Amsterdam Movement Sciences Research Institute has since its launch in 2017 had numerous calls aimed at its researchers. During the initial period, the aim of the grants was to stimulate and initiate multidisciplinary research collaboration bbetween researchers at our partners from Amsterdam UMC, ACTA and VU Amsterdam.

Grants given to young academics have a multi layered effect; they can bring innovative research results in the exact direction the institute is aiming for; they often bring new, multidisciplinary research collaboration, and can give young aspiring academics the push they want in their career.

Below are some testimonials from AMS laureates, which show what the AMS grants have brought them.

Tenure development grant 2022

Kaj Emanuel

The aim of the grant was to launch a new research line on the etiology of osteochondral defects (bone and cartilage damage) of the ankle. This topic is one of the clinical focus points of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine. By combining the expertise from different groups within AMS, we hope to unravel the disease process, and use this knowledge to improve the treatment of the patients.

Personally, this grant has allowed me to migrate back to Amsterdam to take on a full-time position at our department, running this project. My role has been to bridge the gap between clinical practice and research, utilizing the biological and biomechanical expertise available both within and outside of AMS.

To achieve this, we started research projects with the Bone and Calcium Metabolism laboratory of Nathalie Bravenboer, to analyze the biopsies from osteochondral defect patients. I also initiated a gait analysis project with the department of rehabilitation medicine, led by Wouter Schallig and Marjolein van der Krogt. Together, we will study how the biology and biomechanics interact in the development of osteochondral defects. In addition to these projects, I initiated several consortium grant applications, including the NWO open competition with AMS partners and Maastricht University, and an NWA KIC call with several national partners. Several other applications are on the role for the remainder of the grant period (until the end 2023).

My role has been to bridge the gap between clinical practice and research, utilizing the biological and biomechanical expertise available both within and outside of AMS.

More on Kaj Emanuel.

Early career grant 2018

Melissa Hooijmans

In 2018, I received a personal grant from Amsterdam Movement Sciences to develop Imaging technologies to map post-traumatic muscle fibrosis and its functional impact. This grant is an interdisciplinary cooperation between the departments of Biomedical Engineering & Physics, Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine and the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences. Currently, we are still working on the implementation of these innovative techniques.

Receiving this AMS grant had a personal and scientific impact. For me, this grant was an essential step into my path towards becoming an independent researcher. In particular, it really strengthened my CV, making me much more competitive for future grant and fellowship applications. Ultimately it led to receiving the personal Veni grant in the round of 2020, which allows me to continue my path of becoming an independent researcher.

On a more scientific note this grant also initiated a new collaboration with the department of Human Movement Sciences at VU University, focused on comparing two advanced imaging modalities for measuring muscle architectural features. In addition, the research findings are currently serving as input for a larger grant application. Hopefully, it will lead to even more interdisciplinary collaborations and grant applications in the future.

More on Melissa Hooijmans.

Tenure development grants 2018

Marjolein van der Krogt

In 2018, the AMS Innovation Call for Tenure Development financed the project PREdictive SimulaTion of Impaired Gait Evaluations (PRESTIGE), aiming to develop and validate simulations that predict the effect of impairments on gait. With the funding, a part-time post-doc was hired (Niels Waterval), a joint PhD trajectory in collaboration with Griffith University in Australia was set up (Kirsten Veerkamp), and dedicated research time for the PI (Marjolein van der Krogt) was made possible. In collaboration with the TU Delft (Thomas Geijtenbeek), we studied the effect of weakness, contractures and spasticity on gait.

The first two publications are now submitted, evaluating the effect of different cost functions for predictive simulations, and predicting the effect of calf muscle weakness on gait, compared with experimental patient data. Work on simulating the effects of contractures and spasticity, and comparing this with experimental patient data, is ongoing.

Furthermore, Niels Waterval acquired additional funding from the Innovative Medical Device Initiative (IMDI) ‘Break Through Projects’ (1,5 y full-time postdoc), to develop precision simulations and predict the effect of individual optimal ankle foot orthoses for patients with calf muscle weakness. Ultimately, we aim to further develop this simulation framework, in order to predict the effect of different treatments on ait for our patient populations.

More on Marjolein van der Krogt.

Jaap van Netten

Thanks to the AMS grant for our research project DIALOAD, and with additional funding obtained elsewhere, we are now in the middle of two prospective studies.

