Author Archives: hDMT

Next step for NXTGEN HIGHTECH ‘Groeifonds’ Proposal

The ‘Groeifonds’ proposal NXTGEN HIGHTECH is selected to be worked out in detail to be submitted in October 2021. The Netherlands is an international leader when it comes to ultra-precision high-tech equipment and aims to exploit this expertise in NXTGEN HIGHTECH for production of Organs-on-Chips, among others. In total, 28 projects were selected from 244 initial submissions. The ‘Topsector HTSM’ has, in close collaboration with knowledge institutes, governments, industry and other topsectors, initiated this widely supported programme (budget € ~1.5 billion) to develop the next generation High Tech Equipment for these industries. One of the six domains of NXTGEN HIGHTECH...

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Successful online EUROoCS 2021 conference

The 3rd edition of the Annual EUROoCS (European Organ-on-Chip Society) Conference was again a virtual event, hosted by the University of Uppsala in Sweden. With more than 430 participants from 26 different countries, 6 keynote lectures, 40 abstract selected talks and 170 posters the conference again showed an increase in attendance compared to last year. New in this conference were the panel discussions with the Industrial and Regulatory Advisory Boards of EUROoCS. In addition, a movie was presented, illustrating the state-of-the-art of 8 nation-wide networks on Organ-on-Chip and the growing community building in the European countries. Finally, prizes were handed over to...

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Tyler Kirby starts research group on skeletal muscle at Amsterdam UMC

Tyler Kirby recently started his independent group in the Department of Physiology at Amsterdam UMC. He received his PhD in Physiology from the University of Kentucky in fall 2015 under the guidance of Drs. John McCarthy and Charlotte Peterson. During his PhD, he studied how muscle stem cells regulate both muscle fiber and extracellular matrix adaptation during periods of mechanical load, and how these processes are altered during the normal aging process. His interests in mechanotransduction and tissue engineering brought Tyler to Cornell University, where he pursued his postdoctoral work in Dr. Jan Lammerding’s laboratory within the Weill Institute for...

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LUMC PhD fellowship UNIONS for a cardio-renal unit-on-chip

A team of three researchers from LUMC has been awarded the €100k LUMC PhD fellowship to fund the first two years of a PhD student working on an innovative project called UNIONS (Unified organoid system for modelling kidney and heart interaction in chronic disease and its treatment). The team consists of Milena Bellin and Berend van Meer from the Department of Anatomy and Embryology, and Cathelijne van den Berg from the Department Internal Medicine-Nephrology at the LUMC. Heart and kidney dysfunction often coexist and cause high morbidity and mortality. Interestingly, the heart and the kidneys reciprocally influence their functions and...

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Proof-of-concept for a human heart model to test patient-specific therapy responsiveness

Within the research programme Human Measurement Models 2.0 a grant has been awarded to the PROPER-THERAPY team, led by Jolanda van der Velden (Amsterdam UMC). The PROPER-THERAPY team involves a collaboration between 4 academic (Amsterdam UMC, Erasmus MC, UMC Maastricht, UMC Utrecht) and 3 industrial (CytoCypher, Ionoptix, InVitroSys GmbH) partners, and aims to build proof that the metabolic state of the heart underlies drug responsiveness in inherited cardiomyopathies. Clinical problem: Pathogenic mutations in muscle components cause cardiac disease. Inherited cardiomyopathies have the unique characteristic that the gene defect is identified at young age, which allows timely application of preventive and curative therapies. However,...

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Create2Solve grant for development human Brain-on-Chip

Femke de Vrij (Erasmus MC), in collaboration with the private partner Core Life Analytics, has received funding from ZonMw for the development of an animal-free human 3D cortical network platform for screening myelination and inflammation phenotypes (3D Myelination & Inflammation Cortical network platform (3D MICro-brains). The project focuses on developing an animal-free 3D model with human brain cells that will contribute to drug development and research. ‘Especially for complex brain diseases that are difficult to investigate in laboratory animal models, it is vitally important to do research with human material’, says de Vrij. This project will provide a solution for...

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KWF grant for Breast Cancer-on-Chip research

The Dutch Cancer Foundation KWF granted a research project to Dik van Gent, Agnes Jager and Adriaan Houtsmuller (Erasmus MC) for further development of Cancer-on-Chip technologies, entitled: ‘Prediction of Breast Cancer chemotherapy response by direct determination of chemosensitivity in breast tumor tissue’. Pieces of tumors derived from patients will be cultured in a microfluidics set-up that allows growth for one to two weeks. The project also aims to develop novel technology for analysis of (chemo)therapy responses using (live) cell microscopy and analysis of outflow media.

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Leiden University coordinator of 23 million euro project for animal-free safety testing of chemicals

Testing chemical substances without using animals. It seems a utopia, but a European team is going to develop a way to make this a reality. The RISK-HUNT3R project, led by Leiden professor Bob van de Water, received 23 million euros from the European Commission for this purpose. The project was launched on 1 June 2021. By 2030, people and the environment in Europe will be free of exposure to harmful substances. At least, if it were up to the European Union’s Green Deal. But how feasible is that? ‘If you wanted to test all existing substances for their toxicity, you...

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Summer around the corner

Many of you might already enjoy a nice summer break or will do that soon during the next weeks or months. Let’s hope that corona allows us to leave our computers and relax after a busy period with many online meetings. One of those meetings was the annual EUROoCS 2021 conference with more than 430 participants from 26 different countries, 6 keynotes, 40 lectures and 170 posters, thanks to the excellent organization and hosting by Maria Tenje from Uppsala University. hDMT researcher Ulgu Arslan from Leiden University Medical Center received the ‘Best Presentation Award’ for her talk about ‘Vascularized three-dimensional...

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Falling Walls Lab MSCA competition now open – Pitch your research!

Falling Walls Lab Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions is now accepting entries which showcase the quality, diversity and passion of the most innovative minds taking part in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Falling Walls Lab is a world-class pitch competition, networking forum, and a stepping stone for the next generation of researchers, innovators, trailblazers, creators, and visionaries. Organised independently by the European Commission in conjunction with the Falling Walls Lab, by pitching their research, MSCA fellows will be able to practise their transversal skills such as communication and outreach, drive their innovations and access new collaborations. The aim of the Falling Walls Foundation is...

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