AGEM retreat 2025
A spectacularly sunny edition!
At 10am on Thursday the 3rd of April, Nanne de Boer and Diederick van Doorn welcomed everyone to this year’s retreat at Bilderberg ‘t Speulderbos. This year our retreat hosted around 105 attendees, meaning we had a full program of PhD candidates and post-docs to present their work in three different formats: poster presentations, pitches, and classical presentations. As always this two-day meeting was the perfect setting for young AGEM researchers to inspire and be inspired by each other’s work. An engaging way for our researchers to network.
Session A kicked off the presentations, followed by our first keynote speaker, Bart Takkenberg. Bart addressed the topic of alcohol prevention and explained that while drinking one glass of alcohol a day is associated with a lower risk of myocardial infarction, it doesn't account for the increased risk of other health issues, such as high blood pressure, cancer, and liver disease. As a result, the idea that one glass a day could be healthy is misleading. In a relatable manner, Bart challenged the notion of 'healthy drinking' and encouraged us to view alcohol as the new smoking. With a mix of humor and hard science, he left everyone with plenty to reflect on regarding society’s current relationship with alcohol.
After a short break, our first parallel session allowed our participants to present their work in smaller sessions. This more intimate setting fostered great interactivity. This was then followed by lunch, which most people enjoyed on the patio outside the hotel to bask in the April rays.
As always, we offered a diverse selection of workshops for our participants to choose from. This year, the options included: an action painting workshop, PowerPoint karaoke, tips on optimizing the biological clock, presentations and public speaking, and strategies for organizing your PhD. With something for everyone, we made sure to include a solid focus on presentation skills, in line with the presentation-heavy nature of our retreat. A scheduled forest walk gave participants the perfect opportunity to enjoy the sunshine — and one particularly enthusiastic participant even used the break to go for a run! This did not go unnoticed, as our second keynote speaker gave them a well-deserved shoutout.
We then welcomed Marjolijn Duijvenstein as our second keynote speaker, who spoke about sustainability in healthcare. While most people immediately think of hospital waste when it comes to sustainability, Marjolijn highlighted other often overlooked factors — like the environmental impact of transportation for patients and staff to and from hospitals, or the food choices available at hospitals. She walked us through the carbon footprint of different aspects of healthcare and health research, demonstrating the power of life-cycle assessments in uncovering hidden environmental costs. Who would have thought that an endoscopy could leave such a large footprint? The key takeaway for our researchers was to reflect on how they could reduce their carbon footprint within their own research or clinical practice, and to consider how they might incorporate more sustainable practices into their daily work.
Our last presentation session of the day was our poster session. Poster sessions always evoke great interactive discussions with the researchers. We were happy to see a high turn out!
Our evening program consisted of dinner, a pub-quiz, and a chance to dance and chat while the DJ spun records all night. We had a prize going for best dressed at our themed party, with the theme being: Your favourite TV show/movie. There were many great contenders for the award, and it was great to see all the costumes dot around the dancefloor.
The next morning, for the early birds and exercise enthusiasts among us, there were two morning activities on offer: bootcamp and yoga! Participants who joined in were easy to spot at breakfast — either still a little sweaty or with freshly showered hair. After breakfast, we quickly moved into Session C, followed by our third keynote speaker, Georges Janssens.
Georges Janssens spoke to us about ageing — and what’s better than a scientist who’s so passionate about their research that their excitement becomes contagious? According to Georges, it’s hard not to be fascinated by ageing, especially when research has shown that our age of mortality isn’t set in stone. This discovery sparked Georges’ dedication to studying how we might influence the ageing process. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), the solution isn’t as simple as adding rapamycin to our drinking water — although rapamycin has been shown to extend lifespan in some studies! His inspiring talk encouraged us all to think about why we age in the first place, and Georges introduced us to the 'hallmarks of ageing' — the key biological processes that drive ageing!
At this point, we had one last parallel session to go — and we were happy to see that our participants were still going strong, showing their enthusiasm through thoughtful questions and lively discussions after each presentation.
After our final session, Session E, it was time for a brand-new addition to this year’s retreat: the lottery! This special prize could only be won by those who stayed with us all the way to the very end. Meanwhile, our committee members worked hard behind the scenes to tally up all the votes from the various competitions throughout the retreat — and soon enough, we were ready to announce our lucky winners!
