Researchers from the Division of BioMolecular Analysis of the VU University Amsterdam together with colleagues from Wageningen University (WU) obtained a grant to develop enhanced bioresolution and miniaturization of Surface Plasmon Resonance optical sensing ‘SPRing’.

Computational medicinal chemists Albert Kooistra and Chris de Graaf set a new world record virtual screening for the identification of novel pharmaceutical drugs.

The project “Controlled release of protein pharmaceuticals from biodegradable, hydrophilic microcapsules produced by supercritical fluid processing” has been granted to Prof. Wim Jiskoot (Division of Drug Delivery Technology) and co-applicant Prof. Geert-Jan Witkamp (section Process Equipment, TU Delft) by STW (Open Technology Programme).

Nico Vermeulen, professor of Molecular Toxicology at VU University, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Copenhagen on Friday November 18. He received the doctorate as recognition for his research into how drugs are degraded in the body, sometimes causing serious side-effects. Vermeulen has authored or co-authored over 350 scientific publications and is one of the most frequently cited scientists in this field.

Enade Istyastono, PhD-student in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry (VU University Amsterdam), obtained the prestigious Henk Timmerman Award, honoring outstanding young Indonesian researchers who are working in the area of pharmaceutical sciences.

Gerard van Westen (Division of Medicinal Chemsitry leiden) was awarded the first prize for the best presentation in the Pharmacochemistry session at the FIGON Dutch Medicines Days, October 3rd-5th this year.

Petra de Kruijf won a FIGON poster award and Sebastiaan Kuhne received a Perkin Elmer/KNCV Pharmacochemistry poster award. Both prizes were awarded at the FIGON Dutch Medicines Days 2011 in Lunteren.

Researchers from the Division Medicinal Chemistry (led by Prof. Martine Smit and Prof. Rob Leurs) and the Belgian Biotech company Ablynx have discovered the first llama-derived single chain antibody (nanobody) targeting the CXCR4 chemokine receptor, a protein that plays a key regulatory role in hematopoietic stem cell trafficking.

Albert Kooistra, PhD-student in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry (VU University Amsterdam), has won the 2nd prize in the international Molecule Design competition organized by the software company Cresset.

VUF8430 is a selective agonist of the histamine H4 receptor that has been discovered and pharmacologically characterized by Rogier Smits and Herman Lim during their PhD projects in the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the VU. Recently VUF8430 has been included in the chemical catalogues of Ovata Chemicals and Tocris Bioscience, making this pharmacological tool generally available tothe study of H4R-mediated inflammation.

A combination of nanofluidic and electric phenomena has enabled researchers from the Leiden/Amsterdam Centre for Drug Research and the Netherlands Metabolomics Centre to create one of the world's smallest separation techniques. This was published last week as a cover issue in Analytical Chemistry. The separation technique may find many applications in the healthcare of the future.

Dr. Onno Meijer from the Division of Medical Pharmacology has been awarded the NVF-prijs voor Farmacologie (formerly known as the Organonprijs voor Farmacologie) by the Dutch Pharmacological Society. This award is granted every two years not only as recognition for excellent performances but also as motivation for further pharmalogical research.

The CE.R.I.E.S. Research Award is intended to honour a researcher with a proven track record in fundamental or clinical research, especially in the physiology and biology of healthy skin, but also on the responses of the skin to the environment.  The  C.E.R.I.E.S. Award of € 40.000 will be used for future research.

Gerard van Westen was awarded a prize for the best presentation by a junior scientist at the TI-Pharma GPCR Forum workshop June 8-10th this year. At this workshop in total 14 junior scientists presented their work.

Dr. Iwan de Esch, Associate Professor in the Medicinal Chemistry group at VU University Amsterdam has received the prestigious Galenus Research Prize. The prize (5.500 Euros and a golden medal) was awarded on Monday June 27th in the presence of Minister of Health, Edith Schippers. 

Last week the division of Medical Pharmacology received 2 honourable awards for excellent teaching and supervision of students.

Dr Onno Meijer (Division of Medical Pharmacology) is the 2011 recipient of the prof G.J. Tammeling prize for Best Teacher at the Leiden University Medical Center. This annual prize is awarded for outstanding teaching in either curriculum of the Medical Faculty,  Biomedical Sciences or Medicine.

On May 12th 2011, LACDR organised the anual Spring Symposium. Key speakers were Prof.dr. Kostas Kostarelos (Professor of Nanomedicine and Head of the Centre for Drug Delivery Research, School of Pharmacy, London, UK) and Dr. Veronique de Vroey (Director Discovery Screening, Janssen Research & Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium).

Ad IJzerman, from the Leiden University Division of Medicinal Chemsitry has been awarded an NWO TOP grant for his research.  In the average textbook on pharmacology the interaction between a drug or ligand and its receptor is often described in a cartoon-like, two-dimensional fashion (Figure 1a). In the current era of structural biology more information is being added to this picture, to the extent that we now know the 3D architecture of many soluble drug targets.

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) comprises several units. Eight Divisions for Sciences develop new research programmes, assess subsidy requests and monitor projects that NWO finances. ALW- Earth and Life Sciences is one of NWO’s eight Divisions for Science. Professor Melly Oitzl from Medical Pharmacology is now a board member of this Division.