Eight promising young scientists from the Erasmus University Rotterdam have been awarded a Veni grant of maximum 250.000 euros from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). With this Veni grant they are able to continue to elaborate on their own ideas for the upcoming three years. Erasmus MC received six Veni grants, at campus Woudestein the Veni grants go to recent PhD graduates from Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management and Rotterdam school of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).
The scientists will use the grant to research a wide range of subjects, such as autism, patients with thyroid disease, dementia, public health care and human behaviour in modern logistics.
The Rotterdam laureates
Dr Hieab Adams, Erasmus MC - Epidemiology
Brain genes in 3D
Neurodegenerative diseases have a complex genetic cause that is poorly understood. Adams will first determine the effect of these diseases on the brain in great detail. Next, this will be combined with 3D information about the genes in order to improve our genetic understanding of these diseases.
Dr Inge de Kok, Erasmus MC - Department of Public Health
How can we efficiently reduce the dementia burden?
Knowledge about dementia has increased, but it is still unknown how the disease burden can best be reduced. An innovative microsimulation model will be developed, that synthesises all evidence. It will lead to better understanding of disease development and intervention influences, and will identify interventions that efficiently reduce the dementia burden.
Dr Lieke Kros, Erasmus MC Neuroscience
Interplay of brain areas in autism
Autism is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social problems and repetitive behavior. Disruptions in cerebellar development or functioning can cause autism. Kros will investigate how the cerebellum affects other key brain regions to better understand how this interplay contributes to autism and hopefully to help identify new treatment possibilities.
Dr Marco Medici, Erasmus MC Interne Geneeskunde
Personalized management of thyroid disease
Worldwide, millions of treated thyroid disease patients have residual disabling complaints and are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, as we currently cannot predict the optimal thyroid parameters for an individual patient. In this project, Medici aims to predict these, enabling personalised care for thyroid diseases.
Dr Esther Warnert, Erasmus MC – Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
Oxygen delivery to the brain
A decrease in oxygen in the brain occurs in various diseases, like brain tumours or after stroke, and can lead to severe damage of brain tissue. In order to improve care to the individual patient Warnert will develop MRI techniques to map the oxygen delivery to the brain.
Dr Joshua White, Erasmus MC - Neuroscience
Neural organisation of walking
Walking is a very complicated task, which many people with genetic disorders are unable to successfully accomplish. White aims to understand how neurons are organised and active for complex movements such as walking.
Dr Lieke Oldenhof, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management
Customised or arbitrary care at the kitchen table?
Do citizens and professionals experience ‘customised’ or ‘arbitrary’ care at the kitchen table? This project of Oldenhof answers this question by investigating how care policies translate into judgements about necessity of public care during face-to-face encounters. Insights will contribute to professional development of neighbourhood teams and a more just allocation of care.
Dr Jelle de Vries, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM)
Hands-on or hands-off? Human behavior in modern Operations Management
Despite increased automation and robotisation, humans play an essential role in modern logistics. However, this influence of human behaviour is underestimated in both academia and practice. Through realistic experiments this research studies the impact of human behaviour and robotisation on productivity, quality, and employee job satisfaction in various operational contexts.
About the Veni
The Veni grants are awarded by NWO every year. Veni is part of NWO’s Talent Scheme and is aimed at excellent researchers who have recently obtained their doctorate. A total of 1,115 researchers submitted an admissible research project for funding. 154 of these have now been granted. The submissions were assessed by means of peer review by external experts from the disciplines concerned. In this Veni funding round, NWO is investing a total of 38,4 million euros in free and curiosity-driven research.
- More information
For more information please contact Marjolein Kooistra, Press Office, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam: press@eur.nl, 010-4081216