PhD-defence Negar Hassani Besheli

On January 9th, Negar Hassani Besheli successfully defended her PhD-thesis entitled "Design of colloidal composite gel for treatment of defects in infected bone". Negar's project was a joint collaboration between the research groups Regenerative Biomaterials (Department of Dentistry) and Cell Biology (Department of Medical BioSciences) of Radboudumc. The project was supervised by Sander Leeuwenburgh, Alessandri Cambi, Fang Yang and Frank Walboomers.

Congratulations to Negar for her very well-deserved doctoral degree !

Kick-off Research Program 'Tissue Modelling & Regeneration'

The reorganisation of healthcare, education, and research within Fit-for-the-Future is an effort to make Radboudumc future-proof. For the organisation of research, this means that the Research Institute for Medical Innovation replaces the former 3 research institutes, and that research programs replace the former themes.

The research program 'Tissue Modelling & Regeneration' (TMR) aims to increase knowledge on tissue physiology in health and disease via tissue model systems combined with enabling technologies toward applications in drug development and tissue regeneration. By uniting research group leaders (RGLs) and their teams within Radboudumc, this TMR facilitates research by increasing interactions between researchers and opening up opportunities to collaborate based on expertise and facilities. TMR is led by Jeroen van den Beucken and covers a total of 8 tissue types with a broad range of expertise from all involved teams.

Mani Diba Selected as Member of Radboud Young Academy

Mani Diba has been selected as a member of the Radboud Young Academy (RYA). The RYA brings together enthusiastic and ambitious young academics to foster dialogue and collaboration. Dr. Diba joins the group of 30 members who contribute to the academy's mission through interdisciplinary collaboration, policy advice, and participation in debates on education, science, and communication.

Dr. Diba's participation is a reflection of our group's engagement with the broader academic community and our dedication to contributing to important discussions in science and education.

The four-year tenure with the RYA presents a unique opportunity to collaborate with other engaged academics and to further strengthen the scientific discourse at Radboudumc, Radboud University, and beyond. We look forward to the new ideas and projects that will emerge from this new role.

For more details on the RYA and its activities, please click here. 

Sander Leeuwenburgh included in REM seminar series

A novel seminar series has been set up by Jan de Boer and others in Eindhoven. These seminars are freely available, so everyone can join at TU/e. Pick your favorit seminar(s), attend, and talk to those present to expand your network! Find more info here...

Jeroen van den Beucken strengthens collaboration with Brazilian researchers

Early November 2023, Jeroen van den Beucken was invited to present his research in Aracatuba SP, Brazil. His visit was arranged due to his involvement in the CAPES-PRINT project that supports biomaterial-based research at UNESP. His visit was combined with a symposium on 'Biomaterials applied for tissue regeneration and disease prevention/treatment', which was organized by prof.dr. Erica Dorigatti de Avila and prof.dr. Valentim Barao. The intention of all participating researchers is to strengthen collaborative research focused on biomaterials for dental applications.

Publication in Biomaterials on anabolic effects of osteoclasts for bone regeneration

Exciting news for those interested in bone regeneration: a team led by Yang Zhang, Huanan Wang, and Jeroen van den Beucken has published their results on stimulatory effects of osteoclasts and the mechanism behind it in the prestigious journal Biomaterials, which is leading journal in biomaterials research. In their work, the researchers used a diverse set of experimental techniques including cell culture, proteomics, and animal experimentation to demonstrate this positive effect of bone-resorbing osteoclasts on the regeneration of bone defects and the mechanistic details. Further reading via this link.

Gerry Koons elected as junior board member NBTE

Take-Off Grant awarded to team Radboudumc team INBORN

The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded a Take-Off Phase I grant to a team from the Regenerative Biomaterials research group at the Dept. of Dentistry of Radboudumc consisting of Rong Wang, Alexey Klymov, Fang Yang and Sander Leeuwenburgh. This research team will use the grant to investigate the feasibility of creating a new spin-off company, INBORN, focusing on the design of novel antibacterial biomaterials for treatment of defects in infected bone.

Artificial joint replacements have revolutionized orthopaedic healthcare but are still associated with a high risk of bone infections. These implant-associated infections are treated using high doses of systemically delivered antibiotics, but recurrence of these infections may ultimately cause life-threatening complications.

INBORN will provide a simple solution by employing antibacterial gels made of bone-mimicking therapeutic nanoparticles for treatment of infected implants. These gels will locally deliver multiple antibacterial agents for several weeks inside cells, thereby enhancing bacterial killing - even inside cells - with unprecedented efficacy.