The winners of our prizes this year were:
Best classical presentation: Kitty Latupeirissa
Best elevator pitch: Steven Eleanora
Most active participant: Merel Goedkoop
Best outfit: The Alice in Wonderland group
Best poster award: Ilaria Micallo
AGEM retreat 2024
Another year, another success!
The AGEM Retreat 2024 took place on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 March, 2024, at Bilderberg Hotel ‘t Speulderbos. The goal of the AGEM Retreat was for AGEM researchers, mainly PhD candidates, to meet their peers, to familiarize themselves with other research projects within the AGEM research institute, and to practice presenting their own research at a scientific conference. During three plenary sessions and two parallel sessions spread over two days, all PhD candidates and postdocs had the opportunity to present their own research to their peers. The presentation sessions were accompanied by interesting talks from keynote speakers.
On Thursday morning, Sue Gibbs, professor of Regenerative Medicine at the Amsterdam UMC who recently received the prestigious Willy van Heumen lifetime achievement award, gave a fascinating talk about innovative ways to replace animal models. An enlightening out-of-the-box lecture about AI possibilities in healthcare was given by Professor of Translational AI in Laboratory Medicine Martijn Schut. In addition, AGEM retreat participants could choose from one of five workshops, including workshops with research-related content like valorization and improving presentation skills, but also creative workshops such as action painting. Participants also got the chance to network with each other during a 'speed dating’ workshop.
New this year was an organized forest walk in the foresty surroundings of the Veluwe near the Speulderberg, to provide some time for relaxation and networking among researchers. Additionally, more time was allocated for breaks in general, with the aim of improving participants' focus during the sessions. In the evening, participants enjoyed some friendly competition during the pub quiz, with a prize awarded to the esteemed winners. The evening concluded with a party themed ‘Childhood Dream Job,’ featuring a DJ.
On early Friday morning, a swimming bootcamp was conducted by two athletic committee members, followed by an interesting keynote lecture by Professor of Clinical Endocrinology Peter Bisschop. He discussed the effects of menopause on bone health, endocrine health, and metabolic health, as well as his efforts to improve health outcomes in perimenopausal women. After the last plenary presentation session, it was time to conclude this year's successful retreat with an award session! The prize winners of the AGEM retreat 2024 were:
Best classical presentation
Berith Balfoort
Best elevator pitch
Etienne Slapak
Best poster presentation
Lauri Borghuis
Most contributing participant
Iman Hu
Best outfit
Amber Mater (Frida Kahlo)
AGEM retreat 2023
A continued success
After a record number of participants in the 2022 edition of the AGEM retreat, the 2023 continued this trend with many PhD candidates, postdocs and PIs gathered to discuss and share ideas.
Again, there was a full and diverse program. This year, the poster session was improved by having duos of AGEM PIs lead groups of attendents along a set route of posters. This allowed for interesting pitches by the poster presenters and lively discussions within groups. The AGEM Best Publication Battle re-entered the program - Charlotte van Veldhuisen won the honoree prize of best AGEM publication of 2022.
Next to the parallel and plenary sessions where everyone had the opportunity to present their research, there were several interesting workshops. After dinner, Dr. Garmt Dijksterhuis, specialized in psychological and perception research, gave an interactive lecture on how we experience and perceive food. This year’s out of the box speaker was Else de Ridder, who gave a very inspiring lecture on how to reduce, reuse and recycle products at your own workplace. The keynote speaker on Friday, Prof. Dr. Renger Witkamp gave insights on nutrition and pharmacology. By the use of a restaurant menu, he provided information on nutritional assessment strategies and examples of nutritional interventions.
The workshops and speakers, as well as the evening program and the abundant opportunity to get to know each other, made the 2023 edition of the AGEM retreat a continued success!
Best presentation
Heleen Jansen
Best poster presentation
Lisanne Pattynama
Most contributing participant
Naomi Wieser
AGEM retreat 2022
A record number of participants
Mixing AGEM retreat customs with new ideas, definitely resulted in successfully obtaining the above mentioned goal of the AGEM retreat. For many PhD candidates, this was their first live conference, which resulted in a record number of participants. To allow all participants to present their work, the conference consisted of several plenary and parallel sessions. New this year were the poster presetions, enabling participants to share their findings in a different way and resulting in various interesting discussions between the presenter and other attendees.
