Iris Miedema has been selected to receive a grant from The Amsterdam UMC Young Talent Fund. The Amsterdam UMC Young Talent Fund is financed by the AMC Foundation and VUmc Fonds and selects outstanding young PhD candidates for an internship or coursework at a top international research institute anywhere in the world.

Iris Miedema is a PhD student in the department of medical oncology and focuses on using PET/CT imaging as a biomarker for treatment with immunotherapy. With the grant, she plans to go to Portland, Oregon, USA for a 6-month internship in the lab of Ferdinando Pucci at the Oregon Science and Health University. There she will learn how to perform a multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) technique that can process up to 29 different stains on one slide. The analysis pipeline also incorporates quantification of the staining and spatial pattern analysis. Cross-validating these results with the PET/CT imaging data will give unique insights and help to further develop this technique for clinical practice. Additionally, Iris will boost our local mIHC capabilities upon returning with this experience to the Cancer Center Amsterdam.