UMC Utrecht builds the research infrastructure of tomorrow

UMC Utrecht is involved in five of the eleven projects receiving funding through the National Roadmap for Large-Scale Scientific Infrastructure (GWI) of NWO. Together with our partners, we are building the research infrastructure needed for innovative and future-oriented science. In one of these projects—an initiative aimed at developing an MRI system capable of scanning the body upright and in motion—UMC Utrecht serves as the lead institute.

The total investment amounts to 301 million euros. These funds will be used to develop facilities that are widely accessible to researchers and crucial for scientific breakthroughs, including those in the field of health and healthcare.

The five projects involving UMC Utrecht are:

BioMotive: Imaging the biomechanics of the internal human body in motion

Current medical imaging only shows the human body in a static, horizontal position, which does not accurately capture the forces and functions that occur during everyday activities such as standing or moving. The BioMotive project, led by Professor Nico van den Berg, aims to change this with an advanced MRI system capable of scanning the body upright and in motion. This will allow us to observe how muscles, bones, and the heart behave under realistic conditions such as physical exertion. By applying advanced MRI techniques, BioMotive enables direct visualization of internal forces and physiological processes, offering deeper insights into disorders of muscles, digestion, and circulation that depend on posture and movement.

Read the full article about BioMotive.

AMICE: The Dutch infrastructure of Advanced Multimodal Imaging CEnters

Imaging techniques allow us to look inside the body to understand how life develops, how a healthy body functions, and how disease emerges and progresses. Specialized equipment and expertise are required for this. AMICE will serve as a national infrastructure to develop and make available new and improved imaging techniques for researchers. This will allow scientists to extract much more information from images. In addition, AMICE will enable the reuse of imaging data, increasing scientific efficiency. In short, AMICE uniquely empowers Dutch life scientists to conduct top-level research and maintain a leading position internationally.

Read the full article about AMICE.

EBRAINS-Neurotech: Assembly Line for Brain Reading and Writing

The neurotechnology revolution: smart devices to read and influence brain activity. In 2023, UNESCO declared that we are on the threshold of a new revolution—neurotechnology. This emerging research field develops devices that interact with the brain to read signals and/or influence brain activity. Neurotechnology offers innovative ways to better understand the brain and opens new possibilities for treating brain disorders. In the Netherlands, this field requires far-reaching integration. EBRAINS-Neurotech will create a coherent infrastructure that enables users to develop smart materials to interact with the brain, test brain implants, and design computer models to better understand how these systems influence brain function.

Read the full article about EBRAINS-Neurotech.

EMPower: A national infrastructure to uncover the secrets of life at the molecular level

Understanding and designing molecular structures is essential for innovation in science and technology. Electron microscopy (EM) produces high-resolution images of biological samples, making molecules visible at the atomic level and enabling 3D visualization within cells and organs. To maintain and strengthen the Netherlands’ leading position in this revolutionary field, a national infrastructure is being created that integrates the latest innovations in cryo-EM and volume-EM. This facility will provide advanced support for sample preparation, data acquisition, and analysis, stimulating new scientific breakthroughs in medicine and technology.

Read the full article about EMPower.

NCC: The Netherlands Cohort Consortium

The Netherlands Cohort Consortium (NCC) brings together health data from nearly half a million Dutch citizens. With these data, groundbreaking research is conducted into the causes of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and depression—and why these conditions increasingly occur at younger ages. NCC is developing a new infrastructure, including future data collection, with optimal IT facilities for joint data analysis, ensuring the privacy and security of the information. By combining datasets, we gain better insight into how these diseases can be prevented and how people can live healthier, longer lives.

Read the whole article here NCC.