oHCM Regional Summit

A new era in treating obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM)

3-4 October 2025
Grand Hotel Union Eurostars
Ljubljana, Slovenia

Registration

Meet Our Speakers

Assoc. Prof. Michelle Michels, MD, PhD
Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Biography

Michelle Michels was appointed associate professor in 2021 and is Head of the Center of Expertise for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam. She is a current member of the European Reference Network Guard Heart. Dr. Michels completed her medical degree magna cum laude at the Catholic University Leuven in Belgium and her doctorate at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She completed her internal medicine residencies at University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven, and Stuyvenberg Hospital in Antwerp. Her cardiology residency and staff cardiologist appointments were at the Thoraxcenter Erasmus MD in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She has authored and co-authored peer reviewed publications for, amongst others, Netherlands Heart Journal, European Heart Journal, JACC Cardiovasc Imaging, EuroIntervention, The Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, and JACC Heart Failure.

Key Contributions to oHCM
  • Clinical Trials: Research into pathophysiologic mechanisms and genotype-phenotype relations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Investigator at EXPLORER-HCM, demonstrating improved clinical outcomes in patients with obstructive HCM treated with mavacamten. Steering committee member of the SEQUOIA-HCM study, demonstrating improved outcomes in obstructive HCM treated with aficamten. Steering committee member of the ACACIA-HCM study, investigating the effect of aficamten in non-obstructive HCM.
  • ESC Collaboration: Contributes to ESC 365, sharing oHCM trial insights to guide European clinicians in adopting novel therapies.
  • Mentorship: Trains European cardiologists in oHCM diagnostics and treatment, fostering regional expertise. Supervising PhD trajects related to HCM.
  • Patient Outcomes: Fosters clinical care of HCM patients, advocates for precision medicine, improving quality of life for oHCM patients through evidence-based care.
Contact and Professional Links
Prof. Aleš Linhart, MD, DrS., PhD, FESC, FCMA
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Prof. Zlatko Fras, MD, PhD, FESC, FACC, FRCP (Lond)
University Medical Centre Ljubljana and Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Academician Prof. Davor Miličić, MD, PhD, FESC, FHFA, FACC
University of Zagreb, Croatian Academy of Science and Arts, Croatia
Assist. Janez Toplišek, MD, PhD
University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia
Assist. Prof. Ivo Planinc, MD, PhD, FHFA
University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia
Prof. Snezhanka Tisheva, MD, DMSc
Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria
Assoc. Prof. Ainars Rudzitis, MD PhD
Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia
Dr. Egle Tamulenaite-Stuoke, MD
Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics, Lithuania
Marcela Dankova, MD, PhD.
National Cardiovascular Institute, Slovakia
Dr. Kairit Palm, MD
East Central Tallinn Hospital, Estonia