Recently awarded Rubicon laureates expand their horizon
The laureates of the Rubicon 2025-1 round are ready to take off. They will be working on a wide variety of topics, but all of the honoured projects have something in common: their contribution to making impact.
Features of the Rubicon programme
Thanks to the Rubicon grant these young researchers have the opportunity to conduct their research at a foreign institute that provides the best environment for their work. The size of the grant depends on the chosen destination and the duration of the stay. Each year, NWO and ZonMw fund around 60 young researchers with the help of the Rubicon programme with a total amount of 9 million euros distributed over three rounds). The projects featured in this news are awarded in the first round of 2025.
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AI-driven approaches to improve diagnostics for monogenic disorders
Dr R. Deng -> Erasmus MC -> United States -> Stanford University -> 24 months
More than 50% of patients with monogenic disorders including neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) cannot get a genetic diagnosis. In this project, the researcher will develop artificial intelligence (AI) models to identify disease-causing noncoding variants and simplify the genetic diagnosis procedure. The proposed frameworks will help in diagnosing the unsolved NDDs patients and improving the patient care.Bridging the chasm between animal studies and human clinical trials through humanized liver models
M. Kokkorakis BSc -> University of Groningen -> United States -> Yale School of Medicine -> 24 months
Current animal models inadequately represent human liver disease due to immune and lipid profile differences. This project employs advanced mouse models with human-like livers to study specific lipids disrupting immune function and causing liver damage. Insights from these lipids can bridge gaps between animal research and clinical trials of alcohol- and metabolism-related liver diseases.