News Research

Frank Walboomers 25-years work anniversary at Radboudumc

Frank Walboomers, associate professor at the research group Regenerative Biomaterials at the Dept. of Dentistry (theme Reconstructive & Regenerative Medicine), celebrated his 25th work anniversary at Radboudumc.

Tjitske Kleefstra appointed endowed professor of Clinical genetics and psychopathology of rare syndromes

Tjitske Kleefstra has been appointed endowed professor of Clinical genetics and psychopathology of rare syndromes at the department of Neurodevelopmental disorders, with effect from 1 September.

Annette Schenck appointed professor of Translational Genetics

Annette Schenck has been appointed professor of Translational Genetics at the department of Neurodevelopmental disorders, with effect from 1 August. The chair will bring together fundamental and translational research in the field of brain developmental disorders.

Transfer of new anti-hepatitis C drugs across the human placenta

In a recent publication in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers from the Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Pharmacy, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, investigated the placental passage of two such drugs for the first time.

Nanda Rommelse appointed endowed professor of Neurodevelopmental disorders

Nanda Rommelse has been appointed professor of Neurodevelopmental disorders with effect from 1 September. The chair will function as a bridge between the Psychiatry Department of the Radboudumc with Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Does the COVID-19 cytokine storm exist? Research may have an impact on the chances of success of a specific treatment

Following the measurement of several important cytokines in patients with COVID-19 and various other severe diseases, researchers at Radboud university medical center now show that COVID-19 is not characterized by a cytokine storm.

The European Joint Program on Rare Diseases organizes a General Assembly meeting

The European Joint Program on Rare Diseases (EJP RD) organizes its second General Assembly (GA) and Consortium Meeting from 14 to 18 September 2020 (online).

Elderly people protected against respiratory infections by BCG vaccine However, the effect of the vaccine specifically against COVID-19 has not been demonstrated

Effects of pathogenic fungus screened internationally new fungus Candida auris first observed in 2009

Mariolina Bruno, Simone Kersten and Mihai Netea, and colleagues have discovered that the human immune system recognizes the fungus well. Their study has been able to pin-point the fungus' Achilles heel for new, effective drugs. This has recently been published in Nature Microbiology.

Tumour microenvironment shapes dendritic cell plasticity in a human organotypic melanoma culture

Carl Figdor and colleagues showed in Nature Communications that the tumour microenvironment (TME) forms a major obstacle in effective cancer treatment and for clinical success of immunotherapy.

Interference transitions in case of invasion of breast cancer determined by cell-cell adhesion and 3D matrix confinement

Peter Friedl and colleagues, theme Cancer development and immune defence, published in Nature Cell Biology (NCB) the mechanisms of jamming and unjamming transitions of mammary carcinoma invasion along tossue microtracks.

Universal Tumor DNA BRCA1/2 Testing of Ovarian Cancer Prescreening PARPi Treatment and Genetic Predisposition

Nicoline Hoogerbrugge, Iris Nagtegaal and Marjolijn Lightenberg published that Universal Tumor BRCA1/2 testing in all newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients is feasible and effective.

Frank Wagener and Hans Von den Hoff obtained a grant to study cleft palate repair in a rat model

Umbilical cord stem cells for cleft palate surgery.

Severe oxygen deficiency corona patient seems treatable ZonMw funds follow-up research into drug effectiveness

Frank van de Veerdonk, Mihai Netea and Roger Brüggemann wrote in JAMA Network Open, that Corona patients with severe oxygen deficiency react positively to treatment with icatibant.

Jong KNCV organizes a Pitch competition for PhD candidates

Are you a PhD candidate and would you like to win 500 euros with a pitch about your research? Young KNCV gives you that chance! During the KNCV Chemistry 2020 Evening on October 8th.

Collective invasion induced by autocrine purinergic loop through connexin-43 hemichannels

Peter Friedl, Paul Span and Antoine Khalil show in Journal of Cell Biology that breastcancer cells release purines into the extracellular space via connexin-43 hemichannels to control collective invasion.