With these studies, we aim to unravel biomechanical and behavioural mechanisms of the development of foot ulcers in people with diabetes (study 1), and the healing of these ulcers once developed (study 2). These studies contribute to the development of a new and comprehensive load-capacity model for people with diabetic foot disease.

Stimulated by this grant, we have been able to increase our inter-disciplinary and inter-departmental collaborations within AMS, but also collaborations with other Dutch hospitals and research groups in Australia and the US.

This has already led to additional grants, collaborative research output, and clinical implementations, with the main studies still ongoing. For me personally, the grant has provided room to grow into a more senior research position, recognizable within AMS and worldwide.

More on Jaap van Netten.

Tenure development grant 2017

Dimitra Micha

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disease of osteoporosis and skeletal dysplasia, resulting in numerous bone fractures during the patients’ lifetime. The molecular cause is defects in collagen type I. Despite being classified as a rare disease, OI is the most common genetic disease of decreased bone mineral density; in the Netherlands only, at least 1,000 patients exist.

The AMS innovation grant gave us the opportunity to address the diagnosis and treatment of OI. By screening OI patients with no mutations in the known causative OI genes, we identified the gene KDELR2 as a new genetic cause for OI revealing a new pathological mechanism for the disease (AJHG, 2020). This gene is now being used in the molecular diagnosis of OI patients.

AMS also enabled us to proceed with the preclinical validation of collagen-upregulating compounds as therapy for osteoporosis. These compounds have been shown in an in vitro model, to stimulate collagen production in osteoblasts derived from OI patients with collagen deficiency. Their current analysis in osteoporosis models will address their effectiveness in the treatment of OI and other forms of osteoporosis to hopefully justify their transition to clinical trials.

With the support of AMS we have improved the diagnosis of OI patients. The grant also contributed to my accreditation as Amsterdam UMC Principal Investigator.

More on Dimitra Micha.

AMS Laureates 2024

Name researcher Type grant Project title Amount
Sports program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Musculoskeletal Health program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Tissue Function & Regeneration program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Ageing & Vitality program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Rehabilitation & Development program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Tom Kerkhoff Tissue Function & Regeneration: Talent grant Auto-immunity and muscle dysfunction: the effect of antibodies on muscle fiber contractility in myositis €45.000
Wenchao Zhong Tissue Function & Regeneration: Talent grant Mechanoresponse and mechanoadaption in Pls3 knock out mice tibia €30.000

AMS Laureates 2023

Name researcher Type grant Project title Amount
Sports program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Musculoskeletal Health program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Tissue Function & Regeneration program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Ageing & Vitality program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Rehabilitation & Development program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Richie Goulding Ageing & Vitality grant Exercise as a countermeasure against the effects of ageing on muscle mitochondria, diffusive oxygen transport and muscle volume €80.000
Marike van der Leeden Ageing & Vitality grant Can AI-based prediction modeling with time series data on physical activity and protein intake support clinical decisions in patient recovery after oncological surgery? €40.000
Nathalie Bravenboer Investment grant Complete Organ-on-Chip platform €35.733
Braeden Charlton Musculoskeletal Health: PhD candidate talent grant The contribution of ADP-sensitivity to mitochondrial dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis €10.000
Meghan Koop Musculoskeletal Health: PhD candidate talent grant The EXercise HypoALgesic Effect of Aerobic and Resistance Training in persistent low back pain and pain-free individuals: The EXHALE ART study €10.000
Minke Boeijenga Musculoskeletal Health: MA student grant In-vitro and in-vivo analysis of elbow instability using 4D-CT imaging €5.000
Cain Rutgers Musculoskeletal Health: MA student grant Determining the accuracy and reliability of synthetic CT-images created through MRI-images in comparison to conventional CT-images for the evaluation of osteoarthritis severity and surgical planning €5.000
Jules Cool Dream-Big PhD grant The use of MRI-based synthetic CT in the surgical treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis using 3D printed drill guides €5.580
Giulia Frazzei Dream-Big PhD grant A mechanistic, open-label intervention study to investigate the effects of filgotinib in individuals with ACPA-positive arthralgia €5.000
Marina Jimenez Martinez Dream-Big PhD grant Can NAD+ levels predict the development of rheumatoid arthritis in at risk individuals? €5.000
Yiyuan Li Dream-Big PhD grant Does low-back pain change the contributions of proprioceptive and vestibular information to trunk stabilization during walking €5.000
Wenchao Zhong Dream-Big PhD grant Establish an aged PLS3 knockout mice model for exploring disease mechanism and novel therapy €5.000
Veerle van Harmelen RMA-student grant A new analysis method: using algorithms to derive muscle composition from US in children with CP €3.000
Rosa Korpershoek RMA-student grant Liver-skeletal muscle crosstalk in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease €3.000
Koen Zwetsloot RMA-student grant Fibre-type specific analysis on anabolic resistance in inactive muscles €3.000

