Interview MDR PhD student: Valentine Vetter
My name is Valentine Vetter, I am a third-year joint-supervision PhD student between the TU/e and Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), Harvard Medical School (HMS).
After completing the first two years of my PhD in the U.S.A. under supervision of John Mayer at the Cardiac Surgery Department of BCH/HMS and at the Langer Lab at MIT.
I have started the second half of my PhD fully in Eindhoven within Cell-Matrix Interaction for Cardiovascular Tissue Regeneration under supervision of Carlijn Bouten and Anthal Smits.
The focus of my research is to improve our understanding of host-material interactions for in situ tissue engineered heart valves. More specifically, on the potential of circulating cells and immune cells, their interaction with scaffold materials and with each other. In this regard, I have been investigating and comparing several types of scaffolding, including decellularized and electrospun heart valve scaffolds in bioreactor and sheep models.
I am excited to continue my research within the MDR Heart Valve Tissue Engineering Gravitation Program and to be part of this inspiring group of researchers.
What I find motivating in research are the innovative solution that scientists propose to address pressing health issues.
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with friends, traveling, photography, and playing sports (tennis, hockey, sailing).