Lizzy Cuypers wins Student Speech Contest 2023

On May 16, the Dutch ceramic society organized their annual meeting including a student speech contest. Within this student speech contest, PhD students present their ceramic based work and compete with each other to become the winner. Lizzy Cuypers, a PhD from the Regenerative Biomaterials group, also presented her work entitled "Preclinical evaluation of antibacterial zinc-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for treatment of bone infections." She won the student speech contest, which entitles her to represent the Netherlands in the European ceramic society conference hosted in Lyon in July this year. We all congratulate Lizzy with this achievement and wish her good luck with her presentation in France!

Two new postdocs to join the Regenerative Biomaterials research group

Recently two postdocs have been able to acquire prestigious research grants that allow them to conduct two years of research each at the Dentistry Department. Gerry Koons (left) received a Radboud Excellence Fellowship for her research proposal on the use of Artificial Intelligence in (pre)clinical studies on bone regeneration. Gerry has recently completed medical school at Baylor College of Medicine and her PhD at Rice University in Houston; Gerry will start her research project within the Regenerative Biomaterials group from June 2023 onward.

Ilze Donderwinkel (right) has received a Marie Curie Fellowship from the EU for her research proposal on load-bearing colloidal biomaterials for tissue regeneration. She is currently working at the University of Queensland in Brisbane and will start her research project at Radboudumc in July 2024. We wish Gerry and Ilze a lot of fun with the design and implementation of their research projects!

Research grant for Dongmei Deng & Fang Yang

Dr. Fang Yang from the Department of Dentistry and Dr. Dongmei Deng from ACTA are jointly receiving an NWO grant within the Open Technology Program for their research project "Catch me if you can: development of nanoparticulate drug carriers for the treatment of intracellular bacterial infections (CHIRON)". The project aims to develop new carriers for antibacterial drugs that can effectively eliminate intracellular bacteria. Additionally, innovative in vitro models are being developed to find the best approach to treating antibiotic resistance. By reducing the use of antibiotics, overall healthcare can be improved.

CHIRON is one of the six projects recently funded by the NWO domain Applied and Engineering Sciences through the Open Technology Program. Together with companies, NWO will invest around €750,000 specifically in this project.

Victor Madariaga Rivera in the NTVT spotlight!

Our colleague Victor has been interviewed by the NTVT about his PhD-research. Please read the interview on the development of a sensor-based device to detect intra-oral physiological characteristics here... (in Dutch)

Best scientific image award for Ceri-Anne Suurmond

During the recent meeting of the Netherlands Society for Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering (NBTE) on December 1-2 in Lunteren, an image of a 3D co-culture spheroid (containing hMSCs and metastatic cancer cells) was awarded with the 'best scientific image award'. The image shows healthy hMSCs in green and metastatic cancer cells in red. Phenomenal in the image is the observation of a heart formed by one of the cancer cells, showing appreciation for the spheroid or the person imaging the spheroid (please decide yourself!). Congrats to Ceri-Anne!!!

Successful BSc-thesis research supervised by Fang, Lea & Negar wins national KNMT-Sensodyne award

During the Dental Expo (October 28) in Amsterdam, the annual competition for the best BSc-thesis was concluded with awarding prizes. The #1 award was handed over by Jack Plooij to Lily Randoe, Lara de Ruiter, and Rama Mourad for their work on colloidal gelatin nanoparticles (supervised by Fang, Lea, and Negar). Additionally, the #3 award was awarded to Naomi ter Braack, Ingrid Koekebakker, and Lucrée Siebers for work on porcelain and composite restaurations (supervised by Cees Kreulen).

The KNMT-Sensodyne BSc-thesis competition is an annual event, for which 3 BSc-theses are selected by thesis-coordinators in Amsterdam, Nijmegen and Groningen. An independent jury then selects 5 BSc-theses for nomination and awards the top 3 (€1000,-/€500,-/goodie bag, respectively); an online voting procedure is used for the audience award (€500,-). Read the full story (in Dutch) here.

PhD-defence Ke Ning

On October 5th Ke Ning successfully defended her PhD-thesis entitled "Clinical wear and experimental self-healing behavior of resin-based dental composite restoration". Ke's project was a joint collaboration between the research groups Regenerative Biomaterials as well as Oral Function & Restorative Dentistry of the Department of Dentistry at Radboudumc. The project was supervised by Sander Leeuwenburgh and Bas Loomans (promotors) and Fang Yang (co-promotor).

Congratulations to Ke for her very well-deserved doctoral degree!

Lizzy Cuypers wins best oral presentation award @Bioceramics 2022

PhD-candidate Lizzy Cuypers won the best oral presentation award during the Bioceramics meeting in Venice, Italy. Her presentation was entitled 'Zinc-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for the treatment of bone infection'. Congratulations!!!

