Recently, several prestigious prizes and grants have been awarded to our AI&I members. Learn more about these accomplished individuals and their projects in the article below!
€1.67 million from KWF for cancer research – dr. Sandra van Vliet and dr. Joke den Haan
Two researchers from the Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology and the Amsterdam institute for Immunology and Infectious diseases have been awarded over €1.6 million by the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) for innovative research into activating the immune system to fight cancer.
New strategy to activate the immune system in metastatic colorectal cancer – dr. Sandra van Vliet
Dr. van Vliet’s research focuses on enhancing the effectiveness of immunotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. While immune-boosting therapies have shown promise, they often fail in patients with metastases. One key reason lies in the altered sugar layer on cancer cells.
All cells in the human body have a sugar coating, but in cancer cells this layer is disrupted. As a result, they contain abnormal sugar components, such as sialic acid, which can suppress the immune system. Dr. van Vliet’s study will investigate the role of this sugar layer—especially in tumors within the abdominal cavity. By inhibiting the production of sialic acids, the research team aims to switch the immune system back on and improve the body’s ability to attack metastatic tumors.
Innovative 'triconjugate' vaccines to enhance immune response - dr. Joke den Haan
Dr. den Haan is developing a new type of cancer vaccine, called a triconjugate vaccine, designed to be more powerful and targeted than existing vaccines. This novel approach combines three components:
- An address label that directs the vaccine to the right immune cells
- A cancer-specific antigen
- A stimulating molecule that activates the immune system
This combination allows the immune system to recognize and process the vaccine more effectively, leading to a stronger anti-tumor response. The vaccine could enhance the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitors—a promising form of immunotherapy that currently does not work for all patients.
NWO Open Technology Grant - Dr. Joke den Haan
In addition to the KWF grant mentioned above, Dr. Joke den Haan has also been awarded a grant from the NWO Open Technology Programme.
Through its Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES) domain, NWO is funding six application-driven research projects with a total of over €5.1 million. Industry partners and other organizations are contributing an additional €498,000 to support these initiatives.
Dr. den Haan’s project focuses on the development of an off-the-shelf Nanovaccine for cancer. Cancer remains the leading cause of death in the Netherlands. This project aims to develop an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine that can be broadly applied across various cancer types and patient populations.
The proposed vaccine will be protein-based and incorporate a nanobody to enhance delivery to immune cells. These immune cells will then activate killer T cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Additionally, the vaccine will include cancer antigens that are commonly present in multiple tumor types and are known to trigger strong immune responses.
This innovative approach holds the potential to make cancer immunotherapy more accessible and effective for a wider group of patients.
Seed Grant for Environmental Sustainability Research 2025 – Philip Elders
The Seed Grant for Environmental Sustainability Research provides project-based funding for Amsterdam UMC researchers. Coordinated by the Center for Sustainable Healthcare, in collaboration with Research Grant Support and the Research Policy Office, this second round offered a total budget of €90,000. Of the eight submitted proposals, two were awarded funding.
Project title GREEN-Abx Towards Greener Antibiotic Treatment: Life Cycle Assessment of Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy and Mitigation Potentials
Researchers: Philip Elders – Center for Infection and Molecular Medicine (CIMM), with Dr. Kim Sigaloff, Tessa de Vries, Prof. Dr. Joppe Hovius, and Prof. Dr. Suzanne Geerlings
Antibiotics are used commonly, yet the environmental impact of the administration remains poorly understood. Intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatments, whether administered in hospitals or outpatient with frequent home visits, likely have a significantly higher environmental footprint than oral alternatives, but this has not been comprehensively studied.
This project will compare four treatment pathways: hospital-based IV therapy, home-based IV therapy (OPAT), self-administered OPAT (S-OPAT), and IV-to-oral switching, focusing on two common infections that have a potential for IV-to-oral switching. Using a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment, we will evaluate all the materials, pharmaceuticals, energy consumption, waste, and travel-related environmental impact involved in each pathway. The results aim to identify hotspots in the environmental impact of the different treatment pathways and support clinicians in selecting treatments that are both medically effective and environmentally sustainable.
EMBO Molecular Medicine Award – Henrique Nogueira Pinto
At the 2025 Microphysiological Systems (MPS) World Summit in Brussels, Belgium, Henrique Nogueira Pinto presented his PhD research in a dynamic international setting and was honored with the EMBO Molecular Medicine Award. Henrique received the award for delivering the best 3-minute thesis presentation.
