The AI&I Collaboration Grant, launched in 2020, is designed to foster new partnerships between AI&I researchers, requiring at least one collaborating group from outside the applicant's department. The grant supports:

  • Pilot experiments and studies to lay the groundwork for joint grant applications.
  • Enhancing research quality through shared knowledge and resources within AI&I.
  • Developing new techniques.

These efforts aim to build collaborative networks, establish research lines, and generate external grant proposals.

2024 grant recipients

Each grant, worth €20,000, will support new collaborations across departments.

Myrthe van Delft and Sander Tas

A collaboration between the Departments of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, and Experimental Immunology to explore the role of IgA and TNF reverse signaling in the pathogenesis of spondylarthritis.


Aida Llucià-Valldeperas and Annette Neele

A partnership between the Departments of Pulmonary Medicine and Medical Biochemistry to investigate how BMPR2 mutations in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) lead to pro-inflammatory macrophages that drive disease progression and right heart failure.


Wendy Dankers and Gijs Afink

A collaboration between the Departments of Experimental Immunology, Rheumatology, and the Reproductive Biology Laboratory to study how immune dysregulation in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) contributes to pregnancy complications by disrupting maternal-fetal tolerance and trophoblast function.


Fons van den Berg, Bas Haak, and Mohammed Ghiboub

A partnership involving the Departments of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, the Tytgat Institute for Liver and Intestinal Research, and the Center of Experimental and Molecular Medicine for the project ‘Gut Tryptophan Metabolites for Severe Acute Inflammatory Diseases.’

Discover how the AI&I Collaboration Grant has opened many doors for 2020 laureates Coen Kuijl and Nicole van der Wel, their 2020 Collaboration Grant led to securing an ENW-M NWO grant in 2022.