Dr. Westenbrink is a cardiologist and a translational scientist who, previous to his current appointment, completed a PhD program at the University of Groningen and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California San Diego, USA. He is registered as a clinical pharmacologist and subspecializes in heart failure and cardiac MRI.
His research group consists of (clinical) research fellows, MD/PhD students and master students from different nationalities and backgrounds working on new ways to recharge the failing heart. His research focus is translational in nature and includes fundamental studies to unravel the root cause of myocardial energy deficiency in heart failure as well as clinical trials testing new strategies to improve energy delivery to the heart. Dr. Westenbrink has received several research grants from the Netherlands Heart Foundation (junior and senior clinical scientist), the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (AGIKO and VENI) and the European Society of Cardiology and his work has received several international awards. He has served as Associate Editor for the European Journal of Heart Failure and as chair of Young@Heart, the talent development council of the Dutch Cardiovascular Alliance (DCVA).