PhD-defence of Johanna Husch

On September 13, Johanna Husch successfully defended her PhD-thesis entitled 'Toward cell-based bone regeneration using autologously available cells'. In the picture, you see the promotion committee, comprising dr Jeroen van den Beucken (1st promotor), prof dr ir Sander Leeuwenburgh (2nd promotor), mr Nico Bouwman  (beadle), dr Debby Gawlitta, prof dr Peter van der Kraan, prof dr Alessandra Cambi (chair woman), prof dr Martijn van Griensven, and prof dr Toine Lagro (repl. Rector); in the center the new doctor Johanna Husch. Congratulations!

R&B represented @ESB202

A selection of our R&B group went to Bordeaux (F) to attend the annual meeting of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB2022). As is obvious from the image, they enjoyed the atmosphere in the historically rich French city, but also presented (part of) their research efforts to the large audience at the meeting via presentations/posters. On top of that, such meetings provide an excellent ambiance for networking and improve research opportunities at several levels. Well done! 

Poster award RIMLS PhD retreat for Lea Andrée

During the Annual PhD retreat of the Radboud Institute of Molecular Life Sciences (RIMLS), Lea Andrée received an award for the best poster presentation entitled "Elastic vs. plastic: developing gelatin-based hydrogels with variable viscoelasticity for cell culture". For the first time since 2019, the PhD retreat was organized again in Conference Center De Koningshof, Veldhoven on July 14th and 15th. Congratulations to Lea Andrée and co-author Pascal Bertsch for this achievement!

Farhad Sanaei starts research on bone-on-chip systems at Radboudumc

Farhad Sanaei joined the Regenerative Biomaterials group at the Department of Dentistry within Radboudumc as of 1 May 2022. Farhad has obtained a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from Urmia University of Technology (Iran) and an MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering from Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy) focused on mechanically-stimulated organ-on-chip platform development. His interest consists of microfabrication, biofabrication, organ-on-chip systems, 3D (bio)-printing and tissue engineering.

Farhad will carry out his PhD research under supervision of Dr. Mani Diba to develop bone-on-chip models which recapitulate the spatial heterogeneity of cells in bone by means of bioprinting. This project is part of the BoneChipPredict Hypatia Project funded by Radboudumc, which aims to combine bottom-up biomaterial design and biofabrication strategies to develop predictive bone-healing-on-chip models.

Introducing a new R&B group member: Yannick Hajee

I am from the Netherlands and was actually born in Nijmegen. After high school I moved to Sweden to study. I worked as an au pair for a year in Stockholm to learn Swedish and then studied at Uppsala University for my Bachelor in Chemistry and Master in Chemistry - Bio & nano materials. I searched specifically for a PhD related to organoids / organs-on-a-chip and found Mani's interesting project which also fit my experience.

I am interested in applying physical chemistry methods to biochemistry, and in making a difference through biomedical research. I am particularly interested in working with biomaterials, biosensors, organoids, organs-on-a-chip, microfluidics, drug delivery systems, polymeric materials and other nanobiotechnology such as nanopores for DNA and protein sequencing.I like to cook, hike, cycle, learn languages, play board games, read or listen to books (especially SciFi / Fantasy and non-fiction) and play tennis amongst other things.

Past & Future of 'Regenerative Biomaterials'

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Department of Dentistry at Radboudumc, Sander Leeuwenburgh wrote a historic overview and future perspective on the research group "Regenerative Biomaterials" at Radboudumc (in Dutch). In addition, he was interviewed by the monthly magazine of Radboudumc "Radbode" on the history and future of dental and biomaterials (in Dutch). Please click on the links for access to these items.

New group member: Victor Ignacio Madariaga

Enabled by OrangeHealth funding, Victor Ignacio Madariaga has started as a new PhD-student within our group. Victor is a Chilean dentist with a double research Master's in innovative medicine from Uppsala University and Heidelberg University.

