We are pleased to announce the five winners of the AR&D Research Grant 2026! In alignment with Amsterdam UMC’s overarching mission, "A Healthy Future for All," this year’s grant round specifically focuses on the profound relationship between early development and its effects on health later in life. By highlighting this important connection, AR&D aims to stimulate research that contributes to a better understanding of how early-life factors shape lifelong health and well-being.
The AR&D Research Grant supports innovative research projects that advance our understanding of reproduction, development and long-term health outcomes. This year's selected projects address a wide range of topics.
Congratulations to the five winners of the AR&D Research Grant 2026!
- Petra Bakker- Early recognition of intrapartum asphyxia to reduce brain injury and improve newborn outcomes: enriching the Amsterdam UMC Birth Asphyxia Registry.
Brenda Kazemier - FIRE-Pilot: Preparing precision antibiotic stewardship during labour. A feasibility, implementation and infrastructure study to enable a national multicentre evaluation of risk-based intrapartum antibiotic treatment.
Hildo Lantermans - A developmental blueprint for kidney health: real-world benchmarked kidney organoids to improve nephrogenesis and kidney function throughout life.
Vikram Venkatraghavan - Lesion-symptom mapping for neurodevelopmental outcome after hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
Tanja Vrijkotte - Early-life PFAS pollutant exposure and pubertal timing: disentangling androgen and metabolic pathways in the ABCD cohort.
We are excited to support these promising research projects and look forward to seeing how they contribute to advancing scientific knowledge and improving health outcomes throughout life.
Congratulations to all the winners, and we wish them every success with their research!