My name is Ynte Ruigrok and I work as a stroke neurologist and a professor in genetics of cerebrovascular diseases at the department of Neurology. Both in my clinical work and my research I focus on intracranial aneurysms. Intracranial aneurysms are present in 3% of the population and usually go undetected until rupture occurs leading to an often fatal aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (ASAH). The overall aim of my research is to identify the patients who are at high risk of developing aneurysms and a subsequent ASAH. It is my ambition to increase insight in underlying disease processes, improve detection of aneurysms in high risk patients and optimize treatment. My research has a strong translational view in which I combine genetic, clinically applied and translational investigations on intracranial aneurysms

For my research I have received several prestigious grants, including a Clinical Established Investigator Grant of the Dutch Heart Foundation in 2022 and an ERC starting grant in 2019.

To advance aneurysm genetic research I have initiated the intracranial aneurysm working group within the international stroke genetics consortium. This cohort enables me to provide insight in which genetic variants and/or genes are associated with intracranial aneurysms and thus make a major contribution to unravelling the genetic architecture of the disease. Recently a large scale genome wide association study (GWAS) on intracranial aneurysms was performed. Based on its findings now more than half of the disease heritability can be explained (Bakker et al, Nature Genetics 2020). Currently my group is performing translational research studies for understanding the biological mechanisms of genetic variants for intracranial aneurysms identified and for exploiting genetics for drug discovery. In addition, observational clinical studies are being performed which provide important insights into causality, mechanisms and consequences of genetic findings.

Research line

Genetic riks of stroke

Most recent key publications

1.  Mensing LA, van Tuijl RJ, Greving JP, Velthuis BK, van der Schaaf IC, Wermer MJH, Verbaan D, Vandertop WP, Zuithoff NPA, Rinkel GJE, Ruigrok YM. Aneurysm Prevalence and Quality of Life During Screening in Relatives of Patients With Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A Prospective Study. Neurology. 2023 Aug 29;101(9):e904-e912. 

3. Bakker MK, van Straten T, Chong M, Paré G, Gill D, Ruigrok YM. Anti-epileptic drug target perturbation and intracranial aneurysm risk: Mendelian randomization and colocalization study. Stroke. 2023;54:208-16.

4. Zuurbier CCM, Mensing LA, Wermer MJH, Juvela S, Lindgren AE, Koivisto T, Jääskeläinen JE, Yamazaki T, Molenberg R, van Dijk JMC, Uyttenboogaart M, Aalbers M, Morita A, Tominari S, Arai H, Nozaki K, Murayama Y, Ishibashi T, Takao H, Rinkel GJE, Greving JP, Ruigrok YM. Difference in Rupture Risk Between Familial and Sporadic Intracranial Aneurysms: An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis. Neurology. 2021 Nov 30;97(22):e2195-e2203.

5. Bakker MK, … , Ruigrok YM. Genome-wide association study of intracranial aneurysms identifies 17 risk loci and genetic overlap with clinical risk factors. Nat Genet. 2020 Dec;52(12):1303-1313. 

2020 Michele Sale award for Women in Stroke Genetics, an internationally competitive mid-career award of the Internation Stroke Genetics Consortium (ISGC)

2019 ERC starting grant from the European Research Council for the research project ‘Early recognition of intracranial aneurysms to PRevent aneurYSMal subarachnoid haemorrhage (PRYSM)

2014 ZonMW Clinical Fellowship for the research project ‘Towards therapeutic strategies for intracranial aneurysms through deep re-sequencing of genetic risk loci and comprehensive functional characterisation’ 

2010 Rudolf Magnus Young Talent Fellowship from the Rudolf Magnus Institute of the University Medical Center Utrecht

2009 ‘Vernieuwingsimpuls Veni’ grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) for the research project entitled ‘Genetic variation and the risk of developing intracranial aneurysms’

2008 ‘Amsterdamse Neurologenvereeniging’ prize for thesis (cum laude)

2007 Girard de Mielet van Coehoorn prize for thesis (cum laude) (University Medical Center Utrecht)

2005 personal grant from the Dr. E. Dekker program of the Duth Heart Foundation  for the research project 'The role of the extracellular matrix in intracranial aneurysms’ 

2000 personal grant from the program ‘AGIKO-stipendia’ of NWO for the PhD project on the genetic background of intracranial aneurysms and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage