As pediatric cardiologist and scientific lead of the pediatric heart failure and transplantation program at Sophia Children’s Hospital – Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, I am (co)leading several studies on pediatric heart failure, heart transplantation, and cardiovascular risk management in pediatrics. As Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Immunology, my research focuses on emerging challenges at the crossroads of cardiology, (lipid) metabolism, and immunology. First, I am leading a lifecourse study in heart transplantation patients, to decipher the immune response after heart transplantation and contribute to the development of personalized immunosuppressive regimens that reduce cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). CAV is a leading cause of death in heart transplantation patients, and it’s pathophysiology partly overlaps with coronary atherosclerosis. Second, I aspire to unravel immunological mechanisms in pediatric heart failure, and I have initiated a national working group on pediatric cardiomyopathies to fuel collaborative heart failure research in pediatrics. Third, I am leading a longitudinal cardiovascular follow-up study in children at risk for early atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the SMART-Youth study. As chairman of the European guideline committee on cardiovascular risk management in pediatrics (AEPC-EAPC), I hope to contribute to pediatric cardiovascular risk management strategies in clinical practice.