Prof. Dr. Carlijn Bouten

Prof. Dr. Carlijn Bouten is professor of Cell-Matrix Interactions at the department Biomedical Engineering of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). She was trained in functional anatomy and biomechanics, as well as exercise physiology, at the department of Human Movement Sciences, VU Amsterdam, and obtained her PhD degree in 1995 from the TU/e. She performed postdoctoral research at the Université Laval (Quebec), University of London, and Eindhoven University of Technology. In 1998 she became assistant professor in Cellular Biomechanics in the department of Mechanical Engineering, TU/e, and in 2002 she became associate professor of Tissue Engineering in the department of Biomedical Engineering, TU/e. Her research concentrates on new engineering approaches to regenerate the tissues of the cardiovascular system. A particular example is the development of a synthetic, bio-degradable heart valve prosthesis that ‘seduces’ the body to create a new, living heart valve at the site of implantation. The research is performed in close collaboration with material scientists, life scientists and clinicians, and mainly executed within public-private partnerships. She is recipient of the prestigious Aspasia (2002) and VICI (2003) career development awards of the Dutch National Science Foundation and theme-leader ‘Regenerative Medicine’ of the strategic area Health at TU/e.