149 talented researchers receive Vidi-grant

23 granted ZonMw Vidi projects

• Read more about the projects here

  Healthy vessels for healthy lungs 
  Dr J. Aman, Amsterdam UMC
  Lung disease is often linked to airway damage, but the tiny blood vessels in the lungs (microvasculature) are also crucial for lung health. Factors like smoking and aging can damage these vessels, yet research has mostly focused on airways. This project aims to identify key genes/proteins that help to maintain the microvasculature. By combining existing human lung cell data with patient-derived cells and preclinical disease models, my goal is to understand how these ‘stability factors’ work and whether activating them could reverse lung disease. This groundbreaking approach may lead to novel therapies targeting blood vessels to improve lung health.

  Neurotransmitters and brain networks: key to psychiatric treatment
  Dr A. Schrantee, Amsterdam UMC
  Mental health disorders affect nearly 1 billion people worldwide, yet current treatments, like pharmacotherapy and neuromodulation, often have limited success and significant side effects. This project investigates how brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) influence communication networks in the brain, a key factor in these disorders. Using advanced brain imaging techniques, the researchers will map how these chemicals shape brain connections in healthy individuals and those with conditions like ADHD, OCD, and depression. By understanding how medications and brain stimulation treatments affect these chemical networks, this research could lead to more precise and personalized mental health treatments.

  Targeting the Achilles heel of leukaemia cells
  Dr R. Thijssen, Amsterdam UMC
  Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a devastating form of blood cancer. Despite the introduction of venetoclax, a promising anti-cancer drug, many patients experience relapse during treatment. Researchers are using cutting-edge single-cell techniques to analyse individual leukaemia cells and uncover how they survive therapy. The goal is to determine whether resistant cells switch to an alternative survival pathway—an Achilles' heel that could be exploited. Identifying these escape routes may lead to a powerful combination therapy, enhancing venetoclax’s effects and providing a more effective, long-lasting treatment for AML patients.

  Dissecting Early Parietal epIthelial Cell activation in the kidney to pioneer therapy and halt FSGS
  Dr J. Jansen, Amsterdam UMC
  Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease, where glomerular podocytes trigger harmful signals that activate parietal epithelial cells (PECs), causing scarring and loss of kidney function. Currently, there is no effective treatment to stop FSGS progression. This project aims to uncover the molecular signature of early-activated PECs, enabling the development of specific therapies to prevent FSGS. By investigating the molecular mechanisms behind PEC activation, validating potential therapeutic compounds, and testing treatments in vivo, this project will develop specific therapies to stop FSGS progression and preserve kidney health.

  Cardiovascular diseases in South Asians: is inflammation the missing piece?
  Dr M.R. Boon, Erasmus MC
  South Asians make up 20% of the global population and have a strikingly high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), leading to significant mortality. Our immune system plays a role in the development of CVD. In this study, I will compare various components of the immune system between South Asians and Europeans. I will also investigate whether innovative lifestyle interventions and existing medications can reduce the inflammatory response in South Asians. The goal is to identify new, affordable treatments to lower the risk of CVD in South Asians. This will allow healthcare to be better tailored to ethnic background, reducing both disease burden and healthcare costs.

  The future of informal care
  Dr J. Brouwer, University of Groningen
  This longitudinal study investigates the conditions for providing sufficient informal care by developing the Social Care model to study how individual, social and societal determinants (legal regulations, policies, social norms and values), influence changes in caregiving networks. Based on collected empirical data, simulation models will explain which conditions enable citizens to provide informal care and what future available care will look like, given demographic changes. The findings are crucial for developing solutions that ensure sustainable informal care.

  Can common bacteria protect babies from diarrheal disease and drug resistance? 
  Dr V.C. Harris, Amsterdam UMC
  Babies in low-income countries often suffer from serious diarrheal illnesses and infections that don’t respond to antibiotics. My research shows that a common gut bacterium, E coli, increases in babies after their first year of life and contributes to antimicrobial resistance in low-income settings. Using data from 1,600 African infants, clinical studies, and computer models, the PATHO-SHIFT project explores how managing E. coli in the gut could reduce diarrheal illness and antibiotic drug resistance—helping create new microbiome-based treatments for at-risk babies.

  The aorta as a key to personalised treatment of high blood pressure
  Dr B. Spronck, Maastricht University
  Patients with elevated blood pressure are often treated with medications that relax the muscle cells in their smallest arteries, causing these arteries to dilate and blood pressure to drop. In some patients, such medications are ineffective, possibly because they also dilate the aorta. This project investigates how aortic vasodilation affects the blood pressure dampening effect of the aorta, and whether this explains why these drugs are sometimes not effective. Using the resulting data, a computer model is developed to predict whether vasodilatory antihypertensive treatment will be beneficial or detrimental to the individual patient, allowing optimal treatment from the start.

