Interleukin-1β suppression dampens inflammatory leucocyte production and uptake in atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular Research, 118(13), 2778-2791. Article 337. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvab337
    • Santovito, D., & Weber, C. (2022). Non-canonical features of microRNAs: paradigms emerging from cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 19(9), 620-638. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-022-00680-2
    • Santovito, D., & Weber, C. (2022). Publisher Correction: Non-canonical features of microRNAs: paradigms emerging from cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 19(9), 639-639. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-022-00733-6
    • Mohanta, S. K., Weber, C., Yin, C., & Habenicht, A. J. R. (2022). The dawn has come for new therapeutics to treat atherosclerosis: Targeting neuroimmune cardiovascular interfaces in artery brain circuits. Clinical and Translational Medicine, 12(9), Article e1040. https://doi.org/10.1002/ctm2.1040
    • Taş, K., Volta, B. D., Lindner, C., El Bounkari, O., Hille, K., Tian, Y., Puig-Bosch, X., Ballmann, M., Hornung, S., Ortner, M., Prem, S., Meier, L., Rammes, G., Haslbeck, M., Weber, C., Megens, R. T. A., Bernhagen, J., & Kapurniotu, A. (2022). Designed peptides as nanomolar cross-amyloid inhibitors acting via supramolecular nanofiber co-assembly. Nature Communications, 13(1), Article 5004. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32688-0
    • Farina, F. M., Santovito, D., & Weber, C. (2022). Two-Faced Janus: CCR2-Expressing Macrophages and Their Dual Role in Allograft Rejection of the Transplanted Heart. Circulation, 146(8), 639-642. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061088
    • Rot, A., Gutjahr, J. C., Biswas, A., Aslani, M., Hub, E., Thiriot, A., von Andrian, U. H., Megens, R. T. A., Weber, C., & Duchene, J. (2022). Murine bone marrow macrophages and human monocytes do not express atypical chemokine receptor 1. Cell stem cell, 29(7), 1013-1015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2021.11.010
    • Ferdinandy, P., Koller, Á., Weber, C., Wojta, J., & Waltenberger, J. (2022). Frontiers in CardioVascular Biomedicine (FCVB) 2022 Budapest is on in person! The excellent programme proves that scientists won against COVID-19. Cardiovascular Research, 118(8), E59-E61. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac064
    • Gencer, S., Döring, Y., Jansen, Y., Bayasgalan, S., Yan, Y., Bianchini, M., Cimen, I., Müller, M., Peters, L. J. F., Megens, R. T. A., von Hundelshausen, P., Duchene, J., Lemnitzer, P., Soehnlein, O., Weber, C., & van der Vorst, E. P. C. (2022). Endothelial ACKR3 drives atherosclerosis by promoting immune cell adhesion to vascular endothelium. Basic Research in Cardiology, 117(1), 17. Article 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00395-022-00937-4
    • Liu, Y., Shi, J. Z., Jiang, R., Liu, S. F., He, Y. Y., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Weber, C., Doering, Y., & Yan, Y. (2022). Regulatory T Cell-Related Gene Indicators in Pulmonary Hypertension. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13, Article 908783. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.908783
    • Georgakis, M. K., Bernhagen, J., Heitman, L. H., Weber, C., & Dichgans, M. (2022). Targeting the CCL2-CCR2 axis for atheroprotection. European Heart Journal, 43(19), 1799-1808. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehac094
    • Mohanta, S. K., Peng, L., Li, Y., Lu, S., Sun, T., Carnevale, L., Perrotta, M., Ma, Z., Förstera, B., Stanic, K., Zhang, C., Zhang, X., Szczepaniak, P., Bianchini, M., Saeed, B. R., Carnevale, R., Hu, D., Nosalski, R., Pallante, F., ... Habenicht, A. J. R. (2022). Neuroimmune cardiovascular interfaces control atherosclerosis. Nature, 605(7908), 152-159. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04673-6
