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The NWO has allocated Vidi funding of up to €850,000 to talent track researchers Martijn van den Bosch, Janita Bralten, Mani Diba, Jonne Doorduin, Jelle van Gurp, and Els van Wijngaarden from Radboud university medical center. With the help of the Vidi grant, the talented scientists can establish or expand their own line of research and further develop their talent.
Martijn van den Bosch – Different folks, different strokes: customizing knee injury treatments after joint trauma to prevent osteoarthritis
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 led by Martijn van den Bosch 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.
Martijn van den Bosch
Janita Bralten – Insulin signaling-related genetics first: reducing heterogeneity in psychiatry
Psychiatric disorders are common, complex and highly heritable, yet diagnoses lack a solid biological basis. Here Janita Bralten proposes 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, Bralten aims 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.
Read more about her research on the website of Donders Institute.
Janita Bralten
Mani Diba – DYNAVIVO: Dynamic confinement for engineering in vivo-like bone tissue models
Bone disorders affect millions and impose a heavy burden on healthcare systems. To develop better treatments, scientists need laboratory-based models that closely mimic how real bone forms and functions in the body. One important, but overlooked, feature is how cells are physically confined by their surroundings. These spatial constraints dynamically vary in living tissues like bone, which impacts how cells grow, change, and behave. This project led by Mani Diba will create a new system that can recreate such dynamic confinement using smart, expandable materials. The goal is to enable more accurate laboratory-based models for studying bone biology and screening new therapies.
Mani Diba
Jonne Doorduin – When breathing and the brain lose sync: the dark side of mechanical ventilation in the ICU
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, Jonne Doorduin and colleagues 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.
Jonne Doorduin
Jelle van Gurp – Rethinking intensive care for children and teens facing mental health challenges
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 led by Jelle van Gurp 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.
Jelle van Gurp
Els van Wijngaarden – Dying well: a novel ethical theory about dying in a medicalized age
Due to medical advancements, we live longer, but dying has also become more complex. More often we have to decide which treatments we do or do not want, with autonomy seen as essential. This focus on choice fosters the illusion that dying is a manageable event, leaving individuals ill-prepared to deal with the fragility and uncontrollability of life and death. This project led by Els van Wijngaarden develops a novel ethical theory of dying well; one that respects autonomy but also acknowledges its existential and relational dimensions. It seeks to provide guidance on how to navigate the final phase of life in a meaningful way.
Els van Wijngaarden
About the Vidi grants
The NWO Talent Programme offers researchers the freedom to pursue their own research driven by creativity and passion. It encourages innovation and curiosity. Vidi, together with the Veni and Vici grants, is part of the NWO Talent Programme. The evaluation focuses on the scientific quality and innovative nature of the research proposal, the scientific and/or societal impact of the proposed project, and the quality of the researcher. Almost all Radboudumc researchers who receive the Vidi grant are part of the talent track, the Radboudumc talent programme for exceptionally talented researchers.
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Pauline Dekhuijzen
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