TP53 allelic state is critical for diagnostic and prognostic precision in blood cancer

An international study, in which Joop Jansen participated, shows that a double mutaton in TP53 gene deteriotes the prognosis of a rare form of blood cancer. If there is only one mutation or no mutation, then the prognosis is better.

BCG vaccine is safe with no increased risk of COVID-19 symptoms says Mihai Netea

The BCG vaccine has a general stimulatory effect on the immune system and is therefore effective against multiple infectious diseases - possibly also against COVID-19.

650,000 Euro funding for research into the phasing out of medication for leukaemia patients

With a 650,000 euro funding from ZonMw, researchers from the Haematology and Pharmacy departments can develop a medication phasing out strategy for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia. This strategy will be tested in practice.

Increased role of patients after bowel cancer treatment

Approximately 14,000 patients get colorectal cancer every year. Almost all patients are operated on and monitored afterwards (follow-up). In 2019 Radboudumc started a new approach to follow-up research after the treatment of stage II/III colorectal cancer.

ERC Proof of Concept grant received by Ronald van Rij

Ronald van Rij, theme Infectious diseases and global health, received an ERC (European Research Council) Proof of Concept grant of 150,000 euros, in order to make arbovirus vaccines even safer.

Hypatia fellowship Call is open

The Hypatia fellowship round with the deadline 31 May has been canceled. Therefore, the next available deadline will be 27 September 2020. Radboudumc researchers are invited to scout young potentials to fill the strategic gaps within the research themes imbedded in RIHS and RIMLS.  

Mihai Netea and colleagues published two papers back-to-back in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 

These back-to-back articles investigated the effect of BCG vaccination on trained immunity. The first article shows that BCG vaccination inhibits systemic inflammation, depending on gender. The second article demonstrates that the circadian rhythm influences the induction of trained immunity.

Genetic mutation reveals how coronavirus strikes TLR7 plays essential role in disease process

''Does a congenital immune defect play an important role in the defense against Coronavirus?'' This was published by Cas van der Made, Frank van der Veerdonk and Alexander Hoischen.

Improved method for detecting lung cancer

Radboudumc researchers are the only ones in the Netherlands using a new method to make better lung cancer diagnoses earlier stage. Erik van der Heijden and Roel Verhoeven shows that the use of flexible imaging equipment via the natural respiratory tract contributes to a more accurate diagnosis.

Optimizing workup in head and neck cancer (HNC)

In the journal Cancer RIHS researcher Henrieke Schutte described the outcomes after the implementation of a fast-track multidisciplinary integrated HNC care program: time-to-treatment was significantly reduced and survival and patient satisfaction increased significantly without increasing costs.

Less registration leads to more time for the patient

On average, care providers spend more than 52 minutes of their working day on quality registrations. Only 36% of these registrations can be used to improve care and that the registration burden weighs on the motivation of care providers.

ATRO Medical, Radboudumc and Samaplast develop new meniscus prosthesis Consortium receives EUROSTARS grant for innovative project

An international consortium led by ATRO Medical, a spin-off of Radboudumc and DSM, will receive € 800,000 European funding for an innovation aimed at patients with knee osteoarthritis. These patients often suffer from cartilage wear due to a meniscus that no longer works properly.

First podcast 'AI for Life' about Artificial Intelligence in Nijmegen Podcast on medical image processing with Bram van Ginneken, Ritse Mann and Eva van Rikxoort

The first podcast on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nijmegen was released today. In this podcast on spotify and anchor Bram van Ginneken, Ritse Mann and Eva van Rikxoort talk about AI and medical image processing. The next podcast is about smart chatbots.

Cardiac function in relation to myocardial injury in hospitalised patients with COVID-19

In Netherlands Heart Journal RIHS researcher Frederik van den Heuvel described that in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, COVID-19 predominantly affects the respiratory system, while cardiac dysfunction occurs less often.

NeurotechEU has received the approval of European Commission

The Donders Institute participates in the newly established European University for Neuroscience and Technology.

Registration for Social Dutch course for researchers is open now

In October, a new course Social Dutch will start at Radboud In’to Languages. The course is very popular and we are happy to inform you that registrations for Social Dutch have been opened now!

