I am a pediatric cardiology fellow at Cincinnati Children’s. I believe the most essential thing as a physician is to listen to families and understand what is important to them. Although there may be many different ways to make a treatment plan, decisions should involve input from the family to make sure we can achieve the best outcomes.

As a young girl, I knew I wanted to be a doctor. I’ve always been fascinated with the heart and how it works — when I learned in medical school about the different forms a heart can take, I found it not only intriguing but also beautiful. Kids are born with entirely unique hearts, which makes the medicine challenging and incredibly rewarding! There’s something special about caring for kids and their families, helping them live their best lives and becoming a part of their lives along the way.

I think it is important to remember the impact that congenital heart disease can have on a child’s and their family’s life. Asking children to stay in the hospital for weeks or months, take medications, or wear machines can have a big impact on their development and childhood. As their doctor, I want to work with the family to help normalize lives for kids and their families as best as possible.

My research interests are vast but include investigating long-term outcomes in children with pulmonary hypertension. I am also exploring my clinical interests in pulmonary hypertension and cardiac critical care.

I was born in the Netherlands and moved to the United States when I was eight years old. I love traveling to see my family, who are scattered around the globe, and visiting new places. When my husband and I lived in California, we fell in love with hiking and being outdoors. Currently, we spend a lot of our time cooking at home, blending our cultures of European and Southern cuisines, and spending time with our two spunky, fun dogs. I’m also enjoying spending time with my new co-fellows and exploring the local parks in Cincinnati, OH.