    • Koenen, R. R., & Weber, C. (2022). Jam-A Unleashed Incites Thromboinflammatory Coronary Artery Disease. JACC: Basic to Translational Science, 7(5), 462-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacbts.2022.03.014
    • Peters, L. J. F., Baaten, C. C. F. M. J., Maas, S. L., Lu, C., Nagy, M., Jooss, N. J., Bidzhekov, K., Santovito, D., Moreno-Andrés, D., Jankowski, J., Biessen, E. A. L., Döring, Y., Heemskerk, J. W. M., Weber, C., Kuijpers, M. J. E., & van der Vorst, E. P. C. (2022). MicroRNA-26b Attenuates Platelet Adhesion and Aggregation in Mice. Biomedicines, 10(5), Article 983. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10050983
    • Leberzammer, J., Agten, S. M., Blanchet, X., Duan, R., Ippel, H., Megens, R. T. A., Schulz, C., Aslani, M., Duchene, J., Döring, Y., Jooss, N. J., Zhang, P., Brandl, R., Stark, K., Siess, W., Jurk, K., Heemskerk, J. W. M., Hackeng, T. M., Mayo, K. H., ... von Hundelshausen, P. (2022). Targeting platelet-derived CXCL12 impedes arterial thrombosis. Blood, 139(17), 2691-2705. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2020010140
    • Lip, G. Y. H., Rigby, A., & Weber, C. (2022). A Rollercoaster Plunge into 2022. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 122(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1741073
    • Weber, C., Rigby, A., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2022). Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2021 Editors' Choice Papers. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 122(01), 163-170. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1741072
  • 2021
    • He, Y. Y., Xie, X. M., Zhang, H. D., Ye, J., Gencer, S., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Doering, Y., Weber, C., Pang, X. B., Jing, Z. C., Yan, Y., & Han, Z. Y. (2021). Corrigendum: Identification of Hypoxia Induced Metabolism Associated Genes in Pulmonary Hypertension. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, Article 810178. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.810178
    • Natarelli, L., Virgili, F., & Weber, C. (2021). SARS-CoV-2, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Noncoding RNAs: A Connected Triad. International journal of molecular sciences, 22(22), Article 12243. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212243
    • He, Y. Y., Xie, X. M., Zhang, H. D., Ye, J., Gencer, S., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Doering, Y., Weber, C., Pang, X. B., Jing, Z. C., Yan, Y., & Han, Z. Y. (2021). Identification of Hypoxia Induced Metabolism Associated Genes in Pulmonary Hypertension. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, Article 753727. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.753727
    • Gissler, M. C., Scherrer, P., Anto-Michel, N., Pennig, J., Hoppe, N., Funer, L., Hardtner, C., Stachon, P., Li, X. W., Mitre, L. S., Marchini, T., Madl, J., Wadle, C., Hilgendorf, I., von zur Muhlen, C., Bode, C., Weber, C., Lutgens, E., Wolf, D., ... Willecke, F. (2021). Deficiency of Endothelial CD40 Induces a Stable Plaque Phenotype and Limits Inflammatory Cell Recruitment to Atherosclerotic Lesions in Mice. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 121(11), 1530-1540. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1397-1858
    • von Hundelshausen, P., Lorenz, R., Siess, W., & Weber, C. (2021). Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT): Targeting Pathomechanisms with Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 121(11), 1395-1399. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1481-3039
    • Hinterdobler, J., Schott, S., Jin, H., Meesmann, A., Steinsiek, A. L., Zimmermann, A. S., Wobst, J., Muller, P., Mauersberger, C., Vilne, B., Baecklund, A., Chen, C. S., Moggio, A., Braster, Q., Molitor, M., Krane, M., Kempf, W. E., Ladwig, K. H., Hristov, M., ... Sager, H. B. (2021). Acute mental stress drives vascular inflammation and promotes plaque destabilization in mouse atherosclerosis. European Heart Journal, 42(39), 4077-4088. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehab371
