Every year, the best project proposals from cancer researchers at Amsterdam UMC are selected for funding by the Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA) Foundation. This ‘seed-funding’ empowers CCA scientists to pursue highly promising new research directions in support of our goal to cure cancer.

One of the main criteria in the evaluation process is a high potential for the project to lead to clinical application. Another important aspect is to strengthen collaborations among researchers at Amsterdam UMC. This year, ten innovative projects will receive funding. Cancer Center Amsterdam congratulates all awarded researchers.

Awardees:

Rogier Voermans. Using bile cell-free DNA to discriminate between benign and malignant biliary strictures (BAMBI) Research Team: Frederike Dijk, Joanne Verheij, Geert Kazemier.

Thom Molenaar. Finding cohesin regulators to push cancer cells towards an early mitotic grave. Research Team: Job de Lange.

Alsya Affandi. Activating lung-resident memory T cells by local vaccine delivery to eliminate lung cancer. Research Team: Idris Bahce, Marieke Fransen, Jan Willem Duitman.

Fleur Peters. Mapping T-cell dysfunction in the lymph-node ‘cradle’ of chronic lymphocytic leukemia; a single-cell, multi-omics approach. Research Team: P.D. Moerland, Arnon Kater, Peter Henneman

Iosifina Foskolou. Targeting RNA modulators to enhance the effect of CAR-T cell immunotherapy. Research Team: Carlijn Voermans, Maria Themeli, Marie José Kersten.

Jochem Bernink. Deciphering anti-tumor immunological properties of human innate lymphoid cells in PDAC and CRC. Research Team: Hergen Spits.

Tom van den Ende. Oral Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) Capsules from Healthy Donors in Patients with Locally Advanced, Resectable Gastric or Gastro-esophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma. Research Team: Hanneke van Laarhoven, Max Nieuwdorp, Mark van Berge Henegouwen.

Henk Jan Mutsaerts. BBB-ASL for injection-free Glioma Blood- Brain Barrier assessment: BIG-BBB. Research Team: Vera Keil, Philip de Witt Hamer, Frederik Barkhof.

Ben Zwezerijnen. Towards resolving inconclusive staging of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer: comparative Total Body PET/CT study using [18F]FES and [18F]F-FAPI-074. Research Team: Willemien van der Menke, Houven van Oordt, Ronald Boellaard, Bert Windhorst.

Jimme Wiggers. Reducing surgical overtreatment in patients with pT2 rectal cancer: expansion of criteria for rectum preserving, local excision as safe oncological treatment. Barbara Bastiaansen, Roel Hompes, Arantza Farina Sarasqueta.

For questions or donations to Cancer Center Amsterdam Foundation please contact:

cca@amsterdamumc.nl