Frank Gijsen PhD

DR. Frank Gijsen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the Thorax Center, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam. His research covers image-based biomechanics of the cardiovascular system. His research interests include the influence of blood flow induced wall shear stress on plaque progression, composition and rupture. Furthermore, he focuses on plaque biomechanics in order to assess the mechanical stability of coronary and carotid plaques. For both research topics, he combines state of the art finite element analysis of both the blood flow and plaque mechanics with the latest imaging modalities. Research on cardiovascular biomechanics is carried out in genetically modified mice and patients suffering from cardiovascular disease. Frank Gijsen studied mechanical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He obtained his PhD from the same university with a thesis on the modelling of blood flow in large arteries. After his PhD he was founder of a bioengineering company, and he was involved as a board member in setting up the department of Biomedical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology in Eindhoven. He moved to the Erasmus MC in 2001, where he started as a post-doc and currently serves as assistant professor. Dr. Gijsen is (co-)author of approximately 60 scientific papers, 6 book chapters, and he recently served as a guest editor for a special issue on ‘Plaque Mechanics’ for the journal of Biomechanics. He is the recipient of national and international grants and one of the founders and organizers of the international symposium on Biomechanics in Vascular Biology and Cardiovascular Disease.