    • Schober, A., Blay, R. M., Maleki, S. S., Zahedi, F., Winklmaier, A. E., Kakar, M. Y., Baatsch, I. M., Zhu, M. Y., Geissler, C., Fusco, A. E., Eberlein, A., Li, N., Megens, R. T. A., Banafsche, R., Kumbrink, J., Weber, C., & Nazari-Jahantigh, M. (2021). MicroRNA-21 Controls Circadian Regulation of Apoptosis in Atherosclerotic Lesions. Circulation, 144(13), 1059-1073. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.051614
    • Duan, R. D., Goldmann, L., Brandl, R., Spannagl, M., Weber, C., Siess, W., & von Hundelshausen, P. (2021). Effects of the Btk-Inhibitors Remibrutinib (LOU064) and Rilzabrutinib (PRN1008) With Varying Btk Selectivity Over Tec on Platelet Aggregation and in vitro Bleeding Time. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 8, Article 749022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2021.749022
    • van der Vorst, E. P. C., Pepe, M. A. A., Peters, L. J. F., Haberbosch, M., Jansen, Y., Naumann, R., Stathopoulos, G. T., Weber, C., & Bidzhekov, K. (2021). Correction to: Transcriptome signature of miRNA-26b KO mouse model suggests novel targets. BMC Genomic Data, 22(1), Article 36. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-021-00990-3
    • Davidson, S. M., Padro, T., Bollini, S., Vilahur, G., Duncker, D. J., Evans, P. C., Guzik, T., Hoefer, I. E., Waltenberger, J., Wojta, J., & Weber, C. (2021). Progress in cardiac research: from rebooting cardiac regeneration to a complete cell atlas of the heart. Cardiovascular Research, 117(10), 2161-2174. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvab200
    • Bosmans, L. A., Shami, A., Atzler, D., Weber, C., Goncalves, I., & Lutgens, E. (2021). Glucocorticoid induced TNF receptor family-related protein (GITR)-A novel driver of atherosclerosis. Vascular Pharmacology, 139, Article 106884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vph.2021.106884
    • Yan, Y., Thakur, M., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Weber, C., & Doering, Y. (2021). Targeting the chemokine network in atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, 330, 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2021.06.912
    • Evans, P., Wojta, J., Hoefer, I. E., Waltenberger, J., Guzik, T., Badimon, L., Weber, C., & Council of Basic Cardiovascular Science (2021). The year in basic vascular biology research: from mechanoreceptors and neutrophil extracellular traps to smartphone data and omics. Cardiovascular Research, 117(8), 1814-1822. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvab105
    • van der Vorst, E. P. C., Pepe, M. A. A., Peters, L. J. F., Haberbosch, M., Jansen, Y., Nauman, R., Stathopoulos, G. T., Weber, C., & Bidzhekov, K. (2021). Transcriptome signature of miRNA-26b KO mouse model suggests novel targets. BMC Genomic Data, 22(1), Article 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-021-00976-1
    • Lacy, M., Buerger, C., Shami, A., Ahmadsei, M., Winkels, H., Nitz, K., van Tiel, C. M., Seijkens, T. T. P., Kusters, P. J. H., Karshovka, E., Prange, K. H. M., Wu, Y., Brouns, S. L. N., Unterlugauer, S., Kuijpers, M. J. E., Reiche, M. E., Steffens, S., Edsfeldt, A., Megens, R. T. A., ... Lutgens, E. (2021). Cell-specific and divergent roles of the CD40L-CD40 axis in atherosclerotic vascular disease. Nature Communications, 12(1), Article 3754. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23909-z
    • Egea, V., Kessenbrock, K., Lawson, D., Bartelt, A., Weber, C., & Ries, C. (2021). Let-7f miRNA regulates SDF-1α- and hypoxia-promoted migration of mesenchymal stem cells and attenuates mammary tumor growth upon exosomal release. Cell Death & Disease, 12(6), Article 516. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-03789-3
