Studying Technical Medicine at the University of Twente, I already focused on respiratory physiology with a graduation project on the pulmonary function department of the Medisch Spectrum Twente in Enschede. From 2011 I started to work at the University of Twente as lecturer in the Technical Medicine program, and as a PhD student. My PhD project focused on monitoring and regulation of supported breathing in Intensive Care, in collaboration with the Intensive Care of the Radboud hospital in Nijmegen. After obtaining my PhD in 2018, I went to the United States for a postdoc at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where I worked on an algorithm for automatic detection of self-similarity and prediction of residual central events during continuous positive airway pressure.
From 2019, I was appointed as an assistant professor in the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Physiology group. My research focuses on regulation of breathing and noninvasive methods to assess lung mechanics and activity of respiratory muscles. An important tool is electromyography (EMG) of the respiratory muscles, including the diaphragm. Although noninvasive measurement of respiratory EMG, with surface electrodes attached on the skin, challenges data analysis due to movement artefacts and interference of activity from other muscles, it has the potential to be of high clinical value in daily monitoring of patients on the intensive care or during home mechanical ventilation. Other tools include pressure and flow monitoring and interventions in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. In all monitoring tools, I aim to study adequate acquisition, advanced analysis and clinical adaptation and interpretation of the data. All is focused at gaining more insight in the respiratory pump physiology, leading to better adaptation and weaning of patients from mechanical ventilation.
Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.