Personal profile
Research interests
Alicia is Assistant Professor at the Cardiology department in Amsterdam UMC and an epidemiologist specialised in cardiovascular (pharmaco)epidemiology, with a focus on optimising and personalising the care and treatment for cardiovascular patients, particularly those with heart failure (HF). Her research leverages complex, linked real-world data, including electronic health records (EHR) and clinical registries, to support data-driven decision-making in cardiovascular care. By integrating pharmaco-epidemiological methods and predictive modelling, she investigates treatment effectiveness, adherence, and long-term outcomes, aiming to enhance patient-centred care. With a strong interest in applied science, she contributes to the implementation of patient-centred innovations within healthcare systems.
A central focus of her work is the data-driven re-phenotyping of cardiovascular diseases outside their current classification using routinely collected clinical data to predict risks of outcomes and inform targeted treatment strategies. She has developed and validated algorithms to classify HF subtypes and applies data-driven methods such as latent class analysis and machine learning to identify clinically meaningful patient profiles. These phenotypes are used to explore treatment heterogeneity and to emulate clinical trials using observational data, providing insights into optimal therapeutic strategies in routine care.
With a strong interest in translational research, Alicia contributes to the implementation and evaluation of predictive tools within healthcare systems, this is evident in the PROMPT-Amsterdam project in which an decision support alert is implemented in EPIC EHR system to alert physicians to prescribe all guideline recommended treatments for patients with heart failure, or in the CARE-HEART project, in which her team will develop AI-based models that use structured and unstructured EHR data to identify patients in need of proactive or palliative care. She is also committed to ensuring that these innovations in cardiovascular care are inclusive, taking into account patient wishes to inform the development of models.
Her work is grounded in the recognition that large-scale, routinely collected healthcare data represents a critical, yet, underutilised asset for transforming cardiovascular care. With a clear vision for bridging the gap between clinical research and real-world practice, she leads efforts to convert complex data into clinically interpretable, and implementation-ready tools. Through this work, she is building the foundation for a scalable, learning healthcare system, positioning herself as a key figure in the future of data-driven, patient-centred cardiovascular medicine.
Specialisation
Cardiovascular Epidemiology
Personalised Medicine
Causal Inference
Real-World Data and Data Linkage
Registry-based Research
Related documents
Education/Academic qualification
PhD, Cardiovascular Epidemiology, UMC Utrecht
Award Date: 25 Jun 2020
Master, Postgraduate Clinical Epidemiology, Universiteit Utrecht
Award Date: 1 Oct 2019
Master, Biomedical Sciences, Universiteit Leiden
Award Date: 1 Sept 2015
Bachelor, Biomedical Sciences, Universiteit Leiden
Award Date: 1 Sept 2012
External positions
Affiliated Researcher, Karolinska Institutet
Affiliated Researcher, University College London
… → 1 Jun 2020
Affiliated Researcher, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Identification of distinct phenotypic clusters in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Uijl, A., Savarese, G., Vaartjes, I., Dahlström, U., Brugts, J. J., Linssen, G. C. M., van Empel, V., Brunner-La Rocca, H.-P., Asselbergs, F. W., Lund, L. H., Hoes, A. W. & Koudstaal, S., Jun 2021, In: European journal of heart failure. 23, 6, p. 973-982 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
Multimorbidity in Heart Failure: Leveraging Cluster Analysis to Guide Tailored Treatment Strategies
van de Veerdonk, M. C., Savarese, G., Handoko, M. L., Beulens, J. W. J., Asselbergs, F. & Uijl, A., Oct 2023, In: Current Heart Failure Reports. 20, 5, p. 461-470 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile26 Downloads (Pure) -
Does Heterogeneity Exist in Treatment Associations with Renin-Angiotensin-System Inhibitors or Beta-blockers According to Phenotype Clusters in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction?
Uijl, A., Koudstaal, S., Stolfo, D., Dahlström, U., Vaartjes, I., Grobbee, R. E., Asselbergs, F. W., Lund, L. H. & Savarese, G., Apr 2024, In: Journal of cardiac failure. p. 30(4):541-551 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile15 Downloads (Pure) -
Ideal cardiovascular health and cardiovascular related events: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Te Hoonte, F., Spronk, M., Sun, Q., Wu, K., Fan, S., Wang, Z., Bots, M. L., Van der Schouw, Y. T., Uijl, A. & Vernooij, R. W. M., 27 Dec 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: European journal of preventive cardiology. p. 31(8):966-985Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile10 Downloads (Pure) -
Clinical profile and contemporary management of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: results from the CHECK-HF registry
Uijl, A., Veenis, J. F., Brunner-La Rocca, H. P., van Empel, V., Linssen, G. C. M., Asselbergs, F. W., van der Lee, C., Eurlings, L. W. M., Kragten, H., Al-Windy, N. Y. Y., van der Spank, A., Koudstaal, S., Brugts, J. J. & Hoes, A. W., Jul 2021, In: Netherlands heart journal. 29, 7-8, p. 370-376 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Downloads (Pure)