From tailor-made prevention to children's rights in migrant return policy: these are some of the 15 topics for which Rotterdam scientists will receive a Veni grant. Each researcher will receive a maximum of 320,000 euros to develop their own research idea over the next three years. The Veni grant is part of the NWO Talent Programme and is aimed at researchers who have recently obtained their PhD and have academic qualities that clearly exceed what is usual.
Below you can read the abstracts of the research projects receiving a Veni grant.
Erasmus MC
Dr. Ilias Attaye, Erasmus MC
Chronic kidney disease and diabetes are common conditions that affect some ethnic groups more severely. Diet, especially the acidity of food, plays an important role in these conditions. This project studies how dietary changes can reduce the body's "acid stress" in people with these diseases. We will also explore whether certain ethnic groups respond differently to reducing acid stress through diet. The overall goal is to develop personalized diet strategies to help people with diabetes and kidney damage become less "sweet" and less "sour," aiming to better control these conditions through nutrition.
Dr. Nick Beije, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Department of Medical Oncology
Metastatic prostate cancer is a lethal disease. New therapies for this disease target proteins on prostate cancer cells, such as the prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) protein. However, it is hard to ascertain whether PSMA is present on the most lethal prostate cancer cells, and how tumors become resistant to PSMA-targeting therapies. I will investigate whether tumor cells acquired from blood improve insights on the presence of PSMA on the tumor, and how cancer escapes sensitivity to the PSMA-targeting treatments.
Dr. Linda Joosse, Erasmus MC
Checkpoint blockade immunotherapy boosts the immune system to destroy cancer cells. However, in up to 50% of patients, this treatment causes serious inflammatory side effects caused by the immune system attacking healthy tissues for reasons poorly understood. I have recently obtained findings in patients and disease models showing that the excess of a specific molecule called IL12p40 is likely causing these side effects early after start of treatment. In this project I want to understand the role of this molecule and block it to make immunotherapy safer while preserving its effectiveness.
Dr. Bas Lendemeijer, Erasmus MC
Certain genetic mutations strongly increase the risk of developing schizophrenia through unknown mechanisms. With this project, scientists aim to investigate the effect of these mutations on the functioning of human neurons. This will be done by converting human stem cells to neurons and subsequently engrafting these into the mouse brain. Using this approach, researchers will be able to study the functioning of human neurons in a living brain. Finally, potential medication will be tested to restore the functioning of these cells.
Dr. Silvan Licher, Erasmus MC, Department of Epidemiology & General Practice
We are living longer lives, but unfortunately spend fewer of those years in good health. The gap between how long we live and the years we live without disease is diving, particularly among vulnerable groups in society. Even minor changes in our lifestyle can help close this gap, but how these changes affect long-term health for an individual is not clear. This research calculates how improvements in lifestyle and/or preventive therapy will translate to gains in healthy life expectancy for individual patients.
Dr. Margot Reijnders, Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC
Children with too fast-growing brains have many serious medical problems: they develop slower and often have epileptic seizures. It's important to find the underlying cause: a mistake in the hereditary material, the DNA. Until today this is complicated. Lots of the DNA-mistakes are special 'mosaic' mistakes which are difficult to find with current genetic tests. This research uses the most modern techniques to make it possible to detect these mistakes, thereby providing a diagnose for the children often after a diagnostic odyssey of years. This gives not only clarity about the best treatment for the children, but also provides future perspectives for the parents desiring another, healthy child.
Dr. Reina Sikkema, Erasmus MC
This proposal aims to identify the key bird species that serve as reservoirs for West Nile Virus (WNV) and Usutu Virus (USUV), both of which are transmitted by mosquitoes and have been spreading across Europe. By understanding which bird species the main viral reservoir and how these infections contribute to the spread of these viruses, this research will enhance our ability to predict and control outbreaks. The findings will inform targeted surveillance and control measures, ultimately reducing the risk of human and animal infections and improving our understanding of the ecological dynamics of these zoonotic pathogens.
Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM)
Dr. Robert Borst, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management
Through its colonial past, the Netherlands remains connected to the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. In healthcare, these entities work closely together, for instance because there are few available doctors locally. However, these relations are challenged by mutual distrust and misunderstandings, which harms the quality of care. This research looks into why these problems occur and offers practical solutions to improve collaboration.
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication
Dr. Ofra Klein, Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication
Social media platforms have become key spaces for the far-right to disseminate harmful content, including hate speech and disinformation. While platforms moderate such content, a significant amount remains visible online. This study investigates how far-right activists continue to propagate extremist messages despite these moderation efforts of platforms. Through interviews, social media analysis, and case studies, this Veni project explores the interplay between platform moderation and the adaptive tactics used by the far-right to bypass moderation measures. The findings will provide valuable insights that could inform strategies for reducing harmful content and fostering a safer online environment.
Erasmus School of Law
Dr. Enrique Santamaria Echeverria, Erasmus School of Law
Modern technology makes it possible to gather health data from a variety of sources and devices—like smartwatches that track exercise and sleep, period-tracking apps, and electronic health records. This data can be combined to, for example, drive research or train algorithms. But who gets to decide how it is used and under what conditions? Is it the individual, private companies, or the government? This research project explores, from a legal perspective, how individuals and institutions can cooperate to create democratic and inclusive models for collectively deciding how health data are used.
Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Dr. Laura Cleton, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Recently-adopted EU migration policy epitomises the tension for liberal states between safeguarding human rights and political pressure to curb undocumented migration. This tension is most pronounced in the return of children: while children's rights should constrain government power, advocacy groups warn that rights are increasingly undermined. This project examines how frontline workers negotiate rights while implementing return policies between Belgium, the Netherlands and Nigeria. Their engagement with rights has important consequences for children and the legitimacy of migration governance. It innovates theory-building in political science and migration studies and offers advocacy pathways.
Dr. Kasper Otten, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Because of the dispersal policy, refugees are spread throughout the Netherlands and cannot choose where they are housed. It is often thought that the assigned housing region has a major impact on their chances of building a new life, but scientific evidence is still largely lacking. This project will identify the causal influence of refugees’ housing location on various dimensions of their lives, including work, social contacts, and mental health. With this knowledge, the process of assigning refugees to housing locations can be improved so that refugees can build better lives in the Netherlands and participate in society.
Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University Rotterdam
Dr. Jovana Karanovic, Rotterdam School of Management
Platform companies like Uber and Deliveroo use algorithms to manage workers, influencing job assignments, pay, and performance. This research explores how workers resist and adapt to these systems, such as coordinating through networks or gaming algorithms, while also examining the ethical consequences, including inequality and exploitation. Additionally, it highlights fair algorithmic practices and governance solutions that promote transparency and equity. The findings will provide actionable insights to help policymakers and platforms design more inclusive and ethical digital labour environments. The findings will help policymakers and platforms develop fairer practices to protect workers in digital labour markets.
Dr. Christopher Sabel, Rotterdam School of Management
The recent worsening of relationships between countries led to a drastic reduction in firms’ foreign investment, which has worsened the economic situation in regions that rely on foreign investment. This project examines when and why firms reduce investments and what policymakers can do to avert these reductions, by examining three dimensions of geopolitical tensions: (1) how tensions create spillovers for third, noninvolved countries, (2) how supranational lobbying (i.e., EU) may mitigate the effect of tensions within an economic union, and (3) whether nationalistic voting in municipalities worsens the effects of tensions. This project supports policymakers and firms in battling deglobalization.
Dr. Khadija van der Straaten, Rotterdam School of Management
Even though many of the workers affected by human rights violations in global value chains are women, little is known about the relevance of gender in this context. The project therefore examines when and how gender-based violence and harassment manifest in global value chains. By combining multiple methods and levels of analysis—lead firm, workplace, and worker— it will generate new insights on how inequalities within global value chains interact with local gender inequalities, which can inform and improve the human rights of women in global value chains.
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