Recap and awards CARIM Day 2022

• Division Blood: Renée Tillie: Partial myeloid inhibition of key glycolytic enzyme PFKFB3 increases hepatic steatosis and inflammation, but does not affect atherosclerosis (Poster judges Division Heart: Job Verdonschot & Martijn Hoes).
• Division Vessels: Pim Bouwmans: Impact of immunosuppressive therapy and type of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine on antibody response in patients with chronisch kidney disease or on kidney replacement therapy (Poster judges Division Blood: Marjo Donners & Ingrid Dijkgraaf).
• Division Heart: Tim van Loon: Digital twin of the failing heart: a platform for in silico research and diagnostic support (Poster judges Division Vessels: Allessandro Giudici & Philippe Vangrieken).

NWO Team Science Award iCMR team

Dr.ir. Rob Holtackers (Dept. of Radiology) and his iCMR team have won the Team Science Award from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The Team Science Award rewards the most inspiring and successful team of researchers from various disciplinary fields, who jointly take on a scientific challenge in which their individual strengths and expertise demonstrably reinforce each other.

The iCMR team aims to improve the treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias by treating them while inside an MRI scanner. By combining their diverse expertise, the team uses basic science, biomedical technology, and patient care to achieve their objective. The jury valued the complementarity of the disciplines in their team and the combination of scientific and technological expertise. The route taken by the team to translate elementary science and technology into patient care resulted in an impactful application. The prize money of € 10k is intended for activities with relation to the team.

Successful first edition CAS-AM

Supported by Maastricht University and CARIM we recently completed the first edition of the European Course in Antithrombotic Management (named Certificate of Advanced Studies in Antithrombotic Management, or CAS-AM, https://www.cas-am.eu).
 
This initiative is the result of the awareness that physicians managing patients with thromboembolic disorders (e.g. venous thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation and risk of ischemic stroke) are increasingly confronted with an expanding array of antithrombotic agents in a diversity of indications, either as single agent or in combinations. Many of us recognize the problems and complexity of deciding which antithrombotic drug to give to which patient, the right dosing, for how long, what are (contra)indications and clinically relevant interactions, whether monitoring or measuring is relevant to optimize the risk/benefit balance in the specific patient.
In order to address all issues related to Antithrombotic Management we have recently completed the first Course which was successfully attended by 18 participants in April (20-24) and November (2-6)  2022, at the Crown Plaza hotel in Maastricht.
 
Participants were all active physicians, from different European countries including France, Spain, Belgium, UK, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Most were early career physicians, often with the ambition to become experts in this field and to start and lead a regional Thrombosis Expert Center.
Faculty comprised of European experts in the broad field of thrombosis, including internists, vascular medicine experts, cardiologists and diagnostic laboratory experts.
 
In addition to the on-site attendance, all participants completed an individual portfolio during the summer months, focusing on their practice but also on personal development aspects that were individually discussed with faculty members during the last course week.
Based on attendance and completed portfolios, all attendants were rewarded with a certificate, handed over by representatives from Maastricht University (Roger Rennenberg) and CARIM (Tilman Hackeng).
 
We are proud of this new translational and clinical training program that we intend to continue this in 2023-2024.

The local organizing committee: Arina ten Cate-Hoek, Henri Spronk and Hugo ten Cate. 

Hybrid working and deadline allowances

Transition

As of 1 January 2023, the commuting allowance and the working-from-home allowance (including the internet allowance) will be paid out automatically with your salary. In the meantime, you still have to submit declarations for reimbursement. You can submit declarations until 4 January 2023.
 

What do you need to do?

To receive the allowances automatically as of 2023, you must do the following no later than 10 December 2022:

• For employees involved in hybrid working, the allowances are paid out automatically based on the hybrid-working ratio recorded in your working-from-home contract (also known as your hybrid-working contract). Without this contract, we cannot pay the allowances. If you have not already signed a working-from-home contract, please download a copy here and a Health and Safety Checklist here. Fill in both documents and send them as soon as possible to FoW@maastrichtuniversity.nl. You can find more information in the Future of Working @UM intranet group.
• Employees not involved in hybrid working must demonstrate that in principle they are in the office every working day. You can do this by completing the Commuting Days Declaration, an online form on the grounds of which your commuting allowance will be paid out. Click here to fill in the form.
   

Declarations

Because the allowances will be paid automatically as of 1 January 2023, you will no longer be able to submit declarations from that date. An exception apples to employees who travel by public transport; they will still be able to declare their public-transport expenses through the commuting expenses form which will be made available on Intranet soon.
 

