Just Dronkers finished his master degree in Biomedical Science from the University of Groningen in 2017. During his study he did an internship at the experimental cardiology, which raised his interest in this field. However, before he continued in science, he pursued a career as volleyball player in Belgium and the national team of the Netherlands. After 4 years, he decided to quit his life as an athlete and had the opportunity to re-join the cardiology department in February 2022. He will focus on underlying mechanisms of metabolic dysfunction and heart failure, with a particular interest in the role of adipose tissue.