Prof. dr. Johan Heemskerk studied chemistry and biology at the Radboud University of Nijmegen. He carried out postdoctoral studies in Hamburg (Germany), Cambridge (United Kingdom) and Helsinki (Finland). In 1986, joined the Department of Biochemistry of Maastricht University to study effects of dietary fats on blood platelet activation. Prof. Heemskerk takes the chair of Cell Biochemistry in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and is a Principal Investigator at CARIM. His laboratory with affiliated microscopic imaging facilities researches in the fields of blood cell function, cell signaling and coagulation in relation to health and disease.
Prof. Heemskerk is a member of several Scientific Advisory Boards of Foundations and Institutes in the field of thrombosis and hemostasis. He is associate editor of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and a recipient of the BACH award of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis. He authored or co-authored over 250 full scientific papers in the areas of cell signalling, experimental thrombosis and haemostasis. His team participates in various European networks and consortia on genetics, platelet function and structure.
His current research focuses are: (1) unravelling the interaction mechanisms between platelet activation and blood coagulation; (2) the short- and long-term processes underlying thrombus buildup under flow conditions; and (3) the development and employment of multiparameter assays of platelet function to characterize the haemostatic state of patients and mice as a function of the genetic constitution.
Maastricht University
Department of Biochemistry
Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM)
Universiteitssingel 50
Office 4.308
6229 ER Maastricht
P.O. Box 616
UNS50: Box 8
6200 MD Maastricht
The Netherlands
