[4] His research is focused on acute coronary syndromes, thrombolysis and antithrombotic treatment.
His doctoral thesis was an early treatise on the mechanism underlying the gallop rhythm in heart failure.
Later, he collaborated in Leuven with Désiré Collen to discover the clinical application of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).
In 2013, the Frans Van de Werf Fund was inaugurated at the KU Leuven.
The Fund aims to promote and support clinical cardiovascular research.