At Oncode Institute we believe in collaboration. On February 8th, we therefore discussed in a workshop the role of the immune system in cancer. Can we mobilize our own defence system to combat tumours? We aim to do exactly that. 

A total of 16 Oncode researchers shared their expertise on this exciting subject. Meike Logtenberg, PhD student in the lab of Ton Schumacher, for example presented her work on the CD47 pathway. This “don’t eat me” signal molecule prevents the elimination of tumour cells by the immune system. Her work focuses on identifying ways to get rid of the “don’t eat me” signal and was recently published in Nature Medicine. Another highlight of the day was the work of Jorieke Weiden, PhD student in the lab of Carl Figdor. Her challenge? Expanding the set of tumour specific immune cells for which she uses scaffolds composed of bio-materials.

Not only did our researchers get a chance to showcase their research and expertise, the meeting was also the perfect way to stimulate interaction and collaboration. To kickstart this, newly recruited Junior Investigators Leila Akkari and Sarah Derks were invited to introduce their labs and explain their work. It was great to see their added value to the Oncode community. Also, during a “speed date lunch” people were encouraged to expand their network and speak with researchers they didn’t know yet, resulting in a lot of interactive discussions. Organizers Karin de Visser and Linde Meyaard look back at a very successful meeting: our community is mobilized.

A lot is the short answer. New powerful tools enable us to analyze the genetic content on a single cell basis. With hands-on advice and funding, Oncode helped Judith Vivié and Mauro Muraro with launching their company Single Cell Discoveries. They now provide several exciting applications of single cell sequencing as a service to the research community and have expanded by hiring two more colleagues.

Single Cell Discoveries is officially the first start-up which was created with the help of the Oncode Valorization team. “Encouraged by Angus Livingstone and his team, we put our ambitions on paper and drafted our company plan”, says Judith Vivié. The company was launched in September 2018 and has expanded since then. “By starting Single Cell Discoveries we now can provide this exciting technology to the research community in an efficient and streamlined way”, adds Mauro Muraro.

At Oncode we hope this venture is the first of many successful initiatives. Single Cell Discoveries is the first proof that Oncode can shorten the time to market of new inventions and technologies. This venture is a great example of what can be achieved for the broader research community and patients in our efforts to outsmart cancer and impact lives.

To get an idea what Single Cell Discoveries B.V. is doing, please have a look at the animation we created with them.

Molecular cancer research is at the heart of what we do at Oncode Institute. We have brought together the brightest minds in The Netherlands, something which is reflected in the work they have published in the last months. Two recent breakthroughs came from the labs of Hans Clevers and Madelon Maurice.

Hans Clevers and his team focus on the molecular mechanisms behind tissue development and the formation of tumours. In a new study, they teamed up with several collaborators, including the labs of Hans Bos, Alexander van Oudenaarden and Hugo Snippert, to study variation between ovarian cancer patients. They have used organoid technology to culture 56 mini-organs from 32 patients. Differences in genetics, histological features of the tumours and response to therapy of different patients are reflected in these models. Their platform opens new doors in targeted treatment of ovarian cancer, read about it in Nature Medicine.

A team of scientists led by professor Madelon Maurice identified VHHs, a specific type of antibodies, that block Wnt signalling, a cell communication pathway that promotes stem cell self-renewal and is frequently misregulated in cancer. Their findings demonstrate that VHH treatment of specific intestinal tumour organoids blocks tumour growth and this was published in Nature Communications. This work was done by a multidisciplinary team from both academia (Oncode Institute, UMC Utrecht and University Utrecht) and the private sector (Isogenica and Attana). “Collaboration is at the core of Oncode and this research shows what we can achieve when working together. These results are encouraging and hold potential for the development of more tailored cancer treatment strategies”, according to Madelon Maurice.

Are you curious about all the scientific output our researchers have produced? Please have a look at one or more of 244 Oncode publications.

