Rate My Professor Jolanda van Hengel

Jolanda van Hengel is Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Human Structure and Repair within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Ghent University. She heads the Medical Cell Biology Research Group, which develops advanced in vitro models of functional myocardium that mimic human heart tissue to analyze myocardial function. These models are integrated with genetically modified mouse models to study hereditary cardiac diseases such as Marfan syndrome cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Additional research lines include the in vitro development of structured bovine muscle tissue in collaboration with other faculties at Ghent University, contributing to cultured meat production.

Professor van Hengel's research expertise includes cell adhesion, stem cells, cytoskeleton, muscle, cell biology, molecular biology, cardiology, and stem cell biology. Her work aligns with natural sciences disciplines such as cell growth and development, cell movement, cellular interactions and extracellular matrix, and cytoskeleton. She has authored over 130 publications, cited more than 5,000 times. Key publications encompass "Human stem cell models for Marfan syndrome: a brief overview of the rising star in disease modelling" (Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2025), "Oxygen Handling Practices for in Vitro Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Cardiomyocyte Differentiation: A Scoping Literature Review" (2025), "Effects of fibrillin mutations on the behavior of heart muscle cells: consequences for Marfan syndrome" (Scientific Reports, 2020), "Generation of a human induced pluripotent stem cell line UGENTi002-A from an arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy patient carrying the c.817C>T DSP heterozygous variant and isogenic control using CRISPR/Cas9 editing" (Stem Cell Research, 2024), and "Low-intensity pulsed electromagnetic field stimulation enhances fusion in bovine myoblasts and improves tensile properties of engineered skeletal muscle tissue" (2025). Her career at Ghent University includes previous roles in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences and the Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology from 1997 to 2014. She leads Jolanda van Hengel's Lab and serves as a member of the Cancer Research Institute Ghent.