Ruben de With

Ruben de With, Cardiology Resident at the Cardiology department, UMCG and LMC

My name is Ruben De With and receiving my MD from the University of Groningen, I started my PhD at the department of Cardiology in the University Medical Center Groningen under supervision of Prof. Van Gelder. I was involved in the early phase of the RACE V registry. I currently work as a Cardiology Resident in Groningen and Leeuwarden, while continuing working on my PhD.

The RACE V project I am currently working on focusses on finding cardiovascular biomarkers that represent different pathophysiological pathways underling atrial fibrillation (AF). Atrial remodeling refers to structural changes that can ultimately cause AF and allow AF to progress from short episodes tot sustained AF. Due to hormonal differences, as well as differences in risk factors, the clinical profile of men and women with AF is different. Yet, little is known on the different processes and mechanisms that underly atrial remodeling and whether this is different between sexes.

‘Biomarkers’ refers to a collective term of molecules, such as peptides, that are associated with a specific pathway or biological process. By measuring and studying at these biomarkers, we aim to gain more insight in for example sex or comorbidity specific differences in underlying pathways that cause atrial remodeling. Biological plausible biomarkers representing distinct pathophysiological pathways, including hypercoagulability, inflammation, stretch and stress, epicardial fatty tissue, fibrosis and microvascular damage.

For this, we will use a biomarker panel that is able to detect 92 different biomarkers from one blood sample to study sex differences in AF.