Isabelle van Gelder

Professor Isabelle van Gelder is a distinguished cardiologist and Professor of Cardiology at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Medical Sciences, where she has been working since 1995. She serves as Chair of the CardioVascular Education Institute Netherlands and holds multiple leadership positions in international cardiology organizations including the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) where she chairs the membership pillar and previously chaired the congress scientific programme committee (2020-2022). Her clinical expertise focuses on electrophysiology and arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation.

Dr. van Gelder obtained her MD from Groningen in 1986, completed her PhD in 1991, finished cardiology training in 1994, and electrophysiology training in 1996. She has maintained continuous academic and clinical activity at the University Medical Center Groningen since 1995 and was appointed Professor of Cardiology in 2006. She also serves as visiting professor at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense.

Her research program centers on understanding susceptibility to atrial fibrillation and its adverse outcomes including AF progression. She explores novel management strategies to prevent adverse outcomes with special focus on cardiovascular risk management and diagnosis/prevention of heart failure. Her work spans basic electrophysiology, clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and implementation science, with particular interest in how multimorbidity affects AF presentation, progression, and management. She has pioneered research on AF burden assessment and its clinical implications across multiple landmark studies including the RACE trials.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on multimorbidity in AF patients, innovative monitoring techniques, anticoagulation strategies, and the development of clinical guidelines. Her work increasingly addresses the challenges of managing AF in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities, reflecting the evolving demographics of AF patients. The RACE series of trials represents a major longitudinal research effort examining different aspects of AF management over decades.

• Post Doc Netherlands Heart Foundation grant (1994)
• Interuniversity Cardiology Institute Netherlands post doc grant (1995)
• Bert Talen Medal from Netherlands Heart Rhythm Association (2016)
• ESC 2019 René Laënnec lecture on clinical cardiology
• European Society of Cardiology silver medal for work in clinical Cardiology

Professor van Gelder has secured over €15 million in research funding for atrial fibrillation research and serves as principal investigator for more than 20 trials including the RACE series. She is steering committee member for over 15 international trials such as EAST, AXAFA, ASSERT, RASTA-AF and STEEER AF. She mentors numerous PhD students, having supervised more than 15 to completion. Her leadership extends to major research consortia including EHRA-PATHS (H2020 project) and the RACE V consortium (Hartstichting, CVON). She serves on multiple editorial boards including as Associate Editor for Europace and Heart.

Her clinical and research activities are centered at the Cardiovascular Centre of the University Medical Center Groningen, where she leads multiple research teams focused on atrial fibrillation. She coordinates the CardioVascular Education Institute Netherlands and contributes to international collaborative networks including the Norwegian Atrial Fibrillation Research Network and the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement Working Group for Atrial Fibrillation. Her work has significantly influenced European Society of Cardiology guidelines, where she serves on multiple task forces including those for atrial fibrillation (2020) and cardiovascular prevention (2021).