VitroScan

A recap of last week's science communication for VitroScan! 👩🏫 🥇 Teaming up with my colleague Esmee Koedoot, I was invited to present our work on modeling patient-specific immunotherapy sensitivity at the yearly KWF Kankerbestrijding DTIM Conference in Breukelen. 🥈 Together with Timothy Sijsenaar, we presented our results on targeted therapies at European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) in Rotterdam, showing that our ex vivo tumor model recapitulates the patient's mutational status in melanoma with Els Verdegaal and NSCLC with Christi Steendam. 🥉 Preparation of Vuurvliegen! A great workshop hosted by Sophie van Nieuwkoop from Centrum JongerenCommunicatie Chemiet to perfect my 3-minute pitch in front of 250+ children in a few weeks! I enjoyed meeting so many dedicated scientists in the field! Being a bioinformatician, this week I am sat safely behind my computer again👩💻.. doing my part for the improvement of cancer care 🏋♀️ 🏋♀️

Today marked the final day of the European Association of Cancer Research (EACR) conference! It’s been a remarkable couple of days with fascinating debates on targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and many more innovative topics. I am thrilled to share that I had the incredible opportunity to participate in these debates through presenting VitroScan latest research on ex vivo micro tumor testing together with Lieke Ceton. This innovative approach focuses on assessing patient-specific sensitivity to targeted therapies for bladder cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer. Our work aims to revolutionize personalized cancer treatment by providing more accurate predictions of how individual patients will respond to specific therapies. By using ex vivo micro tumor models, we can better understand the nuances of each patient’s cancer, leading to more effective and tailored treatment plans. A huge thank you to my dedicated colleagues and all our collaborators from Erasmus MC , Leiden University Medical Center ,Catharina Ziekenhuis , and Radboudumc for their hard work and support in making this research possible. Together, we are taking significant steps towards improving outcomes for cancer patients worldwide. Curious to see the poster we presented? You can download the poster at https://lnkd.in/ez468T3S! Looking forward to continuing this journey and exploring new frontiers in cancer research! #EACR2024 #CancerResearch #PrecisionMedicine #BladderCancer #LungCancer #OvarianCancer #ExVivoTesting #PersonalizedMedicine #TargetedTherapies

Mission completed! Last week I was lucky to join the Innovation Mission Switzerland to strengthen the connection between the Swiss and Dutch life science sector. Together with the other delegates from academia, government and industry I had the opportunity to discover the great Swiss biotech industry and meet many interesting persons and future collaborators. The mission in a nutshell: ✅ Participation at the #SwissBiotechDayConference, where I met many Swiss entrepreneurs and potential future partners 💡 Inspiring breakfast session at Roche, discussing the differences between the Dutch and Swiss Life Sciences ecosystems and importance of collaboration 💊 Tour through the Novartis Pavilion, highlighting the steps of drug development and latest innovations 🏢 Visit to BioArk and Biopôle Lausanne to learn from the Swiss start-up and scale-up programs 🎤 Pitch our partnership for the upcoming bilateral Eureka call for innovations in cell and gene therapy hosted by Innosuisse and Health~Holland 🙌 Thanks a lot to the organizers (Health~Holland International, Ambassade van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in Zwitserland, Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO) and Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat) and other delegates (Amarna Therapeutics B.V., Basic Pharma, biotactical, Biotech Booster, Catherinn BV, Digi.Bio, Genewity B.V., GlycoMScan B.V., HALIX, InnoGI Technologies (formerly The TIM Company), Leiden University Medical Center, Lygature, Medace BV, Novartis, NTrans Technologies BV, Oncode Accelerator, PPi Healthcare Consulting Ltd, RegMed XB, RIBOPRO, Roche, Scinus Cell Expansion B.V., TNO and UMC Utrecht). It has been an amazing week and a pleasure meeting you all. Now let’s get back to work to make these collaborations happen! #Swiss_NL #ConnectingEcosystems #RVO #Innovation #TopsectorLSH #MedTech #Biotech #RegenerativeMedicine #SwissBioTechDays

Join the next LBSP Tech Talk on translating novel immune therapy strategies! The speakers will share insights from from preclinical research to the challenges and successes of conducting patient trials. You'll hear from hands-on experts who understand the day-to-day reality of developing new treatments. Our speakers include seasoned academics and industry professionals who will share their latest findings and experiences. They'll cover topics like the latest dual-therapy approaches, the advancements in high-throughput toxicity screening, and the practicalities of managing large-scale clinical trials through a series of talks and a panel discussion. Preclinical Mirjam Heemskerk – Prof. Immunotherapy of Cancer at dept. of Hematology at the Leiden University Medical Center - Combining CAR-T and TCR into one therapy Lieke Ceton – Scientist at VitroScan - Ex-vivo tumor testing to assess the sensitivity to immunomodulatory therapies Erik Van Den Akker – Ass. Prof. Computational Biology at LUMC/ Delft University of Technology - Leveraging omics data to investigate susceptibility to TCR-based immunotherapy in AML Patient Trials: Igor Radanović – Research Physician at Centre for Human Drug Research - Early Phase and First in Human Oncology Trials: New Horizons Monique van der Kooij – Resident Internal Medicine at LUMC - Time for TIL Margot Pont – Head of Translational Science at Galapagos - Point-of-Care CAR-T manufacturing in 7-day vein-to-vein time Moderated panel discussion by Nick Veringmeier After the talks, it's a chance to meet your peers in a relaxed setting, discuss the day's topics, and maybe even kick-start your next collaboration over drinks and bites. The Tech Talks are about making meaningful connections and fostering discussions leading to real-world Life Sciences and Health solutions. Join the conversation and be part of the community pushing health forward. Register today and secure your spot!