The Honours Students Innovating Brain Cancer Research

Interdisciplinary Research in Collaborative Research HUBS

Honours students from three different scientific disciplines collaborated to develop potential immunotherapies for brain cancer and cutting-edge blood-brain-barrier models. During this team-based interdisciplinary student-led project, innovative research was performed at the Biomedicine and Biotechnology Student Research Hubs, at the medicine and science faculties on the Utrecht Science Park.

Five enthusiastic students —Mariana Cardoso e Cunha, Ines Ellounissi, Loïs Manders, David Rijneveld, and Le Rong Tan— experienced the entire research cycle; from formulating their own hypotheses to conducting experiments and presenting their data. 

Their resourcefulness and hard work led to more insight into immunotherapy against paediatric brain cancer and models for the blood-brain-barrier.

This project acted as a challenge-based educational platform, it allows honours students to engage in authentic research addressing societal challenges in translational medicine. 

With this collaborative educational structure, the project aimed to bridge the gap between bench (Biotechnology Student Research HUB, Faculty of Science) and bedside (Biomedicine Student Research HUB, Faculty of Medicine, UMC Utrecht). Together with the help of the UU-wide Student Research HUB Network

For inquiries, please contact us at bachelorresearchhub@umcutrecht.nl, or visit https://www.biomedicinestudentresearchhub.com/. 

Image showing 5 students in a lab, in lab coats smiling at the camera.
Top (from left to right): Loïs Manders, Mariana Cardoso e Cunha, Giselle Verdonschot (student assistant). Bottom (from left to right): Le Rong Tan, Ines Ellounissi. Not pictured: David Rijneveld.