  No place like home: The bone marrow microenvironment as key to succesful stem cell transplantation in children
  Dr M.E. Belderbos, Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology
  Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a last-resort treatment for children and adults with blood cancer, hemoglobinopathies, metabolic diseases and immune deficiencies. Unfortunately, in about a quarter of patients, transplanted cells do not grow out sufficiently, which is life-threatening. This project investigates how stem cells restore blood after transplantation and why this sometimes fails. The researchers suspect that damage to the bone marrow environment, caused by pre-transplant medication, contributes to transplant failure. Using advanced techniques, they will map this environment in children undergoing transplantation. By improving this environment, they aim to enhance stem cell outgrowth, increasing the survival and quality of life of transplantation recipients.

  Insulin signaling-related genetics first: reducing heterogeneity in psychiatry
  Dr J. Bralten, Radboudumc
  Psychiatric disorders are common, complex and highly heritable, yet diagnoses lack a solid biological basis. Here I propose to use insulin signaling-related genomics, consistently shown to associate to multiple psychiatric disorders, to stratify individuals across psychiatric conditions. Using advanced clustering techniques and large-scale datasets, I aim to use genetics to identify biologically-informed stratification that can reduce heterogeneity in psychiatry. This work may enable more biologically-informed, personalized approach in psychiatry.

  Gut Barrier Boost: The Power of Microbes
  Dr T.G.J. de Meij, Amsterdam UMC
  This project investigates how early changes in gut bacteria and their metabolites contribute to the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and late-onset sepsis (LOS), two life-threatening conditions in premature infants. The aim is to develop safe, preventive treatments using sterile fecal filtrates to strengthen the gut barrier, and to identify non-invasive, microbiome-based biomarkers for early detection, in order to improve outcomes for this vulnerable population.

  Different folks, different strokes: Customizing Knee Injury Treatments after Joint Trauma to Prevent Osteoarthritis.
  Dr M.H.J. van den Bosch, Radboudumc
  Osteoarthritis is the most frequent joint disease causing pain, stiffness and immobility due cartilage breakdown and joint inflammation. Severe knee injuries strongly increase the risk of osteoarthritis development and are responsible for 12% of cases. This project will study the inflammation processes in the knee after an injury and how they respond to common drugs to reduce inflammation. The findings will help develop a method to couple the right treatment to patients with severe knee injuries to prevent the development of osteoarthritis.

  Mastering Mendelian forms of Myopia (M3) 
  Dr V.J.M. Verhoeven, Erasmus MC
  Mendelian myopia, nearsightedness often exceeding -10 diopters, is not just about needing strong glasses; many patients become blind. It is caused by a disruptive genetic factor often linked to inherited retinal or connective tissue disorder. It is unclear whether treatment to control common myopia is effective for Mendelian myopia. Patients lack clear prognoses and treatment protocols. My goal is to study refractive error progression, to elucidate the visual prognosis, and to investigate the effectiveness of the potent drug atropine eye drops in Mendelian myopia. It is my mission to improve the visual prospects of patients with this trait.

  When breathing and the brain lose sync: the dark side of mechanical ventilation in the ICU
  Dr J. Doorduin, Radboudumc
  Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) often receive mechanical ventilation. While life-saving, many of these patients suffer brain injury and experience long-term memory problems. In this project, researchers are investigating how mechanical ventilation affects brain function. The researchers will particularly focus on whether ventilation disrupts the natural link between breathing and brain activity. Our breathing rhythm is closely connected to brain rhythms and plays a key role in various brain functions, including memory. Using advanced techniques to measure brain activity, the scientists aim to discover whether this connection is disturbed by mechanical ventilation and how it might be restored.

  Clever use of blood pressure lowering medication for dementia prevention
  Dr J. van Dalen, Amsterdam UMC
  High blood pressure is an important risk factor for dementia. Bood pressure-lowering therapy reduces this risk. Studies suggest that individuals who use specific types of blood pressure-lowering medications develop dementia 10-35% less often than those using other types. These different medication types are widely used. Many dementia cases may be prevented if only dementia-reducing types would be prescribed. However, proving this through a clinical study is challenging, as it would require over ten thousand individuals to participate many years. This project uses advanced research techniques and large-scale existing datasets to identify which blood pressure-lowering medications are best for preventing dementia.

