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Social and economic background influences survival in intensive care: Research with societal impact

Social and economic background influences survival in intensive care: Research with societal impact

18 August 2026

A large-scale study by researchers from Maastricht UMC+ and Amsterdam UMC demonstrates that lower socioeconomic status (SES) of patients admitted to Dutch intensive care units contributes to worse survival.

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Fatma Karapinar appointed as Professor in Medication Safety

Fatma Karapinar appointed as Professor in Medication Safety

12 August 2026

As of 1 June 2026, Dr Fatma Karapinar has been appointed Professor of Medication Safety at Maastricht University.

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Carim Maastricht
Carim Maastricht

Michiel Henkens

Michiel Henkens studied Health Sciences and Medicine at Maastricht University, obtaining his bachelor’s degrees in 2014 and his master’s degree in Medicine with distinction in 2019. During his studies, he became actively involved in research at the Departments of Pathology and Cardiology at Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+).

After graduating, he started as a clinical PhD candidate at the Department of Cardiology at MUMC+. His doctoral research, described in his thesis “Improving diagnosis and risk stratification of cardiomyopathies across the ejection fraction spectrum“, focused on improving the diagnosis and risk stratification of cardiomyopathies and heart failure.

In July 2022, he started his residency training in Pathology at MUMC+, which he continued at University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU) in November 2025. In 2025, he also started a postgraduate Master in Cardiovascular Pathology at the University of Padua. Combining his background in cardiology with his training in pathology, he has developed a particular interest in cardiovascular and autopsy pathology, with a focus on bridging diagnostic pathology and translational cardiovascular research.

Michiel’s research (within the group of Prof. S.R.B. Heymans) focuses on cardiovascular pathology and translational cardiovascular research, with a particular interest in bridging clinical cardiovascular diagnosis and prognostication with tissue-based pathological findings.

Since 2021, he has led the development of the Netherlands Heart Institute Heart Tissue Bank (NLHI-Hartenbank; www.hartenbank.nl), a national initiative that facilitates cardiovascular research by providing researchers with well-characterized human cardiac tissue and associated clinical data. The continued development of the NLHI-Hartenbank is supported by funding from the Dutch Heart Foundation.

Alongside his clinical training in pathology, Michiel continues his postdoctoral research and is involved in national and international cardiovascular and pathology networks. His research interests lie particularly at the intersection of cardiovascular pathology, post-mortem diagnostics, and clinical cardiovascular research, aiming to use human cardiac tissue and clinicopathological data to improve our understanding, diagnosis, and risk stratification of cardiovascular diseases.

Michiel foto

Department of Cardiology & Pathology

  • 2021
    • Verdonschot, J. A. J., Merlo, M., Dominguez, F., Wang, P., Henkens, M. T. H. M., Adriaens, M. E., Hazebroek, M. R., Mase, M., Escobar, L. E., Cobas-Paz, R., Derks, K. W. J., van den Wijngaard, A., Krapels, I. P. C., Brunner, H. G., Sinagra, G., Garcia-Pavia, P., & Heymans, S. R. B. (2021). Phenotypic clustering of dilated cardiomyopathy patients highlights important pathophysiological differences. European Heart Journal, 42(2), 162-174. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa841
  • 2020
    • Verdonschot, J. A. J., Merken, J. J., van Stipdonk, A. M. W., Pliger, P., Derks, K. W. J., Wang, P., Henkens, M. T. H. M., van Paassen, P., Hamid, M. A. A., van Empel, V. P. M., Knackstedt, C., Luermans, J. G. L. M., Crijns, H. J. G. M., Brunner-La Rocca, H.-P., Brunner, H. G., Poelzl, G., Vernooy, K., Heymans, S. R. B., & Hazebroek, M. R. (2020). Cardiac Inflammation Impedes Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Patients With Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Circulation-Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, 13(11), 1311-1320. Article 008727. https://doi.org/10.1161/circep.120.008727
    • Remmelzwaal, S., van Ballegooijen, A. J., Schoonmade, L. J., Dal Canto, E., Handoko, M. L., Henkens, M. T. H. M., van Empel, V., Heymans, S. R. B., & Beulens, J. W. J. (2020). Natriuretic peptides for the detection of diastolic dysfunction and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction-a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Medicine, 18(1), Article 290. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-020-01764-x
    • Verdonschot, J. A. J., Hazebroek, M. R., Krapels, I. P. C., Henkens, M. T. H. M., Raafs, A., Wang, P., Merken, J. J., Claes, G. R. F., Vanhoutte, E. K., van den Wijngaard, A., Heymans, S. R. B., & Brunner, H. G. (2020). Implications of Genetic Testing in Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine, 13(5), 476-487. Article 003031. https://doi.org/10.1161/circgen.120.003031
    • Timmermans, P., Barradas-Pires, A., Ali, O., Henkens, M., Heymans, S., & Negishi, K. (2020). Prednisone and azathioprine in patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathy: systematic review and meta-analysis. Esc heart failure, 7(5), 2278-2296. https://doi.org/10.1002/ehf2.12762
    • Henkens, M. T. H. M., Remmelzwaal, S., Robinson, E. L., van Ballegooijen, A. J., Aizpurua, A. B., Verdonschot, J. A. J., Raafs, A. G., Weerts, J., Hazebroek, M. R., Wijk, S. S., Handoko, M. L., den Ruijter, H. M., Lam, C. S. P., de Boer, R. A., Paulus, W. J., van Empel, V. P. M., Vos, R., Brunner-La Rocca, H.-P., Beulens, J. W. J., & Heymans, S. R. B. (2020). Risk of bias in studies investigating novel diagnostic biomarkers for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. A systematic review. European journal of heart failure, 22(9), 1586-1597. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejhf.1944
    • Aizpurua, A. B., Sanders-van Wijk, S., Brunner-La Rocca, H. P., Henkens, M., Heymans, S., Beussink-Nelson, L., Shah, S. J., & van Empel, V. P. M. (2020). Validation of the HFA-PEFF score for the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. European journal of heart failure, 22(3), 413-421. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejhf.1614
    • Verdonschot, J. A. J., Wang, P., Van Bilsen, M., Hazebroek, M. R., Merken, J. J., Vanhoutte, E. K., Henkens, M. T. H. M., Van Den Wijngaard, A., Glatz, J. F. C., Krapels, I. P. C., Brunner, H. G., Heymans, S. R. B., & Bierau, J. (2020). Metabolic Profiling Associates with Disease Severity in Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 26(3), 212-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cardfail.2019.09.004
  • 2018
    • Verjans, R., Peters, T., Beaumont, F., van Leeuwen, R., van Herwaarden, T., Verhesen, W., Munts, C., Bijnen, M., Henkens, M., Diez, J., de Windt, L. J., van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., van Bilsen, M., Goumans, M. J., Heymans, S., Gonzalez, A., & Schroen, B. (2018). MicroRNA-221/222 Family Counteracts Myocardial Fibrosis in Pressure Overload-Induced Heart Failure. Hypertension, 71(2), 280-288. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.10094
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