Coert Zuurbier

• Associate Professor at the Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam

Following a Master’s in Biology from Wageningen University, a PhD in Skeletal Muscle Biomechanics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and two postdoctoral fellowships—one at Vrije Universiteit focusing on mitochondrial dysfunction in stunned myocardium, and another at the University of Washington Seattle on cardiac oxygen transport models—Professor Zuurbier established his research group at the University of Amsterdam’s Department of Anesthesiology. His impactful work (h-index of 51) investigates how SGLT2 inhibitors, particularly empagliflozin, reduce cardiovascular events and explores cellular mechanisms of cardiomyocyte death and survival during acute injury. Utilizing clinically relevant models that include co-morbidities, medications, and anesthesia, he emphasizes mitochondrial functions—especially hexokinase II—in cardioprotection during ischemia.