  Which prediction algorithms improve health outcomes?
  Dr N. van Geloven, Leiden UMC
  This project develops statistical methods to determine the impact of a clinical prediction algorithm before implementation, without requiring collection of more data. The new method takes into account the causal effects of treatment decisions that would change based on the algorithm, in order to determine the algorithms’ effect on health outcomes. This will help selecting promising algorithms for implementation in clinical practice and identifying the individuals who will benefit most from them.

  Before the First Drink: What Leads Youth to Use Substances?
  Dr R.L. Muetzel, Erasmus MC
  Substance use carries a large burden on individuals and society, as it is related to poor physical and mental health. When individuals begin using substances early, for example during adolescence, the risk for more problems later in life increases. Researchers at the Erasmus MC will use large datasets to better understand how adolescent substance use is related to various factors, including stress, family and peer relationships, genetics, the brain, and mental health. In particular, researchers will try to determine whether certain brain and mental health factors can be detected before individuals begin using substances.

  Liver cells: the first detector and defender against malaria parasites?
  Dr A.S.P. Yang, Leiden UMC
  Malaria is a devastating mosquito-borne disease that kills over 0.5 million people world-wide annually and for which there is no effective vaccine. Publications show that the initial step of the infection i.e. parasites’ seven-day development in the liver to be of utmost importance in generating lasting immunity. This proposal shines the spotlight on the liver cells (hepatocytes) which play host to these parasites but are better known for their functions in nutrient acquisition and metabolism. Researchers will investigate how hepatocytes detect the parasites, what responses are generated and the impact on the success of infection in the next parasitic encounter.

  The inflamed brain: neuroinflammation in dementia
  Dr E.M. van de Giessen, Amsterdam UMC
  Neuroinflammation plays a key role in Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. Novel treatments targeting neuroinflammation are emerging. Our knowledge of the development of the neuroinflammatory process during the disease is very limited though and it is still unknown when neuroinflammatory treatment could be most effective during the disease process. The researcher will characterize the neuroinflammatory process and develop measures that can be used to determine the phase of the neuroinflammatory process.

  Rethinking intensive care for children and teens facing mental health challenges
  Dr J.L.P. van Gurp, Radboudumc
  Project RESCAPE explores how societal beliefs and norms about living with and treating mental illness influence the use of compulsory care and coercive measures in child and adolescent psychiatry. These measures, often applied to high-risk patients, raise ethical concerns due to their potential harm to both patients and healthcare workers. RESCAPE combines research on personal stories, history, media, and theatre to critically examine these practices and their cultural roots. The project aims to explore alternative approaches, promote better decision-making with young people facing severe mental health challenges, and reduce trauma.

  Securing cardiovascular Health through personalised treatment of INdividuals with cOvert Brain Infarcts (SHINOBI-II)
  Dr F.J. Wolters, Erasmus MC
  One in four older individuals have brain infarcts on routine imaging without having had a clinical stroke. These covert brain infarcts predispose to subsequent clinical stroke, myocardial infarction, and dementia, but are often left unheeded as optimal management is undetermined. This project will determine feasible and effective strategies for detection of covert brain infarcts and their underlying causes, through a combination of community-based and clinic-based research. Findings will results in recommendations for personalised treatment, accounting for patient preferences on risk communication, yield of different diagnostic examinations, and potential benefit of treatment.

  Anatomy Matters! Tailoring Immunotherapies to the Tumor Microenvironment in Lymphomas
  Dr J.S.P. Vermaat, Leiden UMC
  Lymphomas can develop in any organ, yet current treatments often overlook organ-specific biology, leading to suboptimal outcomes. As a hemato-oncologist, I aim to investigate how organ-specific features influence disease progression and treatment response in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). I will identify novel immune-molecular subtypes that predict therapy responses and develop a machine-learning tool, ORACLE, to guide personalized treatment decisions. By integrating genomic, immune, and spatial data, ORACLE will improve predictions for chemo-immunotherapies and innovative immunotherapies, ultimately refining treatment approaches and improving survival outcomes for high-risk lymphoma patients, paving the way for personalized medicine in lymphoma care.

  How do genetic differences influence heart rate? Decoding the neuro-cardiac dialogue. 
  Dr H.D. Devalla, Amsterdam UMC
  Abnormal heart rate increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Hundreds of DNA regions have been linked to heart rate, but their biological functions remain undiscovered. Scientists at the Amsterdam UMC will use innovative human stem cell-derived systems. By combining heart pacemaker cells (which generate the heartbeat) and autonomic nerve cells (which speed up or slow down the rhythm), the team aims to identify processes that influence the electrical activity of heart cells. This research will improve understanding of how genetics determine heart function, contributing to the development of effective treatments for heart rhythm disorders.