R&Bers in the 30th NBTE annual meeting

In April 2022, the Netherlands society for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (NBTE) held its 30th annual conference in De Werelt, Lunteren. The R&B researchers made great contributions to this lustrum event with six presentations:

Lea: When uptake is not enough mRNA delivery with differently charged gelatin nanoparticles (oral presentation)

Zhule: Dual-functional Porous Polymethylmethacrylate Cement Loaded with Cisplatin for Reconstruction of Segmental Bone Defect Kills Bone Tumor Cells (oral presentation)

Jing: Electrophoretic Deposition of Cu-doped Mesoporous Bioactive Glass Chitosan Composite Coatings for Improved Sot Tissue Integration of Oral Implants (oral presentation)

Negar: Cellular Uptake of Antimicrobial Mesoporous Bioactive Glass Nanoparticles for Treatment of Bone Infection (poster presentation)

Kest: Manipulation of Astrocyte Behavior on Graphene-based Biomaterials

Johanna: Adipose Tissue-Derived Stromal Vascular Fraction Shows Superior Osteogenic Differentiation Compared to Donor-Matched Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (poster presentation)

Besides, Lea, representing young researchers in NBTE, participated the open session "Good morning NBTE": a panel discussion with NBTE pioneers and future authorities. Johanna chaired one oral session and acted as a jury member to select the best oral presentations. Fang helped organize this conference as the board member of NBTE.

R&B team to prepare for NWO Venture Challenge

The team of four scientists, Dr. Rong Wang, Dr. Alexey Klymov, Dr. Fang Yang and Prof. Sander Leeuwenburgh from Regnerative Biomaterials group aims to combat the inefficacy of bone tumour drug delivery. They have ambitions to commercialize the injectable colloidal-based composite biomaterials as a dual-functional implant, i.e., bone filler and local drug delivery carriers, which allow for i) minimally invasive handling, ii) rapid bone regeneration even prior to biomaterial degradation, and iii) effective treatment of defects in cancerous bone by intracellular delivery of anticancer agents. Their innovation idea was selected as one of five teams in Venture Challenge Spring 2022, which was organised by NWO." Read more here.

SensoDent project launched

The dept. Dentistry is one of 7 Dutch institutes in the field of oral care that will participate in the ambitious Orange Health Project. Over a prolonged period of at least 10 years, Orange Health will be supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, as part of the so-called Health Holland Top Sectors policy, aimed at stimulating the most innovative developments in healthcare. The emphasis will lie on the prevention of disease, shortening the care pathway, and the promotion of professional collaboration between universities, HBO schools, companies in the medical sector, and patient organizations. One of subprojects, entitled SensoDent, will be led by Dr. Frank Walboomers in collaboration with Prof. Bas Loomans. In SensoDent, microscopic sensors will be placed on the back molar, in a way almost imperceptible to the patient. These devices can be monitored wirelessly with a smartwatch for oral pH, glucose level, and important proteins (so-called "biomarkers") in the saliva. This information is of course important for dental care, as well as for the emergence of dangerous situations, such as (pre-)diabetes, or dysplasia of the esophagus. More information can be found here.

Zhule Wang guides BSc-students to victory!

BSc-students Mark Kregel and Jean-Luc Meijers won the first prize in the national NVT-GSK BSc-thesis competition with their research on bone substitutes with a dual function: anticancer efficacy and bone regenerative capacity. Under the guidance of PhD-student Zhule Wang, both students worked well-motivated on drug-loading and release in combination with cell culture assays. Their results not only led to an award-winning BSc-thesis, but also will serve as a substantial component in a research paper from Zhule Wang. Congratulations and well done to the entire team! See here for further info and a video (sorry, in Dutch only).

Interview Sander Leeuwenburgh in C2W Mens & Molecule

Sander Leeuwenburgh was recently interviewed by C2W Mens & Molecule, a journal issued by the Royal Netherlands Chemical Soiety (KNCV) (only in Dutch). Please find the interview here.

Funding to develop therapy against cancer metastasis in bones

Researchers from the Radboudumc, together with UMC Utrecht and University of Bari Aldo Moro, are receiving a grant of 850,000 Euros from NWO for their PlatiBone research project. Two companies will additionally invest 200,000 Euros. The partners are jointly developing new drugs to treat bone metastases. These drugs combine diagnostics, chemotherapy and radiation. Effective treatments for bone metastases are still scarce. For example, in prostate cancer, doctors use radioactive radium, which is absorbed by bone and irradiates bone tumors. But recent research shows that this radiation can also damage healthy bone, while only a small number of patients actually responds well to this treatment. Therefore, there is an urgent need for effective treatment of bone metastases.

