Jane Splinter (2001) is a PhD candidate at the Paediatric Cardiology department of the Emma Children’s Hospital, Amsterdam UMC. She is combining her Master of Medicine with her PhD trajectory as part of the MD/PhD program at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Jane is affiliated to Follow Me,  Part of Follow Me is the outpatient program for children with congenital heart disease requiring open-heart surgery early in life, including children with Tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries, and children with (atrio)ventricular septal defects. Multidisciplinary check-ups are offered at ages 6, 10, and 14, provided by a team of pediatric cardiologists, psychologists, physiotherapists, radiologists, and geneticists.

Jane’s PhD focuses on the determinants of cardiorespiratory fitness in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease. Cardiorespiratory fitness impacts on important outcomes, including cardiovascular health, metabolic functioning, and brain health. This work relies on patient data collected in the Follow Me outpatient program for children with congenital heart disease and in similar outpatient programs that are currently developed at Erasmus MC, LUMC, Radboud UMC. Together with Amsterdam UMC, these academic hospitals collaborate in the STAMINA-project (STimulating physical Activity in MINors with cardiac Anomalies). This project, funded by Stichting Hartekind, focuses on the physical activity and exercise capacity in children with congenital heart disease. More specifically, this project aims to assess the physical activity levels and their relationship with exercise capacity in children with congenital heart disease, and to identify barriers and facilitators of physical activity.  The ultimate aim is to increase physical activity levels in children with congenital heart disease to enhance cardiorespiratory fitness and related outcomes. Establishing, harmonizing, and managing these outpatient care clinics forms a significant part of her PhD trajectory.

Jane’s work is supervised by prof. dr. N.A. Blom, prof. dr. J. Oosterlaan, dr. A. W. van Deutekom, dr. I.M. Kuipers, and dr. A. E. van der Hulst.