AMS Laureates 2022

Name researcher Type grant Project title Amount
Sports program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Musculoskeletal Health program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Tissue Function & Regeneration program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Ageing & Vitallity program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Rehabilitation & Development program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Mylene Duivenvoorden Musculoskeletal Health grant: International collaboration Diagnostic delay of Giant Cell Tumors of the Bone €10.000
Julian Hollander Musculoskeletal Health grant: International collaboration Cartilage lesions of the ankle: individualized treatment using artificial intelligence €14.000
Madhu Soares Filho Musculoskeletal Health grant: International collaboration A multifactorial approach on the treatment of anterior shoulder instability €14.000
Yuge Zhang Musculoskeletal Health grant: International collaboration Standardized and daily life gait stability measures to evaluate healthy and pathological ageing €10.000
Kaj Emanuel Tissue Function & Regeneration grant Forming a multi-disciplinary research line to unravel the etiolopgy of osteochondral defects in the ankle €60.000
Zhong Wenchao Tissue Function & Regeneration grant Characterisation of the underlying mechanism of PLS3-mediated osteoporosis €4.000
Marijke de Leeuwerk Ageing & Vitality grant Computer Tomography determined sarcopenia and physical functioning in lung cancer patients €20.000
Marike van der Schaaf Ageing & Vitality grant Rehabilitation After Critical Illness and Hospital discharge- Optimizig Units of nutrition and Exercise Therapy; REACH-OUT pilot feasibility trial €20.000
Joost den Dool Rehabilitation & Development grant Associations between CPET and Talk Test in patients with Central Neurological Disorders - A clinimetric pilot study €10.000
Fieke Koopman Rehabilitation & Development grant Balancing energy expenditure and energy intake in people with neuromuscular diseases; next steps towards individualized nutritional advice €40.000
Wouter Schallig Rehabilitation & Development grant FABIO: Foot and Ankle Biomechanics and Imaging to improve Orthopedic foot interventions in children with cerebral palsy €40.000
Juultje Sommers Rehabilitation & Development grant Novel approach for assessment of metabolic load during ICU rehabilitation; evaluating the lactate response. €10.000
Eric Voorn Rehabilitation & Development grant Unraveling reduced exercise capacity in neuromuscular diseases using state-of-theart magnetic resonance imaging €40.000
Niels Waterval Rehabilitation & Development grant Gait exploration training, a prerequisite to benefit from ankle-foot orthoses? €10.000
Carel Meskers Investment grant Proposal Shoulder-Elbow Pertubator (SEP) €40.000
Ronald van Vollenhoven Investment grant FLIR T 560 thermograph with lenses €34.000
Moritz Eggelbusch Dare-to-Dream PhD grant Neuromuscular electrical stimulation to enhance the exercise benefits for muscle functions during spaceflight €5.000
Niels Klop Dare-to-Dream PhD grant Statistical growth modelling of the mandible for forensic, orthodontic and clinical purposes €5.000
Kevin Kooi Dare-to-Dream PhD grant Creating a machine learning algorithm to predict revision surgery for trapeziometacarpal arthritis. €5.000
Sietske Luijten Dare-to-Dream PhD grant TIPAS – alternatives for data analysis €5.000
Faezeh Mohammadi Sanjani Dare-to-Dream PhD grant Developing nonlinear measures of variability in martial arts €5.000
Babette Mooijekind Dare-to-Dream PhD grant Application of US-transparent EMG electrodes to simultaneously measure muscle-tendon behavior and activation of the medial gastrocnemius during gait in children with cerebral palsy €5.000
Susanne Rauh Dare-to-Dream PhD grant Improved diagnosis and characterization of muscle injury and disease using advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods €4.300
Tim Veneman Dare-to-Dream PhD grant Novel approach for indirect assessment of the anaerobic threshold in neuromuscular diseases: building a predictive model using easy-to-obtain exercise testing parameters €5.000
Lukas Verweij Dare-to-Dream PhD grant Influence of postoperative Hill-Sachs occupancy and glenoid bone loss on glenoid track measurements and clinical outcome following the arthroscopic Bankart repair with remplissage and open Latarjet €5.000
Ellen Breedveld RMA-student grant Microclots accumulation and viral persistence in skeletal muscles of patients with post COVID-19 condition €3.000
Tijn van Rietschoten RMA-student grant Oxygen uptake kinetics in moderate and heavy exercise in upright and supine position €3.000
Thalia Zamora Gomez RMA-student grant Can physical inactivity stimulate the production and release of FGF21 and GDF15 in skeletal muscle in mice? €3.000

