Three VIDI grants for RIMLS researchers

24 May 2019

Three researchers from RIMLS are each to receive up to 800,000 euros to develop an innovative research theme and to build up their own research group. NWO (The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) is awarding the Vidi grant as part of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme.

Vidi is aimed at excellent researchers who have been producing successful research for a number of years since obtaining their PhD. These academics are among the best 10 to 20 percent in their field. A Vidi will allow them to conduct research for a period of five years. In this way, NWO stimulates curiosity-driven and innovative research.

We congratulate our researchers with this funding and wish them a lot of success with their great work.

Matthijs Jore, Dept. of Medical Microbiology, theme Infectious diseases and global health
Project: The malaria parasite’s fight against our immune system
Malaria is caused by unicellular parasites that are transmitted by mosquitoes. This research project studies at a molecular level how malaria parasites can evade the human immune system. The obtained insight will be used to develop novel drugs and vaccines against malaria.

Daniele Tauriello, Dept. of Cell Biology, theme Tumors of the digestive tract
Project: Restoring the immune system to prevent cancer from spreading
White blood cells can kill spreading cancer cells but are frequently sidelined by the tumour. The researchers will dissect this process of immune evasion in cultured minitumours to then block it in colon cancer in mice. With this treatment option, they may be able to prevent or cure metastasis.


Johannes Textor, Dept. of Tumor Immunology, theme Cancer development and immune defense
Project: How Intelligent is the Immune System?
Like our brain, our immune system can learn. The researchers will build computer models of the immune system and train these to recognize text and images to understand how the system learns, forgets, and gets confused. This will help to design therapies that use the immune system, such as vaccines.

 

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