Newsletter I&I nieuws
UMC Utrecht coordinates JPIAMR-sponsored MISTAR project
Fernanda Paganelli (research group Microbial Genomics & Microbiomics) will coordinate the JPIAMR-sponsored MISTAR project (Microbiota Intervention Strategies Limiting Selection and Transmission of Antibiotic Resistance burden in the One Health domain). MISTAR will bring perspectives on novel interventions to reduce the emergence of antibiotic resistance that can readily be integrated into existing organisational structures that are also applicable in low-and-middle income countries, and innovative technologies, which needs investment.
Read moreNiels Bovenschen appointed as professor of Biomedical Research-based Education
Niels Bovenschen has been appointed professor of Biomedical Research-based Education as of October 15. The emphasis of his chair is on education and aims to further strengthen the connection between biomedical research, care and education. Multidisciplinary cooperation and the connection with socially relevant problems are central to this.
Read moreERC Starting and Consolidator Grants 2022 – Deadlines and Support
Good news! To support more researchers on personal grants, Research Support Office (RSO) at UMCU will offer an internal support program for 2022. This support is in addition to the central ERC support program at UU. The ERC's mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support frontier research across all fields, based on scientific excellence. Being 'investigator-driven', or 'bottom-up', in nature, the ERC allows researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in any field of research, rather than being led by priorities set by politicians. This ensures that funds are channelled into new and promising areas of research with more flexibility. The sole criterion for selection is scientific excellence.
Read moreLieke Sanders awarded the Gorter Medal
Lieke Sanders (professor of immunology and pediatric infectious diseases at UMC Utrecht/WKZ) was awarded the Gorter Medal 2021 during the congress of the Dutch Association of Pediatricians (NVK). In the opinion of the jury, Sanders is the example of a doctor and researcher who shows an unconventional vision within pediatrics and who also has the talent to share her vision. and collaborating with organizations outside the immediate hospital walls. Sanders received the medal from NVK chairman Károly Illy.
Read moreInfection & Immunity Annual Scientific Meeting 2021
On September 27, the 4th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) of the strategic program Infection & Immunity took place at Boerderij Mereveld in Utrecht. For many of us, it was the first large face-to-face scientific meeting in more than 18 months. As a result, the meeting created a lot of buzz in advance, which paid out in a large crowd of approximately 120 colleagues that registered for the meeting.
Read moreRapidly identifying effective drugs for treatment of severe COVID-19
Findings so far reported from the adaptive platform trial REMAP-CAP have demonstrated that corticosteroids and interleukin-6 inhibitors tocilizumab and sarilumab improve clinical outcomes in critically ill COVID-19 patients; and that full dose anticoagulants improve outcomes in hospitalized, non-critically ill patients. Several other drugs (full dose anticoagulants in critically ill patients, convalescent plasma, interleukin-1 inhibitor anakinra and antiplatelet medications) did not improve outcomes, whereas lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, or their combination may even worsen outcomes.
Read moreAug 9: Novel molecular regulatory mechanism identified that underlies psoriasis pathogenesis
Fibroblasts in the skin of psoriasis patients produce multiple cytokines that are responsible for the chemo-attraction of immune cells into the dermis and the hyperplasia of the epidermis, two of the key characteristics of psoriasis. The process appears to be regulated by ZFP36 family members (these are RNA-binding proteins with mRNA-degrading properties), according to research by UMC Utrecht.
Read moreProgram I&I Annual Scientific Meeting 2021
On September 27, 2021 the strategic program Infection & Immunity organizes it’s Annual Scientific Meeting 2021! Please block your agenda from 14.00 – 20.30 hours for this interesting symposium and register via this link (required)! The program includes a mini-symposium on ‘Research from Lab to Drug’, boost grant presentations and the competition for the Erik Hack Award 2021 for the best PhD publication of the year. Keynote lectures on COVID-19 will be presented by prof. Marion Koopmans (Erasmus MC) and Dr. Lennie Derde. We will close the evening with dinner bites and a hilarious pubquiz by the famous pubquiz collective from Utrecht: UpBeatles!
Read moreNew consortium investigates Impact of Monoclonal Antibodies and Vaccines on AMR
UMC Utrecht is a co-leading academic institute within PrIMAVeRa (Predicting the Impact of Monoclonal Antibodies & Vaccines on Antimicrobial Resistance), a new research consortium supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). In the coming years, the consortium will investigate the impact of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and vaccines on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The total budget of the study is € 9 million (of which € 1.2 million has been allocated to UMC Utrecht).
Read moreWhy I started a scientific journal for postdoctoral researchers
Theo van den Broek works as an AIOS Medical Microbiology at UMC Utrecht. In this article he writes about a remarkable initiative he took as a post-doc on starting his own medical journal: the Journal of Life Sciences.
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