In the Dutch Research Council (NWO) Open Competition Domain Science – XL call, consortia of researchers can apply for curiosity-driven, fundamental research. Cancer Center Amsterdam researcher Bart Westerman is part of an NWO-XL consortium that received €3M to develop new therapeutic concepts against glioblastoma (a lethal brain cancer). Collaborators on the grant are Leila Akkari (NKI-AVL), Alexander Kros and Eva Smaar (both Leiden University).

The team will have a closer look at therapy resistance in glioblastoma. They propose
to attack glioblastoma heterogeneity by rewiring the metabolism of macrophages
in the tumor micro-environment as well as the tumor cells directly. The team
will target metabolic vulnerabilities using novel nanoparticle tools to cross the
blood-brain barrier. This facilitated drug delivery is expected to render tumor
cells more susceptible to specific combination therapies, tailored to each
glioblastoma patient specifically. The teams will use complementary model systems (zebrafish, mouse, and human) and innovative chemistryto uncover precise mechanistic insights of glioblastoma malignancy with an outlook to create a translational path to patients.

NWO-XL consortium to develop new therapeutic concepts in glioblastoma treatment

For more information contact Bart Westerman.

Text and consortium image by Bart Westerman.