New and reemerging infectious diseases call for innovative and efficient control strategies of which fast vaccine design and development represent an important element.

The ambition of the Medical Systems Biophysics and Bioengineering group led by Alireza Mashaghi is to develop and use physics and engineering concepts and tools for pathophysiology, diagnostics and therapy.

Promotor: J.G.E.M. Fraaije, Co-Promotor: A. Kros

Lysosomal acid glucosylceramidase (GBA1) is a lysosomal enzyme that degrades glucolipids with its main substrate being glucosylceramide (GlcCer). Defects in the GBA1 gene lead to glycosphingolipidosis Gaucher disease (GD), in which the hydrolysis of GlcCer is impaired and therefore, it accumulates in…

Research in the Jawerth lab focuses on using principles from soft condensed matter physics to understand important biological materials.

Synthesis and application of chemical biology tools to study immunomodulatory signaling lipids.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Metastasis, the process by which cancer cells spread to other parts of the body, makes treatments less effective. It is important to unravel the mechanism of metastasis.

The research described in this thesis centered on retaining exo-β-glucosidases implicated in health and disease, in particular the human inherited lysosomal storage disorder, Gaucher disease (GD).

Source: Nat Biotechnol, Volume 32, Issue 12, pp. 1213-22 (2014)

The relative simplicity of the bacterial cell, short generation times and well defined and inexpensive culturing conditions have significantly contributed to our understanding of many complex biological systems. Yet the workings of the bacterial genome, seemingly impossibly compressed within a tiny…

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of breast cancer characterized by limited treatment options and unfavorable clinical outcomes. Therefore, the research described in this thesis focused on the exploration of novel targeted therapies for TNBC.

The four possible segments A, T, C and G that link together to form DNA molecules, and with their ordering encode genetic information, are not only different in name, but also in their physical and chemical properties.

Our research aims to develop drugs that boost the host immune response to better defend us against mycobacteria.

Promotores: Prof.dr. E.A.L. Biessen, Prof.dr. T.J.C. van Berkel

Promotor: Prof.dr. B. van de Water, Co-promotores: J.W. van der Laan, C.L.E. Siezen

Cardiovascular diseases are among the most frequent causes of death in the world. The main underlying pathology of cardiovascular diseases is the development of atherosclerosis in the medium and large-sized arteries.

Lipid formulations have demonstrated strong potential for nucleic acid delivery,particularly with the success of COVID-19 vaccines. Despite these advances, manyaspects of lipid formulations remain unclear.

The genetic information of all living organisms is contained in their DNA. Cells modify the degree of DNA compaction by epigenetics, which largely determines what genes are read out and which genes are transcriptionally silent.

The molecular mechanisms that instigate a healthy cell to become malignant are fueled by (epi)genetic alterations in so-called driver genes.

Traditionally, vaccines are administered intramuscularly using conventional hypodermic needles, which cause pain and distress. Microneedles are very short needles (smaller than 1 mm) that are practically invisible to the naked eye.

Promotores: Prof.dr. W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg & Dr. M.G. Vijver

This thesis describes the development and optimization of the first molecular tools to study the enzyme PLA2G4E.

This thesis focuses on using liposomes in two different treatment strategies; vaccination (or immunotherapy) and delivery of a small molecule, and in two different disease models; cancer and atherosclerosis.

The CMCB brings together a diverse range of unique expertise in microbial cell biology. Members of the CMCB investigate both model and non-model organisms, bacteria and archaea, pathogens and non-pathogens.

Lysosomal glycosidases are acid hydrolases that fragment glycoconjugates in lysosomes.

The Division of Systems Pharmacology and Pharmacy (SPP) aims to develop precision medicine approaches to characterize and predict variation in treatment response and enhance translational drug development strategies.

Vitamin A or retinol is essential in embryonic development, the visual cycle and the immune system.

Promotores: Prof.dr. H. van Veen & Prof.dr. W. de Boer (Wageningen University)

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.

Promotor: H.P. Spaink, A.H. Meijer Co-promotor: R. Marin-Juez

The investigations described in this thesis lay out strategies aimed at advancing antibiotic research and development. The examples presented revolve around two main approaches: understanding drug-target interactions and target identification.

Promotor: B. van de Water, Co-Promotores: J.H.N. Meerman, F.J. Verbeek

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink, Co-promotor: Prof.dr. A.H. Meijer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) constitutes a small subtype (~15%) of breast cancer, but causes the majority of breast cancer-related deaths.

N-acylethanolamines (NAEs), which include the endocannabinoid anandamide, represent an important family of signaling lipids in the brain. The lack of chemical probes that modulate NAE biosynthesis in living systems hamper the understanding of the biological role of these lipids.

Source: Nature Biotechnology, Volume 2014, Issue June (2014)

The aim of the research programme Systems Pharmacology lies in the development of personalised medicine strategies, and development of new systems-based approaches in translational and clinical pharmacology.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is one of the main reasons for drug attrition during pre-clinical and clinical phases of drug development as well as for drug withdrawal post-marketing.

Drug induced organ toxicity is the main problem of the drug development and drug usage in the clinic. The liver and kidneys are the most sensitive organs towards drug induced toxicity.

The research at The Metabolomics & Analytics Centre is centered around developing innovating analytical methods to enable metabolomics-driven systems biology in personalized health strategies.

This master specialisation is ideally suited as a basis for starting a research career at a university or research institute and for a position in a bioscience-based company.

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Bispecific antibodies with one Fab arm binding to effector cells, such as T-cells and NK-cells, while the other Fab arm recognizing a tumor associated antigen (TAA) can be used to redirect these effector cells for tumor specific killing. Using bispecific antibodies to treat hematological cancers is…

Metal-containing molecules combine geometrical features and a reactivity that are inherently different from that of organic molecules. My research focuses on light-activatable metal-based anticancer drugs and metal-functionalized liposomes. Light is a very selective way to activate photosensitive drugs…

Our group operates at the cross-roads of different disciplines: molecular and cellular microbiology, biochemistry, structural biology and biophysics. The group harbors expertise in a multitude of molecular and cellular approaches including:

Promotor: J.G.E.M.Fraaije, Co-promotor: A. Kros

Erik Danen is looking at how to inhibit tumours that do not respond well to medicine – and he is making some headway. The Professor of Cancer Drug Target Discovery studies the interaction between tumour cells and their surroundings. Inaugural lecture on Friday 10 May.