Portrait and video Daniël Pijnappels: “The heart is a complex, interdisciplinary organ”

You've been appointed Medical Delta professor. What does that mean for you?

“I see it as a milestone - although we're certainly not finished yet. It's a confirmation that what we do is valued and recognized. With a professorial appointment, you sometimes see that an institute wants to move in a certain direction, and an appointment helps achieve that. However, an appointment can also be a recognition of what you've already achieved. In this case, I see it primarily as the LUMC and TU Delft demonstrating how important and relevant they consider our work and that they want to give it more attention.

Personally, for me, it's like realizing a long-cherished dream. I am trained as a researcher, but I've always felt like an inventor as well. The appointment at TU Delft has broadened my playing field. We can now start making things that we could previously only talk about. It allows me to express myself even more as an inventor.

For me, making is engineering. In biology, you try to understand nature; in engineering, you imagine something that doesn't yet exist but could be useful, and then you create it. We apply that approach as well in our lab. Besides explaining what already exists, we are particularly interested in developing something new. Such as the shock-free termination of cardiac arrhythmias.”

Can you briefly explain your expertise?

“My expertise, or rather, that of our entire group, lies in creating new biology and integrating it with technology. The goal is to better understand and treat heart damage and arrhythmias. We work collectively. The foundation of our lab lies in interdisciplinary thinking and action.

Cardiac electrophysiology is my core expertise, but I quickly realized that the problems we're trying to tackle can't be solved within a single discipline. Heart damage and arrhythmias never occur in isolation; there's almost always a broader underlying disease. Moreover, the heart is a complex, interdisciplinary organ: biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, and medicine converge within it.

I quickly realized that the problems we're trying to tackle can't be solved within a single discipline.My own expertise has also broadened as a result. I've started collaborating with various university disciplines and, along the way, learned to understand the language and thinking of others. My strength now lies primarily in bringing all these disciplines together and keeping them connected by formulating clear, shared goals and securing the necessary resources. This allows us to achieve something together, while also enabling everyone to achieve their own goals.

That's not easy. An engineer thinks and acts slightly differently than a biologist or doctor. And one person's goal isn't necessarily interesting to another. In those cases, it's important to trust each other and be willing to help each other. That remains a challenge; we're all wired a little differently.”

But even more than being a researcher, I wanted to be an inventor. As a child, I was convinced I could invent new colors. During my studies and internships, I encountered inspiring people and the subject of the heart, and then it all clicked.

The heart is, besides the brain, the most fascinating organ. It's a mechanical pump that's electrically controlled, with an exceptionally complex tissue structure. Heart muscle cells live just as long as we do; they don't renew themselves, unlike cells in almost all other organs. There's something special about the heart, and few heart problems are simple."

The healthcare system is under increasing pressure. How can your research contribute to this?

"What we do is modify the properties of organs. We try to change the heart so that it can repair and correct itself, for example, in the case of an arrhythmia. Normally, the heart can't do this on its own; it needs to be defibrillated externally. Our goal is to bring that ability into the heart itself, so that people with an arrhythmia will need to visit the hospital less often."

If successful, it could mean many things: fewer hospital visits, fewer illnesses, a better prognosis, and a higher quality of life.

If successful, it could mean many things: fewer hospital visits, fewer illnesses, a better prognosis, and a higher quality of life for people with heart problems. It could also be used preventatively in people at increased risk.

We don't yet know exactly what that will look like; it's still in its infancy. But for patients currently being treated with what's available, and for whom it's not working sufficiently, this new form of therapy could make a real difference in the long term."

What will a patient, healthcare professional, or Dutch citizen notice about your work? What do you hope to have achieved for them in five years?

Five years flies by. That's a very short time for the type of research we do. We're now completing a study we've been working on for a few years, and in it, we've demonstrated a new aspect of our theory, but there are still many steps to be taken.

What I do hope to have achieved in five to ten years is that the way we've organized our lab is no longer an exception, but a more common occurrence. We've created a learning and working environment where people from different disciplines collaborate daily. That's still quite special now, but I hope it will soon become second nature and that it will have sparked change outside our lab as well. Because truly integrating disciplines on one floor, under one roof, is, in my view, the ultimate expression of collaboration and mutual learning.

In terms of content, I hope that by then we'll have made progress in developing systems that give the heart new functions and thus offer more opportunities for people with heart problems. And that our research will then be increasingly closer to the clinic."

With its new programming, Medical Delta is placing a greater focus on practical needs. What is the importance of practical situations for your research?

"There are, of course, different forms of practice. First, there's clinical practice. My main position is at the LUMC, so the patient is literally close by. The people we want to help with our research simply pass by the department.

But the practice is broader than that. It also involves the upcoming researchers, students, and pupils, the people who will make the difference in the future. That's why we invest a lot of time in education and in making our work accessible, for example, with animations. When you've invested years of time and effort in a project, I think it's important to demonstrate what we've achieved. This also applies to the society that made that research possible.

Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for solving complex problems.Furthermore, the practical world demands a different way of working. Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for solving complex problems. Our lab is fully equipped for this: biologists, physicists, engineers, and physicians work together here daily. We've even adapted our physical spaces accordingly. For example, we have a Biolab, Simlab, and Techlab, which allows for simultaneous research. Pipetted, simulated, and soldered. This way of working aligns well with practical needs."

You've likely met many scientists, including those from other disciplines and institutions. Who surprised you, or who truly helped you?

"My mentor, the late Dick Ypey, emeritus professor of membrane physiology, was crucial to me. He guided me in the classic mentor-mentee way. He was very experienced and about to retire, while I was the young gun, full of ideas and energy. We were incredibly good at brainstorming and developing concepts together. Martin Schalij, my former department head and incoming chair of the LUMC board of directors, also always supported me. Twan de Vries was also certainly instrumental in moving from theory to practice. And of course, I'm forgetting to mention others.