Hans A. Heemskerk, MSc.

Hans Heemskerk is PhD-student in the DMD Genetic Therapy Group at the Human Genetics Department (LUMC) since May 2005. He studied Biomedical Science at the University of Leiden. He is focusing on the development of safe and efficient antisense formulations for the body-wide treatment of muscle tissue in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients, under supervision of Dr. Annemieke Aartsma-Rus and Prof. Dr. Gert-Jan B van Ommen. Currently he is a postdoc in the group of Jenny Morgan at the Institute of Child Health (London, UK).

Publication list

Aartsma-Rus,A., Janson,A.A., Heemskerk,J.A., De Winter,C.L., van Ommen,G.J., and van Deutekom,J.C. (2006) Therapeutic modulation of DMD splicing by blocking exonic splicing enhancer sites with antisense oligonucleotides. Ann.N.Y.Acad.Sci., 1082, 74-76.

Aartsma-Rus A, van Vliet L, Hirschi M, Janson, A.A., Heemskerk, J.A. et al. (2008) Guidelines for antisense oligonucleotide design and insight in splice modulating mechanisms. Mol Ther; epub 23 Sept

Heemskerk JA, de Winter CL, De Kimpe S...and Aartsma-Rus A (2009) In vivo comparison of 2'O-methyl-PS and morpholino antisense oligonucleotides for DMD exon skipping. J Gene Med ; 11:257-66

Heemskerk JA, de Winter CL, van Ommen G-J, van Deutekom JCT and Aartsma-Rus A: Development of antisense-mediated exon skipping as a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Annals of the NY Acad Science 2009; 1175: 71-9.