| René Tio is a cardiologist with a broad clinical experience. He received his MD degree at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and earned his Ph.D. degree at the Department of Clinical Pharmacology of the University of Groningen (Thesis title: Bradykinin-dependent effects of ACE inhibitors on the heart). The clinical part of this research, carried out under guidance of Prof. Mancia at the hospital of the University of Milan, dealt with the effects of ACE inhibitors on the autonomic regulation of the coronary circulation. After completing his training as a cardiologist, Dr. Tio was appointed to the staff of the Catheterization laboratory of the Thoraxcenter at the University Hospital Groningen, where he has worked as an interventional cardiologist for more than 10 years. At present he is member of the acute cardiac care team and involved in cardiovascular imaging. As a clinical Postdoctoral Fellow in the dr. E. Dekker Program of the Netherlands Heart Foundation between 1995 and 1999, Dr. Tio studied the influence of the endothelium on coronary physiology and the relevance of endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. During this period, with support from the Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands, he was trained in molecular cardiology in the Experimental Cardiology Laboratory of Dr. J. Isner at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston. There he studied the basic principles of angiogenic gene therapy in patients with endstage coronary heart disease. After this fellowship he started the first study on myocardial gene therapy for angiogenesis in Europe. His research field within cardiology is vascular function and failure with a focus on imaging. At present he is active in Medical Education as lecturer as well as chairman of the task group for faculty development, chairman of the joint board of examinators Medical and Dental school and as project leader of a large curriculum renewal project at the King Faisal University at Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, and he is board member of the European Board of medical assessors (EBMA). He is former chairman of the Dutch working group on inter-university progress testing, and a former member of the education and training committee of the Acute Cardiac Care Association of the European Society of Cardiology. He was an active member of the project group for setting up an International Bachelor in Medicine Groningen, which implemented a new completely English taught medical curriculum. In medical education his research interests lie in assessment, (cultural aspects of) curriculum renewal, faculty development and simulation training. |