Next to these lectures, the attendees could choose a workshop to attend from an array of relevant topics. This year’s keynote speaker was Prof. Max Nieuwdorp, who gave an very inspiring lecture on microbial metabolites to treat autoimmune diabetes. The evening program was aimed at getting to know each other better. After dinner, laughing and relaxing was stimulated by a hilarious and phenomenal performance by an illusionist. This was followed by a great party. Overall, the AGEM annual retreat was a great success again!
Best presentation
Koen Wortelboer
Best poster presentation
Vera de Kleijne
Most contribution participant
Ömrüm Aydin
AGEM retreat 2021
We evolved the hybrid way!
On Thursday June 3rd, the speakers of the morning session gathered in the Eenhoorn Meeting Center in Amersfoort. Over fifty participants followed the livestream from the ease of their own home. After a short introduction of AGEM director Prof. Stan van de Graaf, Dr. Joep Beumer from the Clevers lab at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht spoke about how human intestinal organoids can be used as a model to study gut hormone production, a topic nicely covering multiple AGEM research pillars. Following presentations by AGEM grant 2021 laureates, five PhD candidates battled for the AGEM Best Publication Award 2020. The morning session was concluded by a duo presentation from Remco Kersten and David Trampert. In the afternoon, the retreat continued online with 46 AGEM PhD candidates presenting their research in five parallel sessions. Given their succes in 2020, online workshops were again offered in an array of relevant topics.
On Friday, seven AGEM PhD candidates presented their research and battled for the Best Presentation Award. Following this, Prof. Harry Sokol from the Sorbonne Université, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine and Saint Antoine Hospital in Paris, France, presented his work showing that manipulating the gut microbiota to modulate the tryptophan metabolism and particularly the AhR pathway could be of therapeutic interest for many human diseases. The AGEM retreat 2021 ended with another round of online workshops.
Best Presentation
Frouwkje Politiek
AGEM retreat 2020
AGEM retreat 2020: We adapted and succeeded!
With some delay in the usual calendar due to the situation with COVID-19, a one-day online event, attended by over 80 participants, was organized to substitute the annual 2-day live retreat. The retreat kicked off with a keynote lecture by Dr. Giles Yeo (University of Cambridge), who gave extremely interesting arguments to explain why being obese is not a personal choice, going in-depth into the genetics of obesity.
Four different PhD candidates from different AGEM scientific fields gave a 7 minute presentation with time for questions and discussion. The first presentation was given by Karl Harber that presented his work on succinate as an immunoregulatory metabolite in macrophages, then Tânia Garcia introduced the influence of early life use of antibiotics in the intestinal epithelium, Robin Erken continued the session explaining the effect of peginterferon treatment in Chronic Hepatitis B patients and lastly, Fernando Cazarez Marquez closed the session presenting how kisspeptin and not RFRP3 affects energy metabolism in male Wistar rats.
Given the success of the workshops from last years, attendees could attend a wide variety in workshops: “Working from home” in these strange times, “Dealing with PhD stress”, “Online presentation skills”, “Teaching the teacher” and “PhD career development”. At the end of the day, participants could join a pub-quiz hosted by professionals and answer a variety of questions from the comfort of their houses, enjoying a “prohibition era” cocktail.
It was a pity not being able to interact as much as we normally do during the AGEM retreat. However, given the circumstances, participants affirmed that the alternative event was a success.
AGEM retreat 2019
We keep on growing!
For the first time, not only PhD candidates and PIs but also postdocs could attend the annual AGEM retreat. As a new addition to classical presentations and elevator pitches, participants could give dual presentations e.g. to combine data with a direct colleague from their research group or a collaborator. Combined, this resulted in the 100+ participants sharing and discussing their recent findings on a variety of interesting and diverse topics within the fields of gastroenterology, endocrinology & metabolism.
The keynote speakers invited the participants to engage in discussing their research experiences and views. Prof. dr. Lisbeth Mathus-Vliegen shared her experience with over 30 years of working with patients with obesity, as well as her perspective of how research & treatment should be continued. Prof. dr. Aart Jan van der Lely talked about the adverse effects of sugar consumption. On Friday, the ‘out of the box speaker’ Gerko Tempelman challenged the participants to become aware of what we believe in, during his talk about religion and whether it can be cured.
