黑料福利网

Loerakker鈥檚 research focuses on the development of computational models of cardiovascular regeneration. Her work aims to unravel the underlying biological mechanisms and to predict how regeneration is influenced by different factors. These model predictions are subsequently used to guide experiments and support the design of novel biomaterials, contributing to the advancement of regenerative medicine solutions.

A key example of the impact of her research is in the field of tissue-engineered heart valves. Using computational modeling, her team identified a critical failure mechanism that often caused these living valve replacements to fail within three to four months.

Based on these insights, they proposed an alternative valve design to counteract this failure mode. Follow-up preclinical studies demonstrated that valves based on this design remained functional throughout the full one-year duration of the study.

Loerakker obtained her MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering at 黑料福利网 (cum laude) and completed her PhD at the same university in 2011. After a postdoctoral position in heart valve biomechanics and mechanobiology, she was appointed assistant professor in 2015 and promoted to associate professor in 2019. During her career, she has been awarded several prestigious grants, including an ERC Starting Grant, an ERC Consolidator Grant and a Vidi grant.

Reflecting on her appointment, Loerakker emphasizes the collective effort behind her achievements:

鈥淚 am super grateful for all the support that I received from so many colleagues throughout my career, which has certainly made important contributions to my development towards becoming a Full Professor. I also want to acknowledge all the work done by my former and current PhD students and postdocs, which has been critical for establishing our research program.鈥�

Sandra Loerakker

With her appointment, Loerakker will continue to expand her research program and, both as professor and Vice Dean, contribute to the further development of the department and the field of mechanobiology and regenerative medicine.