Software for ranking protein-protein interfaces Released by eScience Center

Li Xue of the CMBI contributed to the development of a software package that ranks and scores protein-protein interfaces (PPIs). This article was published in Software X.

Finally, an explanation for hearing loss in twelve Dutch families

The culprit is a genetic abnormality, a discovery that immediately makes it one of the most common causes of hereditary hearing loss in the Netherlands.

Symposium ENABLE 2020 postponed to spring 2021

Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the ENABLE team decided to postpone the symposium to spring 2021!

Rebecca Halbach receives idea generator grant to fight mosquito transmitted viruses

Rebecca Halbach and Pascal Miesen have investigated in a collaborative project whether the treatment of mosquitoes with antiviral drugs can prevent the transmission of mosquito-transmitted viral diseases.

Bessensap 2020 by Siroon Bekkering what is your story?

Communication in times of crises. In line with the government's extended measures to contain the coronavirus, Bessensap became an online event this year. The core of Bessensap - science meets press - by Siroon Bekkering.

Invasive fungal infections in influenza and COVID-19

The Aspergillus fungus is found in the lungs of many COVID patients. A parallel occurs with influenza patients, who often develop a serious fungal infection. Although such a serious fungal infection seems to occur less frequently in COVID-patients, alertness remains necessary,

Werner Koopman 25 years at Radboudumc celebrating online

Werner Koopman completed his 25 years at Radboudumc. Biochemistry sent him a cake at home and celebrated this special moment during COVID-19 in a unique way.

Online conference offers advantages for scientists

Flying around the world for every congress is outdated. Scientists can now choose for a more environmentally conscious option. Published in 'De Volkskrant', Radboudumc researchers Teun Bousema, Estel Collado and Julie Verhoef argue that the online congress can offer serious advantages.

Register for PhD courses via gROW What does this mean for you?

From now on you can arrange everything related to the general RU PhD courses via gROW. Because of this there will be some changes in the registration! What does this mean for you?

Experts on metabolic diseases still an unknown major problem...

Six Dutch UMCs and a patient association contribute to treating and solving this major, often unknown, problem. Timely detection of metabolic diseases is vital. Therefore, Radboudumc is also part of the consortium “United for Metabolic Diseases”.

Radboud Pluim for Lionne Ekers ambassador for the RIMLS institute

Lionne Ekers received the Radboudpluim for her special merits for the Radboudumc. She is a born ambassador for our Institute.

Stefan Listl member Lancet Commission on Oral Health

In recognition of the global public health importance, woeful neglect of oral diseases, and the need for a broader understanding and commitment to global oral health within medicine and global health agendas, The Lancet recently established a Commission on Oral Health.

Trained immunity: a tool for reducing susceptibility to and the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection

In a review in Cell Mihai Netea, Frank van de Veerdonk, Reinout van Crevel and Jorge Dominguez Andres propose that induction of trained immunity by whole-microorganism vaccines may represent an important tool for reducing susceptibility to and severity of SARS-CoV-2.

Towards an AI diagnosis like the doctor's

How can we make ‘lazy’ artificial intelligence more transparent and relevant to the clinic?

“In the lead of your PhD” in COVID times

Starting your PhD during the lockdown, working from home, not knowing your colleagues, but finally they could share their stories during the first 1.5 meter course.

UMD Catalist grant for Mohammad Alsady and Federica Conte

They received this award to explore the potential of hiPS-derived skeletal muscle cells as model to investigate muscular pathophysiologic mechanisms in phosphoglucomutase I deficiency.

Master Prizes 2018-2019 awarded for best internship reports

Which students have made the best reports of their scientific internship? On 18 June the Radboudumc Master Prizes were awarded, an annual tradition to reward 'remarkably good scientific work by students'. This year's presentation was virtual, given the corona conditions.

Radboud Science Award for RIHS researchers

Maroeska Rovers, Machteld van Egmond and Niels van Heerbeek have been awarded the Radboud Science Award 2020. The awardees receive the prize for their research of the necessity of correcting the nasal septum.