LAUSR

The dissertation prize is named after Willem Einthoven, a pioneer in cardiovascular medicine who recorded the first human ECG in 1902, for which he was awarded the Nobel prize in 1924 [1]. The annual Einthoven dissertation prize is an initiative of the Netherlands Heart Institute (NHI) and the Netherlands Society of Cardiology (NVVC) to select the top three cardiovascular theses published in the year 2017. The jury received a total of 26 PhD dissertations for selection. The ranking of the theses was based upon a combination of parameters that included the curriculum vitae of the candidate, the scientific originality of the PhD thesis and its relevance for the cardiovascular field. Moreover, several objective bibliometric parameters were used that included the number of articles in citation index journals, both in PubMed and the Web of Science (WOS), the number of citations in WOS, the Hirsch index and finally the contribution of the candidate as a first author. Based upon this evaluation the jury elected the following nominees: S. Bekkering, N. van Ditzhuijzen, and M. Hazebroek. The members of the jury were P.A. Doevendans and D.J. Duncker (Netherlands Heart Institute), H. Bosker (NVVC), I. van Gelder (CVOI) and M.J. Schalij (President Concilium Cardiologicum). The three candidates presented their PhD theses at the NHI meeting in Utrecht on June 28–29th 2018. We congratulate the laureates for their excellent scientific work and their presentations during the meeting.