AMS Laureates 2021

Name researcher Type grant Project title Amount
Sports program Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Musculoskeletal Health Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Tissue Function & Regeneration Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Ageing & Vitality Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Rehabilitation & Development Program investment Program strengthening activities €80.000
Stephan van der Zwaard Musculoskeletal Health program grant: Revanche The adaptive body: assisting humans to train and improve their exercise tolerance €44.800
Aart Nederveen Investment grant Tesla MR system €32.000
Braeden Charlton RMA-student grant Viral infections and muscle metabolism: low NAD+ as possible new avenue for therapeutic intervention in patients with PASC €3.000
Matthijs van der Laan RMA-student grant The ins and outs of cardiopulmonary exercise testing €3.000
Britt van Hees RMA-student grant Mind the Gap: Measuring Electromechanical Delays of the Pelvic Floor €3.000
Anne Strating RMA-student grant Why your workout is not working: Skeletal muscle mitochondrial cristae impairments in people with type 1 diabetes mellitus €3.000

AMS Laureates 2020

Name researcher Type grant Project title Amount
Sports program Program investment Program strengthening activities €50.000
Musculoskeletal Health program Program investment Program strengthening activities €50.000
Tissue Function & Regeneration program Program investment Program strengthening activities €50.000
Ageing & Vitality program Program investment Program strengthening activities €50.000
Rehabilitataion & Development program Program investment Program strengthening activities €50.000
Marike van der Leeden Investment grant Activity Monitors €12.000
Elke Vlemincx Investment grant NeXus-10, Mind Media Capnostream 35 Portable Respiratory Monitor €30.161
Meghan Koop PhD talent grant INHALE study €5.000
Moira van Leeuwen PhD talent grant Foot placement control can be trained €5.000
Sander Oorschot PhD talent grant Optimizing protocol selection for cardiopulmonary exercise testing €5.000
Quinten Rikken PhD talent grant Ultra-Long_Term Clinica Success of Treatment for Cartilage Lesions in the Ankle €5.000
Wouter Schallig PhD talent grant Multi-segment foot kinetics €5.000
Ivo Lutke Schipholt PhD talent grant Different trajectories for people with acute neck pain €5.000
Andi Shi PhD talent grant TGF-β super family in muscle regeneration €5.000
Lisa Worner PhD talent grant Valgus stress overload €5.000
Sanne Ettema RMA-student grant Effect of prolonged moderate-intensity walking €3.000
Esther Goudzwaard RMA-student grant HIIT-the track €3.000
Jorien Langstraat RMA-student grant Genetic Analysis of Café-au-Lait skin cells €3.000
Max Keller RMA-student grant Influence of prolonged walking €3.000
Isa Mast RMA-student grant Dynamic Arterial Spin Labeling MRI €3.000

AMS Laureates 2019

Name researcher Type grant Project title Amount
Marike van der Leeden Co-financed PhD position grant Development and evaluation mof an accelerometer based feedback and coaching intervention for patients at rist for functional decline admitted to the hospital 50% of a 4 year PhD position
Robert Wüst Co-financed PhD position grant Metabolic dysfunction and anabolic resistance during inactivity and systemic inflammation 50% of a 4 year PhD position
Nathalie Bravenboer Investment grant Mechanical loading device / Instron electropulse E1000 €37.370

