Editorial
This March we have come full circle: it’s been a year since the pandemic took over, redefining our boundaries and pace of life, but the solutions and perspective of a future resolution are in sight. A year ago, we only hoped for a vaccine and did not know as much as we do now about the virus. We are not there yet, but have certainly come a long way.
Alain Kummer
Managing Director
Chris De Jonghe
Valorization Director
Geert Kops
Scientific Director & Head of the Institute
‘Everything is theoretically impossible, until it’s done’ said Robert A. Heinlein. We launch our new issue of the Digital Magazine with this belief: that science requires time, and it’s a reliable compass when navigating tough challenges, whether a pandemic or the complexity of cancer. Everything is impossible only until it is done.
Processing 20.000 COVID-19 qPCR tests a day is an example of something that was not possible, until it was. Through a strategic deployment of funds, Oncode enabled the fast acquisition of the STRIP-1 COVID-19 test robot, developed by Oncode Investigators Marvin Tanenbaum & Wouter de Laat and which was installed at the PAMM medical microbiology laboratories. You can read more about the robot in this issue’s Eureka section.
"Everything is theoretically impossible, until it’s done"
The dialogue in this issue features Oncode Investigator Rebekka Schneider and Intravacc CEO and member of the Investment Advisory Committee of the Oncode Bridge Fund, Jan Groen. The challenges of translating a drug target or a biomarker into a commercial product are approached from their research and business perspectives - two different but complimentary angles that intersect in such endeavours.
Read further to dive into Peter ten Dijke’s work and passion for his favourite protein - the multifunctional regulator TGF-β. He has devoted his career to this factor with the belief that if he can understand it, he can manipulate and use it to develop novel cancer treatments. On a more personal level, don’t miss the chance to get to know Anne Rios better. In the Portrait section she discusses her passion for imaging, mixed with a glimpse of who she is outside the lab. To finish, we asked our patient representative, Lianne Bogers, to share her thoughts on patient engagement in our blog section.
Enjoy reading!
Outsmarting cancer
impacting lives
