Oncode Institute

We congratulate Oncode Investigators Ruben van Boxtel (Prinses Máxima Centrum voor kinderoncologie) and Jop Kind (Hubrecht Institute, Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research), who both received an ERC Proof of Concept grant from the European Research Council (ERC)! With this grant of €150.000, the investigators can turn their research into practical applications to benefit cancer patients. Ruben van Boxtel will use the funds to further develop his Artificial Intelligence-based assay that predicts safety of antiviral drugs that are often used in children under treatment for cancer and susceptible to severe viral infections. The technology will provide important support to enable modifications for development of safer and less toxic new anti-viral agents. Jop Kind will use the funds to further develop and commercialize his technology that employs innovative multiplexed epigenetic profiling in blood plasma to improve early cancer detection. For this he will also team up with Oncode Investigator Jan Paul Medema (Amsterdam UMC). We are proud that Ruben and Jop secured this prestigious valorization grant, and look forward to working with them to bring the project outcomes to the patients! 

We congratulate Oncode Investigator Jacco van Rheenen (The Netherlands Cancer Institute), who has been selected as a new member by the renowned life sciences organization EMBO, the European Molecular Biology Organization! Election as EMBO member is a lifelong honor which recognizes a scientist’s research excellence and outstanding achievements. Read the EMBO press release: https://lnkd.in/eapCTcZV

Our valorisation expert Alexander Turkin, PhD organised a break-out session at the “The rapidly evolving field of nuclear medicine” event by Future Affordable Sustainable Therapies. About a quarter of the 100 attendees gathered at the session to talk about the innovation and valorisation challenges in the Netherlands in general, and also specifically in the field of Nuclear Medicine. In a lively discussion, the participants raised a number of important points, such as involvement of entrepreneurs and industry in early stages of valorisation as well as extrapolation of Oncode Institute’s centralised valorisation approach to the field of Nuclear Medicine. We thank Martinus Blauwhoff for co-organising, and everyone for their active contribution at the session, and look forward to continuing this important dialogue with all stakeholders! 

New research alert! Oncode Investigators Hugo Snippert (UMC Utrecht)and Ruben van Boxtel (Prinses Máxima Centrum voor kinderoncologie) contributed to this study, out now in Nature Genetics and lead by Marnix Jansen at UCL, in which they demonstrate that Bowel cancer tumours turn genetic switches on and off to outwit the immune system.   The number of genetic mutations in a cancer cell was previously thought to be purely down to chance. But this research now provides new insights into how cancers can actually navigate an evolutionary balancing act. The findings could potentially be used in personalised cancer medicine to gauge how aggressive an individual’s cancer is so that they can be given the most effective treatment. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eaemX7Uk

For the first time taking place in Den Bosch, the Oncode Institute Annual Meeting this year saw maximum attendance and a great atmosphere. There were two days filled with interesting presentations, special sessions, poster presentations and networking. And this year’s edition was special also because it welcomed the new Oncode Investigators and their teams to the Oncode family. Read the event report: https://lnkd.in/eJX7sqU6 We’d like to thank the Scientific Committee – Oncode Investigators Titia Sixma and Daniela Thommen (both at The Netherlands Cancer Institute), Laura Heitman (Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research) and Jop Kind (Hubrecht Institute, Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research) - and all the speakers and poster presenters in the event. A special thank you to the OEDES team, and to Stein Aerts (VIB / KU Leuven), John Haanen (The Netherlands Cancer Institute) and to patient representatives Carolien Hovenier and Cor Polling.

We’ve been waiting for this moment and now it’s here! We’re excited to tell you all about what we did last year, and the digital version of our Annual Report is now ready and online: https://lnkd.in/eVAdrQ5a You can read all about the results of all our hard work in 2023 and we also added three really interesting interviews to the mix. We are proud, and we invite you to be proud with us! So take a look and read the interviews - to learn about the work, dreams and drives, and what Oncode Institute means to them, from three of our Oncode Investigators: Kristina Ganzinger (AMOLF) and Geert Litjens (Radboudumc), who both recently joined Oncode Institute & Sylvie Noordermeer (Leiden University Medical Center) who started as a junior Oncode Investigator years back. Further on, don’t miss the duo interview about the Oncode Institute-fostered collaboration between Tineke Lenstra (The Netherlands Cancer Institute) and Jurgen Marteijn (Erasmus MC) and the in-depth interview with Jeroen de Ridder (UMC Utrecht) about his innovative Sturgeon technology and the importance of valorization. We couldn’t have done it alone! We’d like to thank our partner institutes - The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Erasmus MC, Hubrecht Institute, Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, AMOLF, Radboudumc, Radboud University, Prinses Máxima Centrum voor kinderoncologie, Sanquin, UMC Utrecht, UMCG & our sponsors: KWF Kankerbestrijding, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport, Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat, Health~Holland, ZonMw. Thank you also to Schuttelaar & Partners for working with us on this digital version of the report.

We are proud to see three Oncode Investigators – Karin de Visser, Jacco van Rheenen and Emile Voest (all at The Netherlands Cancer Institute) – among the scientists featured in this nice NRC article (written by Marcel Hobma) with a focus on the complexity of cancer and importance of cancer research. By looking into the investigators’ research, the article gives insights into how tumors control their environment and the possibilities brought by personalized treatments.   Read (in Dutch): https://lnkd.in/ekUtW6SX

Podcast alert! Check out the latest episode of Leaders in Life Sciences featuring our Scientific Director and Head of the Institute, Jan Paul Medema in conversation with host Henk Jan Out - for insight into the layers and challenges of finding solutions for cancer, and an in depth understanding of what Oncode Institute is all about. For more: https://lnkd.in/gbPxgpNz

With a great second day coming to an end, the Oncode Institute Annual Meeting 2024 is now in the books! We’d like to thank the Scientific Committee - Oncode Investigators Titia Sixma and Daniela Thommen (both at The Netherlands Cancer Institute); Laura Heitman (Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research) and Jop Kind (Hubrecht Institute, Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research) - and all the speakers and poster presenters for their great contributions. A special thank you also to Stein Aerts (VIB & KU Leuven) and to John Haanen (The Netherlands Cancer Institute). Keep an eye on our website - a full event report will follow soon. #AM2024 Photos: Rob ter Bekke.

And here we go! We're halfway through the first day of the Oncode Institute Annual Meeting 2024! We have a full house for these two days, and a program packed with science, networking, poster presentations and special sessions. #AM2024