Please note that if we have not received either a working-from-home contract or a Commuting Days Declaration, we are not permitted to pay out tax-free commuting or working-from-home allowances. Nor will we be able to pay out the advance on the tax benefit for commuting expenses from the CAO Selection Model for 2023. We therefore urge you to ensure that you have submitted one of the two documents in good time.

Any questions?
If you have any questions, please contact um-payroll@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Prof. Christian Weber Highly Cited Researcher 2022

Prof. Christian Weber (Dept. of Biochemistry) was indentified by Clarivate™ (Web of Science) as one of the world’s most influential researchers: the select few who have been most frequently cited by their peers over the last decade

In 2022, fewer than 7,000, or about 0.1%, of the world's researchers, in 21 research fields and across multiple fields, have earned this exclusive distinction.

EU project MELISSA funded

An international project led by Bastiaan de Galan (Department of Internal Medicine)  has received a grant of almost six million euros. The goal is to build a system based on artificial intelligence (AI) for precise insulin therapy for patients with diabetes.

Twelve parties from Denmark, Germany, Greece, Switzerland and the Netherlands are working in the project, which has been named MELISSA. Funding comes from the European Union's Horizon Europe Framework Programme, which focuses on research and innovation.

Click here for more information. 

DCVA Netwerkbijeenkomst 'Juiste subsidie op de juiste plek' 

Beste genodigden,

Vanuit het DCVA Leadership Program nodigen wij u graag uit voor de Netwerkbijeenkomst: 'Juiste subsidie op de juiste plek'. De netwerkbijeenkomst zal plaatsvinden op 1 februari 2023 van 17:30-21:30 uur bij de Social Impact Factory in Utrecht.

Tijdens de bijeenkomst zullen huidige en toekomstige leiders uit het cardiovasculaire werkveld met elkaar de discussie aangaan of en hoe het anders kan. We bespreken ‘hot topics’ als:

• “Hoe verdeel je het geld” en “welke uitdagingen en vragen komen daarbij om de hoek”?
• “Hoe weet je of de verdeling van het geld wel het meest optimaal is om cardiovasculaire ziekten met 25% te verlagen in 2030”?
• “Worden alle onderzoeksgroepen wel evenveel gezien/betrokken”?

MSP-Maastricht iGEM silver medal

Although 70% of our planet is covered with water, freshwater makes up only 3% of that number. This percentage is rapidly decreasing because of climate change, pollution and rising demand for freshwater. If no other methods are found to produce drinking water, 52 percent of the world’s population is expected to live in water-stressed regions by 2050.

Therefore desalination of ground, surface and ocean water is becoming increasingly important. However, the current methods are costly and energy-consuming. Therefore we, MSP-Maastricht iGEM, have found an energy-efficient bio-desalination method by using genetically modified bacteria. We have introduced genes into the bacteria that make them able to take up salt (NaCl) under green light. Our genetically modified bacteria took up 4.7 times more salt than the non-modified bacteria. This means that they took up 23.5% of the salt in ocean water. Thanks to CARIM we were able to participate in the international synthetic biology competition called iGEM in which our project was awarded a silver medal!

Therefore we decided to continue as a start-up, in which we want to optimize our desalination technique. Who knows, in a few years you will be drinking water that has been desalinated by our bacteria.

Paramount Papers

The role of extracellular histones in COVID-19

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread from China within 2 months to become a global pandemic. Infection can cause a diversity of symptoms ranging from asymptomatic to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with an increased risk of vascular hyperpermeability, pulmonary inflammation, extensive lung damage and thrombosis. One of the host defense systems in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Numerous studies have revealed elevated levels of NET components, such as cell-free DNA (cfDNA), extracellular histones, neutrophil elastase (NE) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), in plasma, serum and tracheal aspirates of severe COVID-19 patients. Extracellular histones, a major component of NETs, are clinically very relevant since they represent promising biomarkers and drug targets given that several studies have identified histones as key mediators in the onset and progression of various diseases, including COVID-19. However, the role of extracellular histones in COVID-19 per se remains relatively under-explored. Histones are nuclear proteins that can be released into the extracellular space via apoptosis, necrosis or NET formation and are then regarded as cytotoxic damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that have the potential to damage tissues and impair organ function. This review will highlight the mechanisms of extracellular histone-mediated cytotoxicity and focus on the role that histones play in COVID-19. Thereby this paper facilitates a bench-to-bedside view of extracellular histone-mediated cytotoxicity, its role in COVID-19, and histones as potential drug targets and biomarkers for future theranostics in the clinical treatment of COVID-19 patients. 

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