With their research project they will also create a bridge between clinic and scientific research.
Explanation of the 3 researchers
Below, the three researchers talk about their research.
Jelmer Prins: Research into the role of the immune system in premature birth and complications
Worldwide, more than 1 million babies die each year because they are born prematurely, and at least 5 million premature babies each year have long-term health problems. In particular, problems in neurological development are in the foreground. Unfortunately, the causes of preterm birth and impaired neurological development are not known. This makes it difficult to develop medicines to prevent premature birth and its consequences. The mother’s immune system seems to play an important role in the development of premature birth and the disrupted neurological development of the child. In this project I look at the role of a specific group of immune cells in these complications of pregnancy. We will look at which factors influence these cells and how this is related to the development of the child. The knowledge gained from this project will help to develop therapies to prevent these problems.
Peter van Dijk: Research into the effect of innovative glucose sensor technology in diabetic patients
In people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), a blood glucose level that is too high leads to poorer outcomes of a (planned) hospital admission, including more complications (infections), poorer surgical results, longer length of stay and more death. There is currently no method to accurately measure and subsequently improve metabolic control prior to admission (‘prehabilitation’) in people with T2D. Glucose sensors provide insight into the impact of lifestyle and medication on glucose levels; this is a proven method of behavior modification leading to improved glucose levels. But possibly also improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and weight. This project aims to design, implement and evaluate the effects of glucose sensors in T2D patients prior to hospitalization for a planned surgical procedure. It is hypothesized that this will lead to better glucose levels before and during hospitalization, resulting in better hospitalization outcomes, lower costs and ultimately sustainable improvements in T2D care.
Janesh Pillay: Early detection of patients with a non-healing lung due to scarring
Severe acute lung failure such as pneumonia requires admission and ventilation in the intensive care unit. This is a radical and expensive treatment that is not effective for everyone. To get off the ventilator it is necessary for the lung to recover. We cannot predict whether this recovery will take place. An important cause of lung failure to recover is scarring. This study focuses on the early detection of patients with a non-healing lung by measuring substances of scarring in the blood. With this information from the blood together with patient characteristics, we want to predict at an early stage which patients are at risk of a non-recovering lung. Being able to predict which lungs will and will not recover is necessary to provide more clarity about the expected course in intensive care and to test new therapies in these patients at an early stage of scarring.
What is a Clinical Fellowship?
A Clinical Fellowship is a personal incentive grant for a doctoral and specialized clinician who wants to continue to combine clinical work with scientific research. With this, the clinician can start setting up his own first line of research. The program is for clinicians who are still more or less at the beginning of their scientific career.