Another novelty this year was the opportunity for participants to follow workshops focused on developing useful PhD skills, such as ‘Scientific outreach and how to use it for public awareness’, ‘Grant writing for PhDs,’ and ‘Leading in different situations’. On Friday, workshops invited participants to think about the next steps after their PhD: ‘Uncovering your professional value as a PhD graduate’, from ‘PhD to consultancy, ‘Inside vs outside academia: careers of PhDs’ and ‘Commercializing technology’.
To get to know each other even better and to stimulate teambuilding, entertainment included a bootcamp session, a stand-up comedy show, a coffee tasting workshop and a music quiz, supported with and followed by live music.
Best classical presentation
Marit Navis.
Best pitch
Koen Wortelboer.
Most contributing participant
Job Saris.
AGEM retreat 2018
Record numbers and setting a standard
With a record number of participants and a wide variety of topics discussed, the AGEM retreat 2018 was a great succes. The four guest speakers mimicked this diversity. Prof. dr. Hugo Heymans (emeritus professor in pediatric at the University of Amsterdam) gave a worldwide perspective about the importance of the first 1000 days of life in shaping the growth and (cognitive) ability. Elaborating on this subject, the pediatric endocrinologist Martijn Finken (VU Medical Center) lead us through his research and findings on vertical transmission of glucocorticoids to mother’s milk.
Dr. Tristram Wyatt came especially from the University of Oxford and showed how hard it can be to conduct good science in the face of popular beliefs, by explaining and debunking the human pheromones myth. Last not but not least, prof. dr. Boudwijn Burgering (UMC Utrecht) showed us the abundant work his lab has produced on PI3K signaling in relation to cellular metabolic signaling. Together, these speakers complemented the candidates’ presentation wonderfully.
Fitting with the AGEM’s aim to discover, share and learn from each other, the program included fun and networking activities aimed to facilitate our amalgamation into one institute: personal compliments for each participant during dinner, Arabian stories about brotherhood and communication, a revitilizing morning bootcamp and a Disco-Inferno themed party on the dancefloor. All in all, the AGEM retreat 2018 was a great succes and set a high standard for future retreats.
Best classical presentation
Suzan Knottnerus.
Best pitch
Kyra van Rijn.
Most contributing participant
Joanne Donkers.
AGEM retreat 2017
The AGEM retreat of 2017 made the impossible possible
At this first official AGEM retreat, there were parallel sessions on specific topics which resulted in more time for each speaker. With a lot of interesting topics of more than 80 participants, it was a program suited for everyone from the AGEM institute. Four invited speakers showed us their very diverse research experiences. Chris Mulder, head of the gastroenterology and hepatology department of the VUmc, talked about his 40 years experiences as a medical doctor. Susanne La Fleur showed the link between neurobiology and energy metabolism and Fleur Bouwer showed the magic of music. In a plenary session with the PIs, Robert Brierley took the participants behind the scenes of Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
As surprise act, Jan Reinder made the impossible possible during the Thursday evening program. With a lot of networking, a great party and the PI parallel sessions, this first official AGEM PhD candidate retreat 2017 was a great success!
From left to right: Ntsiki Held, Annefleur Koopen, Paul de Goede and Daan Brinkman
Best Abstract
Paul de Goede – Timing of feeding behavior regulates rhythms in the muscle molecular clock and glucose tolerance
Best Pitches
Ntsiki Held– Fluxomic tools for characterization of metabolic reprogramming upon brown adipose tissue activation Melek Simsek– Paternal and maternal fertility and pregnancy outcomes in IBD patients exposed to thiopurines Annefleur Koopen– Effect of Fecal microbiota Transplantation combined with Mediterranean Diet on insulin sensitivity in subjects with metabolic syndrome: FATMED trial
Most contributing participant
Daan Brinkman
Annual ACM/MDL meeting adopted by AGEM
Before AGEM was officially established, it adopted the annual ACM/MDL meeting held at AMC and transformed it into a retreat for all AGEM researchers.
The first AGEM event was a great success, featuring over 80 presentations by PhD candidates, keynote lectures by Marc van de Wetering, Gijs van den Brink, and Henk Verheul, along with activities like a treasure hunt, a pub quiz, and a boot camp.
