From research to practice: Leiden researchers awarded European grant
Impact
Various Leiden researchers have been awarded a European grant to explore the commercial or societal potential of previous research.
To be eligible for an ERC Proof of Concept grant, researchers must have already received another European research grant. The new EUR 150,000 grant will allow them to put their research into practice with the goal of commercial of social innovation.
Below are the names and projects of the Leiden researchers who have received an ERC Proof of Concept:
YourFutureU
Jean-Louis van Gelder (Institute of Education and Child Studies)
The YourFutureU project builds on previous research using virtual reality and smartphone apps to generate future-self avatars. The idea will now be further developed into an AI-driven conversational agent that enables users to interact with their older selves. This could improve self-reflection and reduce self-destructive behaviour. This approach has the potential to improve goal-setting, academic performance and mental well-being while reducing self-defeating behaviours such as procrastination. The research team, which in addition to Van Gelder includes behavioural scientist Dr Esther Mertens, clinical psychologist Maggie Webb and computer scientist Janis Butz, will test the intervention through targeted studies and study applications in both prevention and therapy.
SUPRAHEART
Roxanne Kieltyka (Leiden Institute of Chemistry)
The SUPRAHEART project is a proof-of-concept to develop a synthetic material for growing engineered heart tissues (EHTs). Currently, EHTs often rely on natural materials like collagen or Matrigel, which makes it difficult to produce them on a large scale. By using a fully synthetic self-assembled material held together by dynamic interactions, Kieltyka and her team aim to create heart tissue models that are more consistent, customisable and scalable. This could make them ideal for testing new medicines more efficiently.
The plan involves increasing the production of these supramolecular hydrogels, studying their properties in detail and developing methods to use them to grow high-quality heart tissues. At the same time, the team will explore the business side, such as market research and patenting, to eventually bring this innovation to the market with local partners.
MYSTIC
Sebastian Pomplun (Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research)
The MYSTIC project aims to transform cancer treatment by advancing the development of HeloMYC, a groundbreaking therapeutic candidate that targets MYC, a key driver in many human cancers. MYC is considered to be very difficult to target with conventional drugs because it lacks clear binding sites for small molecules. HeloMYC is a synthetically enhanced protein drug that can effectively enter cancer cells and block MYC function.
Over the next 18 months, the research will focus on three main goals: further developing and testing HeloMYC, securing patents to protect the invention, and devising a strategy to bring it to market. This project could not only lead to a new treatment for MYC-driven cancers but also more generally introduce a new strategy to tackle diseases that were previously untreatable with traditional drugs. It aims to bring hope to millions of patients and has the potential to change the future of precision medicine.
Opto-AF-Therapy
Daniël Pijnappels (LUMC)
More details to follow.