Utrecht Science Park researchers receive prestigious Cancer Grand Challenge grants

Reprogramming colorectal cancer: Madelon Maurice joins international REWIRE-CAN team

Madelon Maurice, professor and researcher at the Center for Molecular Medicine at UMC Utrecht and the Oncode Institute, is one of the seven principal investigators on the international REWIRE-CAN research team. Along with researchers from the United Kingdom and the United States, she has received a prestigious Cancer Grand Challenge (CGC) grant of up to £25 million to develop a radical new approach to colorectal cancer.

REWIRE-CAN brings together researchers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States, along with experts in cancer biology, chemical development, clinical research, and drug screening. Maurice’s expertise lies in the WNT signaling pathway, which is dysregulated in 90% of colorectal cancer patients. Through her work at the Oncode Institute, she makes a significant contribution to the development of new activators and treatment strategies within the REWIRE-CAN team.

More information about this research and this Cancer Grand Challenge can be found on the UMC Utrecht website.

ILLUMINE research team with Sebastiaan van Heesch better maps unknown proteins

The ILLUMINE research team, which includes Dr. Sebastiaan van Heesch, has also received a prestigious Cancer Grand Challenge grant. Sebastiaan van Heesch is a research group leader at the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology and at the Oncode Institute. The team is now embarking on an ambitious project to map proteins whose existence was previously unknown. This “dark matter” also includes the small micro-proteins in which Van Heesch specializes. These control certain processes in (cancer) cells that could be key to new therapies, including immunotherapy.

The Challenge grant will provide the team with the means to systematically map these currently mysterious proteins. If these proteins are present in cancer cells but not in healthy cells, the body’s own immune system can form the basis for immunotherapy, for example, via cell therapy or a vaccine.

More information about this research and this Cancer Grand Challenge can be found on the website of the Princess Máxima Center.

Team CAUSE with Hubrecht Institute group leaders investigates mechanisms that cause mutational signatures

A global, interdisciplinary team of researchers, including Juan Garaycoechea and Puck Knipscheer, group leaders at the Hubrecht Institute, has also been selected for a Cancer Grand Challenges grant to address the mechanisms that cause mutational signatures. The Cancer Grand Challenges CAUSE team is led by Ludmil Alexandrov of the University of California, San Diego.

DNA serves as a manual for our cells, telling them how to grow and function. But over time, DNA often becomes damaged by harmful substances in the environment (such as pollution, tobacco smoke, or UV radiation from the sun) and by naturally occurring reactive substances present in our bodies. This damage can lead to changes in the DNA sequence (also called mutations), which can sometimes lead to cancer. These mutations are not completely random but have unique patterns, also called mutational signatures. These signatures act as forensic fingerprints of past damage, helping scientists determine what caused the DNA damage.

Researchers have linked some mutational signatures to clear causes, such as tobacco smoke. But many others remain unexplained, even though they are responsible for a large proportion of cancer-causing mutations. The CAUSE (Connecting DNA Adducts, Unexplained Mutational Signatures and Cancer Etiologies) team is addressing a fundamental knowledge gap: how does chemical DNA damage lead to a permanent mutation?

           

More information about this research and this Cancer Grand Challenge can be found on the Hubrecht Institute website.

Utrecht Cancer Collaborative Platform

The Utrecht Science Park is home to the largest and most multidisciplinary cancer research community in the Netherlands, the Utrecht Cancer Collaborative Platform. Collaborating in areas ranging from fundamental research to clinical applications, to accelerate breakthroughs that improve the lives of children, adults, and animals with cancer, is the key to success. Since 2008, cancer has been the leading cause of death in the Netherlands. In 2024 alone, nearly 130,000 people were diagnosed; a number that, according to the trend report from the Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), will rise to over 150,000 per year within the next decade. The trend is undeniable, and the urgency has never been greater.

Utrecht Cancer is taking on this challenge with a vision that is as ambitious as it is essential: by combining knowledge, talent, and resources, it accelerates discoveries and translates them into better treatments for patients worldwide. In this way, it demonstrates that only through collaboration can we progress toward a healthier, more sustainable society.