    • Sundararaman, S. S., Peters, L. J. F., Jansen, Y., Gencer, S., Yan, Y., Nazir, S., Marquez, A. B., Kahles, F., Lehrke, M., Biessen, E. A. L., Jankowski, J., Weber, C., Doering, Y., & van der Vorst, E. P. C. (2021). Adipocyte calcium sensing receptor is not involved in visceral adipose tissue inflammation or atherosclerosis development in hyperlipidemic Apoe(-/-) mice. Scientific Reports, 11(1), Article 10409. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89893-y
    • Santovito, D., & Weber, C. (2021). Not all myocardial infarctions are created equal: The potential of circulating microRNAs to discern coronary artery dissection. EBioMedicine, 67, Article 103366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103366
    • Gencer, S., Doering, Y., Jansen, Y., Bayasgalan, S., Schengel, O., Mueller, M., Peters, L. J. F., Weber, C., & van der Vorst, E. P. C. (2021). Adipocyte-Specific ACKR3 Regulates Lipid Levels in Adipose Tissue. Biomedicines, 9(4), Article 394. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9040394
    • Krammer, C., Kontos, C., Dewor, M., Hille, K., Dalla Volta, B., El Bounkari, O., Tas, K., Sinitski, D., Brandhofer, M., Megens, R. T. A., Weber, C., Schultz, J. R., Bernhagen, J., & Kapurniotu, A. (2021). A MIF-Derived Cyclopeptide that Inhibits MIF Binding and Atherogenic Signaling via the Chemokine Receptor CXCR2. Chembiochem, 22(6), 1012-1019. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202000574
    • Henderson, J. M., Weber, C., & Santovito, D. (2021). Beyond Self-Recycling: Cell-Specific Role of Autophagy in Atherosclerosis. Cells, 10(3), Article 625. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10030625
    • Natarelli, L., Parca, L., Mazza, T., Weber, C., Virgili, F., & Fratantonio, D. (2021). MicroRNAs and Long Non-Coding RNAs as Potential Candidates to Target Specific Motifs of SARS-CoV-2. Non-coding RNA, 7(1), Article 14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ncrna7010014
    • Santovito, D., Toto, L., De Nardis, V., Marcantonio, P., D'Aloisio, R., Mastropasqua, A., De Cesare, D., Bucci, M., Paganelli, C., Natarelli, L., Weber, C., Consoli, A., Mastropasqua, R., & Cipollone, F. (2021). Plasma microRNA signature associated with retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Scientific Reports, 11(1), Article 4136. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83047-w
    • Gencer, S., Evans, B. R., van der Vorst, E. P. C., Doring, Y., & Weber, C. (2021). Inflammatory Chemokines in Atherosclerosis. Cells, 10(2), Article 226. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020226
    • Alexander, Y., Osto, E., Schmidt-Trucksass, A., Shechter, M., Trifunovic, D., Duncker, D. J., Aboyans, V., Back, M., Badimon, L., Cosentino, F., De Carlo, M., Dorobantu, M., Harrison, D. G., Guzik, T. J., Hoefer, I., Morris, P. D., Norata, G. D., Suades, R., Taddei, S., ... Evans, P. C. (2021). Endothelial function in cardiovascular medicine: a consensus paper of the European Society of Cardioloy working Groups on Artherosclerosis and Vascular Biology, Aorta and Perirpheral Vascular Diseases, Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation, and Thrombosis. Cardiovascular Research, 117(1), 29-42. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvaa085
    • Lip, G. Y. H., Rigby, A., & Weber, C. (2021). Looking Back on 2020, Looking Forward to 2021. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 121(01), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1722198
    • Weber, C., Rigby, A., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2021). Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2020 Editors' Choice Papers. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 121(01), 109-114. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1722171
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