Combination of chemo and radiation

Lead applicant for the PlatiBone project Sander Leeuwenburgh (Department of Dentistry) has been working for several years on the design of new drugs and biomaterials containing so-called bisphosphonates. "These are drugs that bind to calcium in the body and specifically accumulate in bones," he explains. "By coupling other substances to these bisphosphonates, they are targeted towards bones. Together with a collaborating lab in Italy, we developed compounds of bisphosphonates with platinum. The platinum causes damage to DNA in cells that divide quickly, such as cancer cells, and therefore acts as chemotherapy. If platinum is combined with bisphosphonate, it accumulates specifically in bone with high metabolic activity such as bone cancer, where it can release the platinum-based drugs that damage cancer cells." During discussions with the Department of Medical Imaging, the idea emerged to use radioactive platinum instead of ordinary platinum. Co-applicant Sandra Heskamp explains the advantages: "Radioactive platinum (Pt-195m) is a gamma emitter which means that you can monitor if the drug is indeed taken up by bone metastases upon injection into the bloodstream. Furthermore, radioactive platinum emits so-called Auger radiation. So in addition to the effect of platinum itself, the radioactive particles also damage the DNA of the cancer cells, causing them to die."

Multidisciplinary project

In the Platibone project the researchers will test whether compounds consisting of bisphosphonates linked to radioactive platinum can effectively treat bone metastases. Leeuwenburgh: "Until recently I could never imagine we would be able to use radioactive platinum as a therapy for bone cancer, so the collaboration in this project is truly unique. This is a great example of multidisciplinary teamwork, where the active contributions of different teams really adds value." The first chemical compounds have already been prepared together with the University of Bari in Italy. The researchers will now test these drugs on models of prostate cancer and breast cancer, as these are common types of cancers that often spread to bones. But this technique may also be effective for bone metastases caused by other cancers. The Departments of Orthopedics of Radboudumc and UMC Utrecht are therefore actively involved to evaluate the possibility for clinical translation. UMC Utrecht will also develop new animal models, where bone containing tumor cells will be placed under the skin. The aim of these models is to rapidly advance basic research into clinical applications.

Industrial commitment

In addition to the various Dutch and Italian universities, two companies specialized in production of nuclear medicines participate in PlatiBone: Urenco and NRG. Urenco will supply raw materials to NRG as source for production of radioactive platinum. NRG will optimize this production method towards a product for clinical use in patients. "This project connects perfectly with another project already under way with NRG," says Heskamp. "In this Fieldlab project we are developing new radioactive drugs with other UMCs. Hopefully the two projects can reinforce each other to such extent that we'll have new drugs for treatment of bone metastases."

PhD-defense Maria Sanchez Fernandez

On Tuesday November 2nd, Maria Sanchez Fernandez successfully defended her PhD-thesis entitled "Development of Poly(2-oxazoline)-Based Bone-Adhesive Biomaterials". During her PhD project at Radboudumc, Maria developed novel bone-adhesive membranes and glues comprising chemically functionalized poly(2-oxazolines). Her work resulted in several peer-reviewed publications (Biomacromolecules, Advanced Materials Interfaces, Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Macromolecular Biosciences) and patents. Her PhD project was supervised by Rosa Felix Lanao (GATT Technologies), Jan van Hest (Technical University Eindhoven) and Sander Leeuwenburgh (Radboudumc).

Congratulations to Maria and all the best for her personal and professional future! 

Turbo grant for Jeroen van den Beucken

On Tuesday October 19 2021, the joint initiative from Twente University of technology and RadBoudUmc (TURBO) granted 4 medtech proposals with 80k€ to generate preliminary data toward a future joint proposal. Read more here.

One of the granted proposals is 'microCLAST' by Jeroen van den Beucken and Jeroen Leijten.

Microgel technology to control the formation and function of osteoclasts (microCLAST)

Our bones are permanently built up and broken down, also called bone formation and bone resorption. The health and regeneration of our bones depend on the balance between bone formation and bone resorption. Osteoclasts, a type of bone cells, are known for their role in bone resorption, but they also appear to play a role in bone formation. In the microCLAST project, Jeroen Leijten (UT) and Jeroen van den Beucken (Radboudumc) are developing a method to generate osteoclasts, combining microfluidics with cell biology. The project will eventually provide a toolbox for the development of in vitro bone models and constructs for bone regeneration. In addition, they aim to unravel the function of osteoclasts in healthy and diseased bone, and the stimulation of bone regeneration with cells from a patient. 

PhD-defense Xian Cheng

On Monday June 28th Xian Cheng successfully defended his PhD-thesis entitled "Investigation of electrophoretic deposition parameters and silk fibroin structure towards implant coatings". During his PhD project at Radboudumc, Xian developed implant coatings comprising silk fibroin using the electrophoretic deposition technique. His work resulted in 5 first authorships and several co-authorships on publications that were accepted in prestiguous journals such as ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Bone Research and Bioactive Materials. All the best to Xian for his personal and professional future! 

