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On Tuesday, March 25, the national monitoring committee of the Medical and Health Sciences Sector Plan paid a working visit to Radboudumc. This committee advises the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science on the progress of the sector plan and the future of resources after 2028. With those glasses on, the committee showed itself extremely positive about our approach, especially about how we use the sector plan funds to strategically invest in research, education and career development.
What does the sector plan entail?
The Medical and Health Sciences Sector Plan is a national initiative that makes 40 million euros available annually for all UMCs. The goal: to give researchers and teachers more room to tackle major social issues and to offer career prospects. This is done through structural strengthening through additional staffing and permanent appointments. The broader ambition is clear: accelerate on health.
The Radboudumc themes: prevention, data and therapy
Radboudumc receives approximately 5 million euros annually from the sector plan and invests this specifically in three substantive themes:
1. Prevention
Within the Prevention tile, research and education on preventive healthcare is strengthened from the 'Prevention Hub'; a group of 15 staff members working from their expertise to connect and accelerate research and education activities around the Radboudumc strategic theme of Prevention. Expertise in areas such as epidemiology, data, behavior change, the effects of lifestyle change and citizen science is deployed to advance Radboudumc and regional prevention projects. Investments are also made in the academic workshop Public Health AMPHI.
In addition, coassistants are trained in conducting the lifestyle conversation at the lifestyle care counter, where a warm transfer is provided from the patient to their own living environment to further address their specific lifestyle care question. In a number of neighborhoods in Nijmegen, so-called Fieldlabs have become operational, where students receive education and can conduct research into prevention questions that come from the neighborhood and thus learn about the relationship between the social and medical domains. There is collaboration here with the Radboud University and the Arnhem Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences.
2. Data-driven innovation and AI
We are working toward data-driven healthcare by structuring data from diagnostics and continuous monitoring to support analysis, integration and interpretation for further implementation. We are also developing new AI methods for analysis of multimodal and longitudinal data. One example is the Grand Challenge platform (www.grand-challenge.org). Through this platform, we make large medical datasets available worldwide, with which algorithms can be validated and improved. Furthermore, we strengthen diagnostics and treatment of rare diseases through European networks and patient registries. In the Innovative Clinical Trial Garden, we combine expertise for data-driven digital care, including e-Health. Finally, we invest in education with a new Master Medical Data Science and the postgraduate training of AI for Health.
3. Therapy development for rare diseases
In the Netherlands, about 1 million people live with a rare disease, for which there are still almost no treatments. With the Therapy Accelerator for Rare Diseases, we focus on this challenge. We support research (call for use cases and advice desk), strengthen innovation of different lines of research (1.preclinical models, 2.from genetic and cellular therapy to clinical trial, 3. clinical trial design and 4. pharmacometrics), develop education (new master specialization Drug Development) and promote open collaboration both within Radboudumc and outside Radboudumc in networks and public-private partnerships. A recent example is the opening of the advisory desk, where researchers can request low-threshold advice to accelerate their research into therapy development for a rare disease towards patients (Therapy Accelerator for Rare Diseases advisory desk).
Career paths and education central
An important principle within all three tiles is the creation of clear career paths for researchers and teachers. In recent years, Radboudumc developed and implemented a career path for researchers, in which scientific talent receives early confidence and support to develop further, and staff scientists can share their specialist knowledge. In addition, career paths focused on teaching and patient care are under development. These career paths are also coordinated with the other MUMCs. With this, the sector plan contributes to sustainable strengthening of scientific quality and career prospects within the Radboudumc and good coordination at the national level.
Impression of the day