Although science is not about winning, receiving a prestigious award or grant is a great recognition of excellent science. We are therefore very proud of our investigators who often have this honour and would like to highlight Jacco van Rheenen who is one of the winners of this year’s Ammodo Science Awards. 

The Ammodo Science Award is a bi-annual prize for scientific achievements by excellent, internationally recognized fundamental scientists selected by The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The prize consists of €300.000,- which Jacco van Rheenen can invest in new research projects.

His groundbreaking microscopy technology reveals the dynamics of tumour cells during the process of metastasis. Jacco van Rheenen wants to further develop our knowledge on why some cells grow out as a secondary tumour and if we can intervene in this process. Have a look at the video to get an impression of his work

Cancer is still a massive problem. Nowadays it is the leading cause of death in The Netherlands and 1 out of 3 people is affected by it. Why haven’t we defeated cancer yet?

When the days are short and temperatures are low, what’s better than getting together and discuss exciting science? On January 10 and 11 2019 we did just that. Together with the Cancer Genomics Center, we hosted our first joint annual scientific meeting in Amsterdam. The days were filled with inspiring talks by our younger scientists. But there was more than just science. 

To spice things up a bit, we organized a science booth market place. The goal was to give each lab the opportunity to present themselves in a creative way. What is the lab’s expertise? What technologies are used on a daily basis? Our scientists got creative and 23 of our research groups used this opportunity to showcase their work and meet their peers.

Next to facilitating collaboration offline, the annual scientific meeting also featured the launch of our online community platform. With this tool, we give all our researchers a quick way to search the Oncode community for knowledge, technology and expertise they need to answer their scientific questions. “For scientists, collaboration is at the core of getting exciting ambitious scientific ideas into reality”, says Marten Hornsveld, Post-doc at the LUMC and one of the scientists involved in creating the tool. “However, finding the right collaborators and state-of-the-art tools to make it work within the foggy mazes of institutional websites is just a pain. This community platform will breach the walls of our single institutes, as connecting with the right people, tools, equipment, funding and events required to spark your project will become easy, fast and boundaryless!”

Another highlight of the day was the session on patient engagement. How do you connect patients to fundamental science? This is not an easy question to answer, but we are taking the first steps. Oncode Investigator Jacco van Rheenen gave an inspiring presentation about his personal view on patient engagement. After that, it was time for an interview with Harrie Berkers, a scleroderma patient, and Arjan van Caam, Postdoc at Radboudumc. They told the audience about their involvement in the STAP-project, which helps to stimulate patient participation in research and aims at facilitating interaction between patients and researchers. Finally, Lisanne Spaander, a young cancer patient, told her personal story and performed beautiful songs that described her experience of treatment and recovery.

We look back at a very inspiring and successful annual scientific meeting.

Over the past months we have grown. Not only in numbers, but also in expertise, knowledge and skills. With consecutive open calls at the end of 2018, we have recently welcomed 19 new Oncode Investigators. A combination of young talents and researchers with a proven track record of excellence. This brings us to some impressive numbers and, more importantly, adds expertise on clinical research and drug development to our community.

A year after our launch, Oncode now joins the forces of over 800 researchers, guided by 62 Oncode Investigators working at 12 partner institutes across the country. Of the 19 new Oncode Investigators, we are proud to welcome 12 female investigators. With a specific call aimed at female junior scientists, we invest in helping to close the gender gap in academia.

By welcoming Emile Voest, Sarah Derks, Louis Vermeulen and Rebekka Schneider we strongly increase our link to the clinic. With their expertise on clinical research and their training as medical doctor, Oncode is better equipped to efficiently translate fundamental insights to innovations with impact for patients. Another expertise is added by Laura Heitman, Anastassis Perrakis and Mario van der Stelt. Their track record on medicinal chemistry fills another gap in the portfolio of Oncode. With this expansion, we are now at full strength to complete the first phase of Oncode.