PhD-defense Robin Nadar

On Friday June 11th, Robin Nadar successfully defended his PhD-thesis 'Local and systemic delivery of functionalized platinum-based drgs for treatment of bone metastases'. In his research, Robin developed several new methods to detect and treat bone metastases based on either local or systemic delivery of (radioactive) platinum-based drugs. Robin's work resulted in one book chapter, 6 publlications and a patent application. We wish Robin all the best both professionally and personally!

PhD-defense Claire van Houdt

On Monday May 17 2021, Claire van Houdt successfully defended her PhD-thesis 'Bone graft substitutes in compromised conditions'. In her research, Claire worked with a large variety of bone substitute materials to heal bone defects under challenging circumstances, such as osteoporotic bone, critical size defects, and the combination thereof. Her research has resulted in a total of 6 peer-reviewed papers in leading scientific journals. Congratulations with this achievement and good luck with finalising your specialisation as a plastic surgeon!!!

Hypatia grant for dr. Mani Diba

Our former colleague Mani Diba has been awarded a Hypatia Tenure Track Grant of 1 MEuro for his proposal entitled "Towards replacement of animal testing by predictive 3D bone‐healing‐on‐chip models using advanced spatial organization of adaptive biomaterials and cellular constructs (BoneChipPredict)".
The Hypatia grant is the most prestigious personal grant from Radboudumc aimed to promote innovation in academic research by providing young and talented researchers the opportunity to establish an independent research group within the strategic research areas or Radboudumc. After his current fellowship at Harvard University in Boston, Mani will reinforce our research group at Radboudumc in 2022 using his Hypatia grant.

Poster award ENABLE for Kest Verstappen.

Kest Verstappen (Dentistry / Regenerative Biomaterials) participated in the European Academy for Biomedical Sciences (ENABLE) conference, taking place from 12-14 May, aimed at excellent European PhD students and postdocs. ENABLE is a network of European top-institutes, including the RIMLS in Nijmegen, and is supported by the EU Horizon2020 programme. ENABLE aims to involve young scientists in opening the academic world from within by promoting crosstalk between biomedical disciplines, collaboration with industry, and engagement with society. Kest won the prize for best poster and poster presentation entitled "Graphene-based biomaterials as potential inhibitors of astrogliosis". ENABLE 2021 took place in Milan, albeit this year of course only virtually. Congratulations!

Frank Walboomers (PhD promotor) and Sander Leeuwenburgh (head Regenerative Biomaterials)

Vacancy for a PhD-student

A position is available for a dentist with interest in implantology and/or orthodontics for a research project dealing with improvement of osseointegration of temporary anchorage devices (TADs). Please see more information via this link.

PhD defense Jinmeng Li

Today, April 8 2021, Jinmeng Li successfully defended his PhD-thesis entitled 'Osteopromotive titanium fiber mesh applicable for dental implants'. The thesis was prepared under the supervision of supervisors prof dr John Jansen and dr X Frank Walboomers and co-supervisor dr ing Jeroen van den Beucken. Despite few technical issues, Jinmeng effectively responded to the questions of the promotion committee during the virtual event (due to Covid-19 restrictions) and now has obtained his PhD-degree. Congratulations, dr Jinmeng!!!

Sander Leeuwenburgh on the ins and outs of his Vici project

Via this link, a video will be accessible in which Sander Leeuwenburgh explains his passion for the research he will carry out using the recently awarded Vici research grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

IUS PROMOVENDI for dr. ing. Jeroen van den Beucken

Effective December 1st 2020, the Radboud University has granted the so-called 'ius promovendi' to Jeroen van den Beucken. This means that Jeroen now is entitled to act as a promotor for PhD-students under his supervision.

Daniela Petre receives doctoral degree

On Monday January 25th, Daniela Petre successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "Chemical modification of polymeric fibers for reinforcement of calcium phosphate bone cements". Daniela's thesis was prepared under the supervision of Prof. Sander Leeuwenburgh (Radboudumc). Daniela defended her thesis online from her current residency in the UK.

Congratulations Daniela!​

Best oral presentation award for Negar Hassani Besheli!

During the Annual Meeting of the Netherlands Society for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (NBTE; held online in November 2020), PhD-student Negar Hassani Besheli received the Best Oral Presentation Award for her presentation entitled "The influence of processing parameters on the properties of gelatin nanoparticles". Congratulations Negar for her achievement!"

Targeting of radioactive platinum-bisphosphonate anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells in bone tumors

Together with a multidisciplinary consortium of Dutch and Italian scientists, Sander Leeuwenburgh and his former Radboudumc colleague Robin Nadar, theme Reconstructive & Regenerative Medicine, recently reported that radioactive platinum-based anticancer drugs effectively kill cancer cells in bone tumors.

