News

PoC grant awarded to Sara L. Seoane and Ilan Libedinsky

PhD candidates Sara L. Seoane and Ilan Libedinsky, with supervisor Professor Martijn van den Heuvel, have been awarded a Proof of Concept (PoC) grant for €66.000 from Amsterdam Neuroscience for their innovative research on characterizing the evolution of brain aging and its potential link to brain disorders.

Foto Ilan Libedinsky Sara Seoane
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PoC grant awarded to Tanya Phung

Tanya Phung, a post-doctoral researcher working in the group of Professor Danielle Posthuma, has been awarded a Proof of Concept (PoC) grant for €55.000 from Amsterdam Neuroscience.

Foto Tanya Phung
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PoC grant awarded to Karen Laupman and Nathaniel Bell

PhD candidates Karen Laupman and Nathaniel Bell, with supervisors Associate Professor Vivi Heine and Professor Danielle Posthuma, have been awarded a Proof of Concept (PoC) grant for €55.000 from Amsterdam Neuroscience for their innovative research on repurposing drugs specifically for schizophrenia (SCZ).

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Reward sensitivity plays a role in youth crime

Boys who associate with delinquent friends are more likely to display antisocial behavior. A new study by neuroscientists and behavior experts from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC, led by CNCR colleague Jorim Tielbeek (dept. of Complex Trait Genetics) shows that this association is stronger in boys with an increased sensitivity to reward.

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Early-life stress and amyloidosis share pathogenic pathways

Collaborative work between the teams of Mark Verheijen (VU-MCN) and Aniko Korosi (UvA-SILS), is recently published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The research was mainly performed by Mandy Kater (VU) and Janssen Kotah (UvA), among others, and shows that ‘Early-life stress and amyloidosis share pathogenic pathways involving astrocyte lipid metabolism and the synaptic mitochondrial proteome’.

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What makes us human? Detailed cellular maps of the entire human

An international team of neuroscientists under leadership of Ed Lein and Hongkui Zeng worked on studies to map the cell types that make up the human brain. VU scientists Natalia Goriounova, Christiaan de Kock and Huib Mansvelder and their teams also contributed to this together with neurosurgeons from the VUmc.

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Precision medicine boosted by TKI grant to N=You center

With 750 kEUR funding from TKI, Hilgo Bruining and Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen have teamed up with the company Clouds of Care in a public-private partnership to accelerate research and implementation of EEG analysis for precision medicine in patients with epilepsy or children with a neurodevelopmental disorder like autism.

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Best Student Paper Award awarded to Ilan Libedinsky

The paper of CNCR researcher Ilan Libedinsky “Genetic timeline of human brain and cognitive traits” has been awarded the Best Student Paper Award at the 23rd annual conference of the International Society for Intelligence Research (ISIR), held in Berkeley, California, from July 27-29, 2023.

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ERC Starting Grant for Amélie Freal

Amélie Freal (FGA) was awarded an ERC Starting Grant by the European Union for the “PLaisTICITY” project to investigate mechanisms underlying Axon Initial Segment plasticity

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ZonMW Dementia Fellowship for Kim de Kleijn

Kim de Kleijn (The Candidate Center/AUMC/FGA) received the ZonMW Dementia Fellowship (3 years) to set-up an independent research line to study the TREM receptor family and its relevance for microglia functioning in context of Alzheimer’s disease.

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VENI grant for Femke Feringa

Femke Feringa (FGA) received a ZonMW VENI grant to develop her independent research line on how the Alzheimer risk mutation APOE4 contributes to senescence (cell aging) in human astrocytes generated from induced pluripotent stem cells.

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1st European STXBP1 Summit and Research Roundtable

The first European STXBP1 summit, May 16-18, 2023, brought together stakeholder groups related to STXBP1 disorders from all over the world: fundamental researchers, healthcare professionals, representatives from industry and patients and their caregivers and advocates.
N Het eerste Europese STXBP1 congres, gehouden op 16-18 mei 2023, bracht stakeholders betreffende STXBP1-gerelateerde stoornissen van over de hele wereld samen: fundamentele onderzoekers, zorgverleners, vertegenwoordigers uit de industrie en patiënten en hun verzorgers.

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Novel insights in cellular mechanisms of 4H Leukodystrophy

Dr. Stephanie Dooves, Liza Kok and colleagues performed a study aiming to enhance our understanding of the disease mechanisms behind 4H leukodystrophy. This study, performed under the supervision of Dr. Vivi Heine and Prof. Nicole Wolf, provides the first insights into the cellular mechanisms underlying 4H leukodystrophy.

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CNCR co-hosts 1st European STXBP1 Summit in Milan

The STXBP1 team (FGA) joined 150 other researchers, healthcare professionals, industry representatives, and patient families and -advocates from all over the world for the first European meeting fully dedicated to STXBP1

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Fast neural computation at the basis of cognition

The speed at which the human brain processes information is higher than in other animal species. Neuroscientist René Wilbers discovered that by examining millions of brain cells collected from a live sample of brain tissue.

