Three prestigious NWO grants for cancer research

17-08-2022

Three research consortia at the Netherlands Cancer Institute have been awarded prestigious grants by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) within the ENW-XL Open Competition. This includes research into treatment options for brain tumors, targets for immunotherapy and innovative strategies in cancer and stem cell research. With each grant of up to three million euros per project, the researchers can launch new lines of research.

Double attack of brain tumors

Leila Akkari is leading a consortium comparted of biologists and chemists, developing new therapies to combat highly aggressive tumors like brain cancer. Because this type of cancer grows in the protective environment of the brain, treatments need to reach the tumor and target different actors of malignant cancer in a specific manner. "Our team will study the interactions that occur in the brain tumor environment to develop novel treatment modalities, including nanomedicines, to kill cancer cells and withdraw the supportive effects that immune cells can provide to the tumor", Akkari says. Our integrative approach will pave the way for treatment options for brain tumors that are needed immediately.

Interactions between tumor cells and immune cells under a magnifying glass

Daniel Peeper and his colleagues Karin de Visser and Maarten Altelaar will be studying interactions between tumor cells and T cells, specialized immune cells that can recognize and eliminate cancer cells. Disruptions in the contacts between these two cell types contribute to the escape of tumor cells from the immune system, causing cancer. On the other hand, there are medicines that intervene in these interactions, showing encouraging results. Peeper: “We will use advanced techniques to gain a better understanding not only of how T cells recognize and kill tumors, but also how tumors can escape, aiming to discover new targets for immunotherapy”.

Tineke Lenstra, researcher at the Netherlands Cancer Institute

How does the initial specialization of cells occur during early embryonic development?

Tineke Lenstra is part of the consortium that will be investigating how one cell, the fertilized egg, can faithfully develop into an organism with many different cell types. An important step takes place in the early stage, when the embryo is still a small clump of seemingly equal cells. A diverse team of top researchers will use detailed molecular analyses to investigate when and how these individual cells determine their future. This will provide fundamental new insight into the ways in which cells make decisions. It will also help with developing innovative strategies in cancer and stem cell research, and improve our understanding of developmental defects.

NWO Open Competition ENW - XL

A total of almost 60 million euros has been awarded in the NWO Open Competition ENW-XL. The program funds consortia within the exact and natural sciences that conduct unbounded fundamental research that is "driven by curiosity".