Medicine and Health
In the following section I would like to cite some highlights of the research, conducted in Erasmus MC.
Cell Biology and Genetics
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The Department of Cell Biology and Genetics concentrates on the fundamentals of life and disease in cell and molecular biology and in particular on the normal functioning of cell systems and the abnormalities that give rise to cancer, age-related diseases, and genetic disorders.
Professor Jan Hoeijmakers focuses on DNA repair mechanisms that protect human genes from damage by environmental and endogenous factors. His team cloned the first human DNA-repair genes, resolved the basis of repair syndromes, and discovered a link between DNA damage and repair that explains the origin of aging. “The question why we age fascinated me. Cancer and the aging process are dominant medical problems in the Western World. If I could contribute to enhance knowledge in both areas—which then would improve diagnostics, prevention, and therapy—I will not have lived in vain.”
Professor Frank Grosveld’s fascination lies in the ways in which genes are turned on and off. A quote: “Curiosity drives me, but my interest goes beyond the purely academic: applications are important too. I wish we could find a solution for tragic blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia.”
VirologyProfessor Ab Osterhaus is head of the Department of Virology, a WHO reference laboratory for influenza, measles and rubella, and exotic viruses, such as the Ebola virus. “Viruses have always been my favorites. As soon as you have identified them, they change shape and fool you. How is it that a virus makes a person or an animal ill? How does a host act to fight a virus? Once we know the process, we can develop a vaccine.” The group of Ab Osterhaus is very successful in producing anti-viral vaccines. He has put several patents on his name. |
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Epidemiology and Biostatistics
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Professor Bert Hofman, chairman of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, initiated two large-scale population studies that have drawn worldwide attention. The multidisciplinary Rotterdam Study monitors some 12,000 persons over 50 years of age and focuses on diseases of the elderly: cardiac and respiratory illnesses, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders, osteoporosis, and hearing and vision impairments. The year 2001 saw the birth of Generation R, designed to monitor some 10,000 children from the earliest possible moment after conception until adult age. The data from both studies offer a treasure trove for researchers from a range of different disciplines. Bert: “These projects really give us better insight in processes of health and disease. It is marvelous to stand at the forefront of scientific research for the elderly and for the very young. Highly motivated young researchers from all over the world come to learn from our experience. It is tremendously rewarding to collaborate with them in research and education.”
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Professor Cock van Duijn’s team on genetic epidemiology discovered a new gene related to Parkinson’s disease. “Many people think that an abnormality in a gene must lead to a corresponding disease. This is not true: it only indicates a chance of contracting the disease. How come you set off in life as a healthy baby, grow up normally, and then at older age find yourself rapidly go down? As a researcher I am eager to learn the explanation for this dramatic change.”
Thorax Center
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Professor Maarten Simoons is the chairman of the Thorax Center. He was among the first in the world to apply prehospital thrombolysis, i.e., the dissolution of a blood clot before a patient gets to the hospital. "My drive is the fantastic improvement we have seen over the last 30 years in mortality rates in hospitalized heart infarction patients that have plummeted from some 30 to 6 percent.”
Professor Patrick Serruys directs the Interventional Heart Center. He was among the first to apply the stent, the most commonly used intervention procedure in cardiology. He hopes that in the future heart valves can be replaced without submitting the patient to major cardiac surgery. “This should be possible between now and the next 10 years. My dream has been and still is to reshape catheterization from a diagnostic procedure into a therapy. That has been achieved over the last 20 years and will become the main stream of cardiology in the next 10 years.” The stent would be non-existent without the close interdisciplinary collaboration between engineers and medical researchers.
Professor Myriam Hunink (MH) is the chair of the scientific research committee of Erasmus MC. I interviewed her at the Erasmus MC.
JHvB: Professor Hunink, one of the advantages of the integration of the Faculty with the University Hospital is that multidisciplinary and translational research can be better coordinated between basic research and the clinic. What subjects are in your opinion at the forefront of research at Erasmus MC?
MH: In my opinion we are at the forefront in two main areas: one is that of genomics and proteomics, and the other is health sciences. Genomics and proteomics are key areas at Erasmus MC. Multiple disciplines – both basic and clinical – are focusing on research in this area. The integration of Faculty and Hospital is bringing about a true synergy: it stimulates translational research, in which findings from genomics and proteomics are being translated to clinical applications. In the field of health sciences you should think of epidemiology and public health. Genetics and medical imaging are important topics for both patients and populations. This research has implications for prevention, screening, and the delivery of health care.
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JHvB: What are the new developments in medical research at Erasmus MC? Are important issues missing from the research agenda?
MH: Molecular imaging is becoming a hot topic. This is visualizing processes that take place on the cellular and molecular level. To get involved in this area again requires synergy between the basic researchers from the Faculty and experts in medical imaging. You asked what else is missing? Well, our motto is “Heal the whole human being.” In my opinion, we need to consider a more holistic perspective of humans, and also of the health care system. I think that in general we are reductionists, Cartesian thinkers. I would like to see that we take a systems approach and learn to appreciate the complexity of living organisms and organizations alike.
