Joylene Siland is a MD-PhD candidate, and started atrial fibrillation research during her bachelor’s degree program of medicine. Under the guidance of prof. dr. Rienstra, prof. dr. van Gelder, and prof. dr. van der Harst she started a MD/PhD program. This program allows her to pursue a PhD during her master in Medicine. During her PhD she investigates the genetic background and associated comorbidities of the initiation and progression of atrial fibrillation.
Current activities
Despite the fact that in the last decades many risk factors for the initiation and progression of AF have been found, AF remains highly variable and difficult to predict. Recently, major advances are made in the identification of a genetic component to AF. In collaboration with the AF Gen consortium DNA samples of e.g. the Groningen Genetic Atrial Fibrillation (GGAF) study are analyzed to learn more about initiation, progression and treatment response of atrial fibrillation. Phenotypic and genetic information is combined to improve risk assessment.