Edwin van der Pol has been awarded a Vidi grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to develop ultrafast technologies for earlier diagnosis of disease. The grant, worth 800,000 euros, enables experienced researchers to develop their own innovative line of research and set up their own research group in the coming five years.

Edwin van der Pol: Intercept 1000-fold more minuscule messengers in blood to improve diagnosis

Dept. Biomedical Engineering & Physics

Blood contains small messengers. These messengers contain relevant information, which are useful for early diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. These messengers, however, are hidden within the blood, which hampers their detection. To detect a sufficient number of messengers, a much faster search is essential. Therefore, in project 1E3 researchers will develop new technologies to detect these messengers 1,000-fold faster than currently possible. These ultrafast technologies will provide clinicians with a new source of information, thereby enabling earlier diagnosis of disease.

Dr. Edwin van der Pol
Dr. Edwin van der Pol

About the Vidi grant

Vidi is a funding instrument in the NWO Talent Programme. It allows researchers who have already spent several years doing postdoctoral research to develop their own innovative line of research, and to appoint one or more researchers for this. This year, NWO has awarded 101 experienced researchers a Vidi grant, of which 6 went to Amsterdam UMC researchers.