Cardiovascular Research Center Aalst, Aalst (Belgium)
Member of:
Ward Heggermont obtained his Medical Degree in 2009 at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). After one year of clinical internship, he started his PhD thesis, sponsored by an FWO grant (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Vlaanderen (Belgium)), in October 2010, and succesfully obtained his PhD in 2016. He worked as a student-researcher in the Rega Institute (Leuven, Belgium), between 2004 and 2007. He has a particular interest in the overlapping scientific fields of Virology and Cardiology, and Metabolism. He worked on micro-RNAs involved in viral myocarditis, cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. After a fellowship in Lugano (Prof. Dr. Angelo Auricchio) he now works as Full Staff Member at the Cardiovascular Center OLV Aalst, Belgium, and CARIM Maastricht, The Netherlands, with main interest in heart failure, cardiac resynchronization therapy, and cardio-oncology. He holds a degree in Specialized Medicine (MMed) and in Hospital Management (MSc).
The MiR-221/-222 cluster is elevated both in biopsies of patients with myocarditis and idiopathic non-ischemic cardiomyopathy but fails to discriminate between both pathologies