Biography
Hilde joined the UKDRI in January 2026 when she started working at the Translational CAA Research Lab at the University of Edinburgh. She trained as a neuropsychologist and neuroscientist in the Netherlands, where she obtained her PhD at Utrecht University. She subsequently moved to Boston for her postdoctoral training with Dr. Susanne van Veluw at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Hilde joined the lab’s transition to the University of Edinburgh, where her research focuses on identifying the mechanisms that drive brain haemorrhages in CAA, with a broader interest in shared disease mechanisms across cerebral small vessel diseases. Her current work centres on the roles of blood–brain barrier dysfunction and neuroinflammatory responses in vascular injury and haemorrhage. In addition to her research, Hilde is passionate about ensuring that scientific findings are meaningfully communicated to patients and caregivers. She is actively involved in international patient communication initiatives through the International CAA Association and aims to contribute to the development of a patient advisory board for the association. In her free time, Hilde enjoys biking, music concerts, reading and gardening – even more so in the company of friends.
Honours & awards
Hilde's current research is funded by an early career researcher grant from Alzheimer Nederland ‘Identifying consequences of blood-brain barrier leakage in small vessel diseases’, project number WE.03-2025-23
Previous funding:
- Impuls grant from Alzheimer Nederland 'Unravelling the role of blood brain barrier leakage in cerebral amyloid angiopathy', project number WE.06-2023-11. This grant supported two years of postdoctoral research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
- CVON Heart-Brain connection young talent grant 'Impact of haemodynamics along the heart brain axis on cerebral microinfarcts'. This grant supported one project of Hilde's PhD work.
- Several scholarships together supported a 7-month international research internship in Calgary, Canada: Alzheimer Nederland, Stichting Korinthiers, Jo Kolk studiefonds, Stichting SSVO, Hendrik Muller fonds, Stichting fundatie van de Vrijvrouwe van Renswoude and kfHein fonds.