Platinum-based chemotherapeutics such as cisplatin exhibit excellent antitumor properties. However, these drugs cause severe side effects including toxicity, drug resistance, and lack of tumor selectivity. Tumor-targeted drug delivery has demonstrated great potential to overcome these drawbacks. Previously, the researchers of this consortium showed in Scientific Reports that radioactive bisphosphonate-functionalized platinum (195mPt-BP) anticancer drugs preferentially accumulate in metabolically active bone. Specific accumulation of 195mPt-BP was observed at skeletal sites with high metabolic activity using micro-SPECT/CT imaging. Furthermore, laser ablation-ICP-MS imaging of proximal tibia sections confirmed that 195mPt BP co-localized with calcium in the trabeculae of mice tibia.

Last week a follow-up article from the same consortium in Materials Today Bio revealed that these radioactive platinum-based drugs are effectively targeted to bone tumors. Systemically administered 195mPt-BP drugs accumulate up to seven times more effectively in bone tumors compared to radioactive cisplatin lacking these bone-targeting bisphosphonate ligands. Moreover, these drugs effectively kill cancer cells in bone tumors by local emission of Auger electrons. This radiotherapeutic activity of 195mPt-BP drugs was evidenced by a considerably enhanced DNA damage and apoptosis of metastatic tumor cells as compared to non-radioactive Pt-BP controls. These results provide the first preclinical evidence for specific accumulation and radiotherapeutic activity of theranostic 195mPt-BP drugs, which might open up new avenues of research on treatment of bone metastatic lesions using bone-targeted Auger therapy.

Ali Paknahad receives PhD-certificate

On Wednesday December 9th, Ali Paknahad successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled "Calcium phosphate cement reinforced with poly(vinyl alcohol) fibers: experimental and numerical studies on mechanical failure". Ali's thesis was prepared under the supervision of Prof. Sander Leeuwenbrugh (Radboudumc) and Prof. Bert Sluys (Delft University of Technology).

Congratulations Ali!​

2nd prize NT-GSK Bachelor thesis award for Lotte & Jurriaan

Lotte Woud and Jurriaan Vossen received the 2nd prize in the NT-GSK Bachelor thesis competition based on their thesis entitled 'Osteogenic differentiation of SVF and ADMSC obtained from adipose tissue'. Using dedicated laboratory experiments (cell cultures and analyses), Lotte and Jurriaan demonstrated that donor-matched cell populations isolated from fat tissue show superiority of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) over mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) regarding in vitro osteogenic differentiation. This knowledge widens the perspective on the use of SVF as an easy-to-obtain cell population for bone regenerative applications. A special thank you for Johanna Husch for the excellent supervision of Lotte and Jurriaan leading to this award.

Additional information (in Dutch) is available here.

Sonia de Lacerda Schickert receives PhD-certificate

Last Friday, Sonia de Lacerda Schickert officially finalized her PhD-track via a successful defense of her thesis entitled "Towards Load-bearing Bioceramics. Mechanical and biological characterization of PVA fiber-reinforced calcium phosphate cements for dental and orthopedic applications".
In the picture, you see prof Sander Leeuwenburgh handing over the Radboud University PhD-certificate to Sonia in a corona-proof manner.
Well done, Sonia!

Dr. Fang Yang editorial board member Bioactive Materials

Recently, Dr. Fang Yang has joined the editorial board of Bioactive Materials. Bioactive Materials (2019-IF: 8.724) is an international, open-access, peer-reviewed research journal covering all aspects of biomaterials. This journal is ranked in the 1st quartile in the categories 'MATERIALS SCIENCE, BIOMATERIALS' and 'ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL.'

25-years work anniversary dr. Frank Walboomers

On September 1st 2020, we celebrated the 25-year work anniversary of our group member dr. Frank Walboomers. In view of his large contribution to the success of our research group and his efforts for setting up and organising the Dental Research Lab, he received several gifts as a sign of gratitude. Congratulations, Frank!

On Wednesday, July 1st 2020, Jiamian Wang successfully defended her thesis entitled "Electrosprayed microparticles as drug carriers for periodontal treatment". One of her major achievements during the PhD study was the development of drug carriers which could move automatically toward the inflamed tissues. Jiamian's defense ceremony was one of the first physical ones since the corona lock-down. A limited number of the public audience joined this defense, and corona measures were well followed. Congratulations to Jiamian!

Adelina Plachokova in the spotlight at the Osteology Foundation

Our colleague dr. Adelina Plachokova has been put in the spotlight by Osteology Foundation. In this news item on the Osteology Foundation website, Adelina takes a journey along her research career that was financially supported by Osteology Foundation research grants.

