Three young researchers from the UvA and Amsterdam UMC will receive Rubicon grants from NWO and ZonMW, it has been announced. The grants will allow them to further their research at an institution abroad.

For many scientists, experience abroad is an important step in their career. The Rubicon grants make it possible for young researchers to gain this experience at a foreign institute which offers the best environment for their research.

The amount of the financing depends on the chosen destination and the length of the stay. Each year, NWO and ZonMw can fund about sixty young researchers through the Rubicon programme. In this first funding round of 2023, a total of fifteen researchers will be awarded a Rubicon.

The UvA recipients

  • Dr Andrea Cordaro (Institute of Physics & AMOLF): Mathematics at the speed of light
    Optical processing offers a promising path towards the processing of data at the speed of light and at low powers. Cordaro proposes using lithium niobate to perform on-chip time-domain signal processing. This technology could lead to the development of smaller, low-cost and low-power hybrid optical-electronic computing chips.

    Cordaro will go to Harvard University for two years.

  • Dr Ruy Kortbeek (Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences): Defense compounds for crop protection van gewassen
    In nature, plants produce compounds that help them protect themselves against pest insects, fungi and harmful bacteria. Kortbeek is investigating how plants regulate the production of these compounds. The results of this research offer possibilities for growing food crops that are less dependent on synthetic pesticides.

    Kortbeek will go to Purdue University for two years.

  • Henk van Voorst (Amsterdam UMC, location AMC): Artificial intelligence-based blood flow analyses in radiological imaging in patients with an acute ischemic stroke
    Even after endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke, a large number of patients have a poor outcome, presumably due to poor blood flow restoration. Van Voorst will develop and evaluate artificial intelligence algorithms to automatically analyze blood flow patterns in cerebral blood vessels visible in radiological imaging to guide further treatment.

    Van Voorst will go to Stanford University for two years.