AMS Laureates 2018

Name researcher Type grant Project title Amount
Jaap van Netten Tenure development Biomechanical activity and adherence profiles of people with diabetes in a comprehensive load-capacity model of foot ulceration €150.000
Marjolein van der Krogt Tenure development Comprehensive neuromusculoskeletal modeling to predict the effect of impairments on gait in children with cerebral palsy €135.000
Harald Thune Jørstad Tenure development Elite sports addressing the heart of the matter €70.000
Helga Haberfehlner Post-doc / Early Career Objective assessment of dystonia and choreoathetosis in children and adolescents with dyskinetic cerebral palsy based on machine learning €72.700
Melissa Hooijmans Post-doc / Early Career Imaging of post-traumatic muscle fibrosis and its functional impact (fibrofit) €75.000
Ruud Wellenberg Post-doc / Early Career Quantitative weight-bearing CT for musculoskeletal disorders €70.000
Roland Rössler Post-doc / Early Career Finding the right balance: determining safe and healthy physical activity load €66.000
Heleen Beckerman Feasibility studies Cardiorespiratory fitness in newsly diagnosed patients with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis compared to matched healthy controls: already lagging behind from the start? €50.000
Renate de Jongh Feasibility studies A feasibility and pilot study of non-invasive diagnostic techniques in renal osteodystrophy: 18F-fluoride positron emission tomography and serum non-oxidized PTH €50.000
Eric Voorn Feasibility studies The development of an easily applicable measurement tool for systematic prescription and evaluation of aerobic training in adults and children with slowly progressive neuromuscular disease €50.000
Onno Baur Feasibility studies Making dynamic imaging of the ankle possible €49.500
Richard Jaspers Investment grant S-Chiaro-ST Optics11 including Dynamic module and support €38.000
Alessandro Chiarotto Grant application Developing a new method to assess the perceived importance of the effects of health interventions for patients with musculoskeletal anad rheumatic conditions €25.500
Erwin van Wegen Grant application Do-iT Parkinson: Effects of Dose and type of exercise Training on exercise-induced neuroplasticity in human Parkinson's disease €25.000
Huub Maas Stimuleringsmiddelen H2LS Mechanica, de Achilleshiel van de pees €25.000
Robin Blom PhD talent grant 3-Dimensional Quantification of Operative Reduction for Posterior Malleolar Fragments in Rotational Type Ankle Fractures to Improve the Long-term Clincal Outcome €5.000
Jetske Viveen PhD talent grant The sensitivity to change of daily-life gait quality characteristics in older adults €5.000
Guido Weide PhD talent grant Knowledge transfer from a VUmc developed 3D-ultrasound approach to measure in-vivo morphometry of skeletal muscle at the AMC €5.000
Sabine Schootemeijer RMA-student grant The sensitivity to change of daily-life gait quality characteristics in older adults €3.000
Mareille Post RMA-student grant Safety and effectiveness evaluation of pre-bended rods in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis €3.000
Babette Zwaard RMA-student grant The evaluation of gait and dynamic balance performance before and after Gamma Knife Thalamotomy in patients with severe Essential Tremor €3.000

AMS Laureates 2017

Name researcher Type grant Project title Amount
Dimitra Micha Tenure development Old drugs with new indications ease the path to the clinic for rare bone disorders €120.000
Marike van der Schaaf Tenure development Exercise physiology in critically ill patients €120.000
Alessandro Chiarotto Post-doc career Optimizing physical functioning measurement in low back pain €60.000
Kaj Emanuel Post-doc career The effect of knee osteoarthritis on passive natural knee kinematics €60.000
Guus Reurink Post-doc career Innovative tools and interventions to prevent muscle injuries, optimise treatment of injured athletes and increase (elite) sports performance €60.000
Nathalie Bravenboer Grant application A novel cell culture platform €25.000
Sicco Bus Grant application The prevention of foot ulceration and amputation in diabetes €25.000
Merel Brehm Infrastructure C-Mill (Motek-Forcelink) instrumented treadmill €50.000
Harald Thune Jørstad Infrastructure MRI-compatible ergometer (Cardiac MRI during physiological exercise: a new gold standard for stress imaging) €50.000
Carel Meskers Infrastructure PROFITS - DPM: PRecision prOFiling to Improve long-term ouTcome after Stroke: Dynamic Prognosis Module / GEMSTRACKER platform €50.000
Evert Verhagen Infrastructure Opti-Form Database €50.000
Carel Meskers Investment grant Activity monitors & license €8.077
Erwin van Wegen Investment grant Sensory feedback for Grail VR system €8.213
Vera Meekes RMA-student grant The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess skeletal muscle characteristics €3.000
Marit Zandbergen RMA-student grant The effect of different foot models on the simulated muscle-tendon lengths of the gastrocnemius medialis and lateralis in both children with spastic cerebral palsy and typically developing children €3.000