The DRIVE-RM consortium, led by Professor of Experimental Nephrology Marianne Verhaar from UMC Utrecht, has been awarded €37.5 million under the prestigious NWO SUMMIT program. The SUMMIT grant recognizes world-class collaborations, while further strengthening these partnerships.
The DRIVE-RM collaboration involves UMC Utrecht, Utrecht University, Eindhoven University of Technology, Maastricht University, and the Hubrecht Institute, focusing on smart materials that assist the body in healing. Regenerative medicine involves repairing or replacing damaged tissues and organs by leveraging the body's own healing processes. DRIVE-RM specifically focuses on material-driven regeneration, using intelligent, lifelike, or even living materials that can prompt the human body to generate new tissue.
This approach could radically change the treatment of chronic diseases such as kidney failure, heart failure, and worn joints in the future. The NWO SUMMIT program targets top-tier collaborations and facilitates world-class breakthroughs. The project leader of DRIVE-RM is Marianne Verhaar, nephrologist and professor of Experimental Nephrology at UMC Utrecht.
Marianne states, "Over the past 20 years, we have established strong collaborative efforts in regenerative medicine in the Netherlands with several large, innovative, and successful projects like the MDR Gravitation consortium. The SUMMIT grant is a wonderful recognition of this work and underscores the importance of regenerative medici.