2 Postdoc positions 'Colloidal biomaterials for bone regeneration'

We currently have 2 positions available for motivated, pro-active postdoctoral researchers, who are interested in working in a multidisciplinary team!

Please click here for more information on these positions!!!

2 PhD positions 'Regeneration of Diseased Bone'

We currently have 2 positions available for motivated, pro-active young researchers, who are interested in working in a multidisciplinary team!

Please click here for more information on these positions!!!

On May 28 2020, Bing Wang successfully defended her thesis entitled "Topical Therapy for Periodontal Disease". This thesis contains her four research studies published in the top journals in Dentistry, Biomaterials and Drug Delivery. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bing was not able to travel back from China, and the defense was held via the digital platform ZOOM. We thank all the defense committee members making this online ceremony a special one. The PhD diploma was sent to her by post after the defense. Congratulations, Bing!

On Tuesday May 26th, Nathan Kucko successfully defended his PhD Thesis entitled "Development of Next-Generation Calcium Phosphate Bone Cements with Improved Handling and Mechanical Properties". We would like to thanks Prof. Nico Creugers (Radboudumc), Prof. Joost de Bruijn (Queen Mary University of London), Prof. Pamela Habibovic (Maastricht University Medical Center), Prof. Gert Meijer (Radboudumc), Dr. Paul Kouwer (Radboud University) and Dr. Dennis Janssen (Radboudumc) for their valuable contributions to Nathan's PhD defense ceremony. Nathan's work was published in one book chapter and four peer-reviewed publications. Even the corona-virus could not stop Nathan from defending his thesis and obtaining the doctoral degree. Congratulations to Nathan !

On Friday May 1st 2020, Muhanad Ali successfully defended his PhD thesis "Novel Approaches in Periodontal therapy: Local Drug Delivery, Pro-resolving Factors and in vitro Models". The thesis contained three accepted publications in international scientific journals, as well as two papers that are still under peer review. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the public defense was held as an online meeting, and the signed diploma had to be sent by mail afterward. Still events went smoothly, except for a small parcel delivery midway through the defense ! Congratulations to "Moh" and the best of luck in your new job in Amsterdam!

"Ius Promovendi" for dr. X. Frank Walboomers

Since this month, the board of the University has decided to grant the so-called "Ius Promovendi" to Frank Walboomers. This means, that Dr. Walboomers from now on is entitled to act as a promotor. Previously, this right was only granted to full professors. Since 2017, by law this right is also obtainable for associate professors with a proven long term track record with respect to supervision of research projects and PhD students. Dr. Walboomers will be promotor in the Regenerative Biomaterials group for projects that are personally obtained and/or have a more biological focus.

Digital coffee: strange taste, but not a waste!

Difficult times ask for creative solutions: digital coffee break at the Regenerative Biomaterials group! Such activities enlarge team spirit and sustain interaction in an informal manner...

Lecture by Bart van Oirschot and Sander Leeuwenburgh at 'de Huishoudbeurs'

On February 28th, Bart van Oirschot and Sander Leeuwenburgh gave a lecture during the Expedition NEXT event at the Huishoudbeurs. Expedition NEXT is a Science Festival organized by the Dutch Science Agenda (NWA) to increase the interaction between science and society. The Huishoudbeurs is the largest consumer and lifestyle event in The Netherlands. Bart and Sander gave a lecture on modern developments in oral implantology and regenerative biomaterials.

Sander Leeuwenburgh receives VICI grant

On February 20th the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has decided to award a VICI grant to Sander Leeuwenburgh. The VICI grant is a grant of 1.5 million euro which enables research leaders to establish their research group.Sander Leeuwenburgh's VICI proposal is entitled "Colloidal self-healing composites: towards a new class of biomaterials for regeneration of diseased bone (ColBioBone)". This project will aim to facilitate regeneration of diseased bone by colloidal biomaterials. Conventional biomaterials cannot heal defects in diseased bone. ColBioBone will design novel biomaterials which do possess this capacity by self-assembly of submicron particles. These biomaterials are porous, self-healing, and deliver drugs directly into cells. Consequently, bone defects caused by diseases such as infection or cancer will be treated effectively.

PhD-defence Roel Op 't Veld

On Wednesday February 19 2020, Roel op 't Veld successfully defended his thesis entitled 'Polyisocyanopeptide Hydrogel Wound Dressings'. Congratulations!!!

PhD-defence Irene Lodoso Torrecilla

On January 24 2020, Irene LodosoTorrecilla successfully defended her thesis entitled 'Fine-tuning the degradation and biological properties of calcium phosphate cements'. Congratulations!!!