Erasmus MC Netherlands lnstitute Research Education in Health Sciences for Health Sciences and Clinical Research Research Themes 2020 For MSc students Research Master Health Sciences 1 120 EC points Research Master Clinical Research 1 120 EC points Master of Science in Health Sciences 1 70 EC points Erasmus University Rotterdam Make it happen. © Erasmus MC and the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences, Rotterdam All rights reserved. No part of this brochure may be reproduced, stored in a database or retrieval system, or published, in any form or in any way, electronically, mechanically, by print, photo print, microfilm or any other means without prior written permission from the publisher. 2 Foreword Thanks to the work of researchers around the globe, knowledge and skills are developing rapidly in clinical research and the health sciences. At the center of each new development are a healthcare professional who has successfully posed the right questions about patient-related problems and a researcher who has formulated the research protocol to address those questions. As well as providing a comprehensive background to clinical, epidemiological, and public health research methods, our master programmes give a working knowledge of research in a specialist area. An important part of these programmes is dedicated to a research project in which students work under the guidance and supervision of a personal tutor, to whom they are assigned at the start of the academic year. These activities lead to the writing of a thesis and may lead to the submission of an article to an international scientific journal. This guide summarizes the research activities and research lines of the departments and research groups participating in the Clinical Research and Health Sciences programmes. It is extensive but not comprehensive – there may be other projects that appeal more to you and you have the option to propose a project yourself. Furthermore, keep in mind that the projects listed keep changing over time as the research evolves and as priorities change – we do our best to keep the list updated but you may find that we have missed something or that some projects have in the meantime been completed. Consider this guide a starting point to inspire you and please explore the possibilities that appeal to you. We sincerely hope that this guide will entice you to join this challenging program and to find a project that you would like to work on! Professor Myriam Hunink, MD PhD Professor Meike Vernooij, MD PhD Director NIHES and Programme director Clinical Research Programme director Clinical Epidemiology 3 Table of contents Foreword 3 1. Endocrinology and Neuro-Endocrine Immunology 9 Theme 1: Endocrinology and Ageing .............................................................................................................................. 9 Theme 2: Neuro-Endocrine Immunology ...................................................................................................................... 14 2. Cardiovascular research 18 Theme 1: Cardiac (mal) adaptation to stress and damage ........................................................................................... 19 Theme 2: Experimental interventional cardiology, vascular injury and repair ............................................................... 20 Theme 3: Circulation, ventilation and ethics during multiple organ failure .................................................................... 20 Theme 4: Shear-stress related plaque formation: from bench to bedside to population studies ................................... 21 Theme 5: Biomechanics of the vascular wall ................................................................................................................ 21 Theme 6: Hypertension, the kidney and vascular ageing: focus on the renin-angiotensin-alderostone system ........... 22 Theme 7: Pharmacology of migraine ............................................................................................................................ 22 Theme 8: Acute Coronary syndromes and (intensive) coronary care ........................................................................... 23 Theme 9: Cardiovascular Aging .................................................................................................................................... 23 Theme 10: Cardiovascular genetics and metabolic diseases ....................................................................................... 23 Theme 11: Stroke: risk factors and etiology, prognosis and treatment ......................................................................... 24 Theme 12: Management of hemorrhagic and thrombotic disorders .............................................................................. 24 Theme 13: Role of hemostasis in arterial thrombosis ................................................................................................... 25 Theme 14: Ultrasound contrast agents ......................................................................................................................... 25 Theme 15: Echocardiography: Transducers and image processing ............................................................................. 25 Theme 16: Intravascular ultrasound techniques ........................................................................................................... 26 Theme 17: Intravascular imaging and interventional cardiology ................................................................................... 26 Theme 18: Cardiac Imaging (MRI and CT) ................................................................................................................... 26 Theme 19: Cardiac imaging (ultrasound) ...................................................................................................................... 27 Theme 20: Neurovascular imaging (MRI and CT) ........................................................................................................ 27 Theme 21: Biomedical Image Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 28 Theme 22: Molecular biology of aneurysm formation ................................................................................................... 28 Theme 23: Endovascular management of aortic aneurysms ........................................................................................ 29 Theme 24: Lung surgery and lung transplantation ........................................................................................................ 29 4 Theme 25: Percutaneous interventions in structural heart disease .............................................................................. 29 Theme 26: Novelties in diagnosis and therapy of cardiac arrhythmias: Can you solve the mystery of heart rhythm disorders? ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Theme 27: Surgical aspects of acute and chronic cardiovascular disease and heart failure ........................................ 30 Theme 28: Determinants of outcome of pediatric (congenital) heart disease ............................................................... 30 Theme 29: Surgery for congenital heart disease .......................................................................................................... 31 Theme 30: Perioperative cardiac care in noncardiac surgery ....................................................................................... 31 Theme 31: Clinical decision making in cardio-thoracic surgery .................................................................................... 31 Theme 32: Clinical epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases ....................................................................................... 32 Theme 33: Adult congenital heart disease .................................................................................................................... 32 3. Haemato-Oncology 33 Theme 1: Regulation of proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells ................................................... 33 Theme 2: Transplantation and genetic modification of hematopoietic stem cells ......................................................... 34 Theme 3: Malignant transformation of hematopoietic stem cells .................................................................................. 34 Theme 4: Diagnosis, classification and treatment evaluation of leukemias and malignant lymphomas ........................ 35 Theme 5: Implementation of molecular diagnostics and novel therapeutic strategies into clinical practice .................. 37 4. Medical Oncology 39 5. Gynaecology and Gynaecologic Oncology 40 Theme 1: Hormonal stimulation treatment and women‚ and health in later life ............................................................. 40 6. Pediatric Research 42 Theme 1: Childhood asthma - a multifaceted disease. ................................................................................................. 42 Theme 2: Genetics and epigenetics of childhood diseases – the Generation R Study ................................................. 43 Theme 3: Pediatric emergency care ............................................................................................................................. 44 Theme 4: Biological determinants of outcome and development