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ERC Advanced grant awarded to Huib Mansvelder

Huib Mansvelder, professor and head of the department of Integrative Neurophysiology at VU Amsterdam, received the prestigious European Research Council Advanced Grant this week. This is the largest personal research grant in Europe.

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Mechanisms Of DEMentia (MODEM): connecting the dots

“We all believe in the importance of a different piece of the puzzle.” prof. dr. Guus Smit says when he explains why this consortium was formed together with 20 other researchers. “It’s about connecting the dots, the cohesion between seemingly different processes underlying the development of dementia from different perspectives. That is what we are looking for in Mechanisms Of DEMentia (MODEM). Because that coherence has to be there. There is no other way.”

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Research article: Dysregulation of proteins and RNA in STXBP1-/-

Here we present one of our latest publications titled ‘Dysregulation of synaptic and developmental RNA and protein profiles upon depletion of MUNC18-1’
N: Hier presenteren we een van onze nieuwste publicaties getiteld ‘Dysregulation of synaptic and developmental RNA and protein profiles upon depletion of MUNC18-1’

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Research article: New insights into cell death in STXBP1-/-

Here we present one of our latest publications titled ‘Atypical, Staged Cell Death Pathway Induced by Depletion of SNARE-Proteins MUNC18-1 or Syntaxin-1’
N: Hier presenteren we een van onze nieuwste publicaties getiteld ‘Atypical, Staged Cell Death Pathway Induced by Depletion of SNARE-Proteins MUNC18-1 or Syntaxin-1’

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Research article: A comprehensive analysis of 534 patients

In this highly collaborative paper, we explored the phenotypic landscape of 534 patients diagnosed with STXBP1-related disorders. It provides a detailed overview of not only the diversity in genetic variations causing the disease, but also the diversity in symptoms reported in single patients, as well as medication effectiveness.

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Wiep Scheper receives NWO funding to study lysosomal dysfunction

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded an ENW-M2 open competition grant of 730 k€ to CNCR researcher Wiep Scheper (PI team) to study the role of de-ubiquitinating enzymes in tau-induced dysfunction of the neuronal auto- and endo-lysosomal system. In this multidisciplinary project Scheper PI of the Molecular Neurodegeneration group teams up with ubiquitin signalling expert Aysegul Sapmaz (LUMC, Leiden).

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ZonMW funds multidisciplinary CNCR collaboration

A core problem in several dementias is the inability to form new memories and gradual loss of old memories. Funded by a ZonMW open competition grant, the teams of Wiep Scheper (Amsterdam UMC Human Genetics/FGA), Priyanka Rao-Ruiz (VU MCN) and Michel van den Oever (VU MCN) will collaborate to obtain mechanistic insight into memory formation and persistence and how this is disturbed in dementia.

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Exploring the genetic overlap among twelve psychiatric disorders

In a study published in Nature Genetics, Cato Romero, Mats Nagel, and Sophie van der Sluis teamed up with colleagues from the Complex Trait Genetics department and the Million Veteran Program to scrutinize the genetic similarity of twelve psychiatric disorders. Besides identifying shared genes and biological substrates between pairs of disorders, they also elucidated the challenges jeopardizing the future success of cross-trait genetic research.

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Optimizing study designs for iPSC-based disease modelling

In a study published in Molecular Psychiatry, Jessie Brunner, Hanna Lammertse and Annemiek van Berkel (FGA) teamed up with Sophie van der Sluis (CTG) and the proteomics facility (MCN) to optimize statistical power for iPSC-based study designs.

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CNCR researchers receive funding for Brain Initiative

The American National Institute of Health will fund new brain research of three CNCR researchers at VU Amsterdam through the so-called Brain Initiative programme. Brain research is desperately needed to better understand and treat brain diseases.

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Astrocyte-synapse proximity determines memory strength

Aina Badia-Soteras, together with others of the Neuron-Glia Interaction team and collaborators, has shown that retraction of fine astrocyte processes from the synapse is a regulated process that gates the strength of fear memories. This work is published in Biological Psychiatry

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Three CNCR researchers each awarded a VIDI grant

Rik van der Kant, Natalia Goriounova and Priyanka Rao-Ruiz, researchers at the Center for Neurogenomics & Cognitive Research at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, have been awarded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) with a Vidi grant worth 800,000 euros.

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Three CNCR researchers each awarded a VIDI grant

Rik van der Kant, Natalia Goriounova and Priyanka Rao-Ruiz, researchers at the Center for Neurogenomics & Cognitive Research at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, have been awarded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) with a Vidi grant worth 800,000 euros.

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