On Wednesday, May 14, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands officially opened the ADORE Research and Diagnostics Centre in Amsterdam. This cutting-edge facility, an initiative of Amsterdam UMC, brings together Neuroscientists and Oncology researchers, making it the largest onco-neuro campus worldwide.
The ADORE Centre (Amsterdam Oncology and Neuroscience Research) is a pioneering facility, the first of its kind to establish a structural collaboration between cancer and neuroscience experts. By integrating the fields of neurology and oncology, ADORE fosters interdisciplinary partnerships and promotes the exchange of knowledge, accelerating the development of innovative healthcare solutions for a broad range of patients.
At the heart of ADORE’s research is the TRANSVISION project, which employs ultra-sensitive technologies to study cell-to-cell communication at the level of individual cells. Researchers are particularly focused on how tumor cells and brain cells interact, aiming to pinpoint the proteins involved in these exchanges. This deeper understanding could unlock new, precisely targeted treatment strategies.
“The better we understand how cells ‘talk’ to each other, the more precisely we can intervene and develop new medications,” said Guus Smit, Director of Neuroscience Research at ADORE.
During the opening ceremony, several researchers from the CNCR had the opportunity to engage with Queen Máxima. Among them was postdoctoral researcher Ana Carreras Mascaro from the Neurospector team, who gave the Queen a glimpse of our cultured human neurons through a microscope. Senior researchers Femke Feringa and Rik van der Kant also spoke with Her Majesty, sharing insights from their groundbreaking work on Alzheimer’s disease.
Photography by Mark van den Brink, Amsterdam UMC