Electrophysiology of Arrhythmias

The Netherlands has a longstanding and internationally recognized tradition in cardiac arrhythmia research, as exemplified by the research groups of Professors Durrer, Wellens, Janse and Allessie.
Over the last decades electrophysiological research has become more interdisciplinary, mainly due to the rise of the fields of genetics and molecular biology.  As a result, a majority of international meetings on arrhythmias have increasingly shifted their focus to molecular and genetic topics. We of course welcome this interdisciplinary approach as it provides novel insights and opportunities to translate basic science to patient care. However, we also feel that scientific discussion on electrophysiological mechanisms should remain a strong focus. This view is shared by the biannual Gordon Research Conference on Cardiac Arrhythmias (https://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=13282), which centers on cardiac electrophysiology. Over the past decade, the Amsterdam and Maastricht groups have organized meetings of the ‘Mines Society’ for arrhythmia research. There, the opportunity of PhD students and postdocs to talk with each other and their mentors about electrophysiological details of their research has been perceived as stimulating and highly valuable. We would therefore like to use the Mines meeting as a platform to recreate this environment at the national level, especially for young electrophysiologists. In this way, Dutch research groups can maintain their position at the forefront of research in cardiac electrophysiology, continuing a decades-long tradition of excellence.