One used 3D cell models to study colorectal cancer, while the other used machine learning for more efficient blood donation. For these achievements, Marieke Vinkenoog and Simon Christian Hansmann were awarded the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award on Tuesday 2 September.

Our annual project grant round this year attracted unprecedented interest: we received an impressive 107 applications – a marked increase compared with last year. Behind each application is a Leiden researcher with a special story. We spoke to three researchers who were granted an award and can now carry out their plans.

They didn’t study at Leiden University, but Patrice Gerlach and Ellen Reuter have still chosen to leave a legacy to the LUF. A journey through Cambodia made them realise just how much of an impact education can have on the well-being of an entire family.

With support from the LUF International Study Fund (LISF), Janset Nil Genç spent three months conducting research in Turkey. ‘This grant meant I could do my first fieldwork and develop as an academic.’

Thanks to medical innovations, more children are recovering from serious interventions such as heart surgery or stem cell transplants. A remarkable achievement, but for eight out of ten children and their families this has a lasting medical and psychosocial effect. Paediatric haematologist Anne de Pagter and paediatric cardiologist Arno Roest want to research how support for these children and their families can be improved.

Femicide is a serious issue in the Netherlands: around 40 women are murdered each year. Yet the circumstances surrounding these deaths are not recorded. To change that, Marieke Liem, Professor of Security and Interventions, launched the Femicide Monitor. ‘To develop effective interventions, we need to understand what’s really happening.’

A better understanding of schizophrenia and its medical treatment was the goal of the Schizophrenia symposium for Royal Dutch Pharmaceutical Student Association (K.N.P.S.V.) members. A LUF donation helped make the symposium possible.

Ten thousand children in the Netherlands are removed from their homes each year, but are rarely involved in this drastic decision. In her research, Anouk Goemans, Professor of Youth Services and Child Protection, wants to find practical solutions that give children a voice.

‘The LUF grant meant I could build new collaborations with other researchers in Chile.’ Astronomy master’s student Wout Goesaert travelled to Chile for his research on a ‘supermassive black hole’ in the Circinus galaxy.

A signing ceremony in the Academy Building on Monday 17 March marked the launch of the Mariella-Aura-Migraine Fund. This named fund, established by Mariella Calis-Maussen, aims to generate more knowledge, attention and awareness of migraine aura. It will support the research group led by Professor of Neurology Gisela Terwindt at the LUMC.