Two researchers of Radboudumc receive Veni grants  Awards for Nicky Scheefhals and Frans van Workum 

Geneticist Nicky Scheefhals and surgeon Frans van Workum of Radboud university medical center receive an NWO Veni grant, a personal scientific grant aimed at researchers who have recently obtained their PhD. Each researcher will receive a maximum of 320,000 euros. The grant is an incentive for adventurous, talented and groundbreaking researchers to further develop their own research ideas over the next three years. 

Nicky Scheefhals - Mix and Match: the role of mixed synapses in human neurodevelopment and disease

The balance between excitatory (stimulating) and inhibitory (dampening) synapses is crucial for proper brain function but is often disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders. This project investigates “mixed synapses”, a unique type where excitatory and inhibitory components converge. These synapses potentially play a key role in synaptic balance and plasticity but remain largely unexplored. Using advanced human neuronal models and cutting-edge technologies to map the protein composition of synapses with high precision, I aim to study how mixed synapses shape brain development and what goes wrong with disorders. These insights could pave the way for new therapeutic strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders. 

Frans van Workum – Improving OUTcomes of rectal cancer surgery with video-based PERFORMance data 

How a surgeon technically performs an operation is essential for its outcome. However, this is not measured or evaluated in current clinical practice, and surgeons do not receive regular feedback on how they technically perform operations. The OUTPERFORM project investigates to what extent surgical performance is related to outcome for rectal cancer patients in the Netherlands by assessing videos and correlating performance to patient outcome. In addition, surgeons assess their peers based on surgical videos and discuss results in interactive video sessions. The project investigates to what extent this leads to better technical performance and better outcomes for patients. 

Talent programme 

The aim of the NWO Talent Programme is to create creative space for adventurous, talented, pioneering researchers, in which they can conduct research of their own choosing, develop a line of research and further develop their talent. The Veni target group consists of researchers in the transition phase to independence, for whom the Veni can contribute to the development of the researcher in this field. Researchers eligible for a Veni grant have academic qualities that clearly exceed what is usual. The Veni grant is intended to fund scientifically innovative research and thereby enable these researchers to develop as independent researchers.

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