General description | The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) is one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands and the largest employer in the Northern part of the Netherlands. The more than 10,000 employees work on providing patient care and on cutting-edge scientific research, focused on ‘healthy and active ageing’. Research at the UMCG is characterized by a combination of fundamental and patient-orientated (clinical) research. The interaction between these two stimulates the development of new clinical and research opportunities. |
Expertise | At the Department of Medical Oncology of the UMCG both basic and clinical researchers from different nationalities work in a stimulating environment with the shared goal to improve the treatment of cancer patients. The education and training of students and young scientists forms another pillar of our activities.
Our research interests range from basic tumor biology via translational research to clinical research. They include the identification and characterization of novel therapeutic targets, increase tumor sensitivity for chemotherapeutic drugs, the development of better imaging strategies and molecular biomarkers for tumor detection and patient monitoring, early clinical studies with novel therapeutics, palliative care in cancer patients, and the reduction of side effects of therapy in cancer survivors (healthy aging).
Students and junior researchers benefit from lectures by group leaders as well as world leader scientists in the research, ranging from molecular biology, via genetics to clinical applied research. Expert visits from abroad are often combined with master classes for junior researchers.
Within the Department of Medical Oncology (headed by one of the leading medical oncologists in Europe, Prof. E.G.E. de Vries) regular journal clubs and research meetings with biologists, MDs, pharmacists and medical oncologists are organized. At present 20 graduate students (both MD and MSc) work at the Department of Medical Oncology.
Fresh doctorates (over 120 PhDs from the Medical Oncology department) as well as senior postdocs leaving the UMCG have obtained excellent positions in leading institutions all over the world. The UMCG participates in several national, EU and US funded research and teaching programmes.
Prof Elisabeth de Vries, MD, PhD is head of the Department of Medical Oncology, UMCG. She is member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) since 2002, Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2008, she received the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) award in 2009. She is fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences since it was initiated in 2009 and is Member of the Governing Body European Academy of Cancer Sciences since 2010. In 2010 she was awarded a Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences professorship. She supervised 82 PhD students and published over 664 PubMed-listed papers which have been cited > 18,802 times, with an h-index of 62. |
Facilities | Labs of Medical Oncology, Hematology, Gynecological Oncology and Pediatric Oncology within the UMCG have shared a newly built, optimally equipped lab since 2003. Techniques we use vary among: culturing tumor (stem) cells, cell lines and fresh tumor tissues; studying migration of cells; knock-down and overexpression of genes; methods to determine growth arrest, apoptosis and pro-survival signaling; PCR-based methods including qPCR and methylation-specific PCRs; analysis of cellular proteins with flowcytometry, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry; developing and evaluation of radio-active labeled antibodies (tracers) for PET scans to be able to detect specific proteins in tumors in vivo.
Furthermore, a microscopic center with (real-time) confocal equipment, mass spectrometry analysis center, and a genomic center for deep-sequencing are located within the UMCG. Crucial facilities for translational research are available, such as a GMP facility, microPET/CT, microSPECT/CT, a newly built small animal facility and CT/IVIS (fluorescent) scans for both preclinical and clinical imaging. |
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