The Vici grant enables the researchers to develop an innovative line of research and further expand their research groups over the next five years. In this Vici round, NWO has awarded funding to a total of 39 proposals.
The UvA laureates
- Prof. Matthijs Brouwer (Amsterdam UMC/location AMC): Simple and Prompt Encephalitis and mEningitis Diagnostics (SPEED)
Infections of the brain are life-threatening but can be difficult to diagnose because only a limited number of tests are available in cerebrospinal fluid to guide physicians. As a consequence, the time to an accurate diagnosis is often too long, and there is a delay before patients receive appropriate treatment. In this project, Brouwer will develop novel, simple, rapid and affordable tests to shorten the time to an accurate diagnosis and thereby improve outcomes for patients with brain infections.
- Dr Jeroen den Dunnen (Amsterdam UMC/location AMC): Autoimmunity as a central cause of post-acute infection syndromes (ARISE)
Post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS) are illnesses that develop after an infection and can last for months or even years. Well-known examples are long COVID, post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS), and Q fever fatigue syndrome (QFS). Patients often struggle with severe fatigue, memory and concentration problems, and sleep disturbances, leaving many unable to work. Worldwide, hundreds of millions of people are affected, yet no reliable tests or treatments exist. This project investigates whether the immune system mistakenly attacks the body after infection. By finding specific autoantibodies in blood samples, researchers aim to develop diagnostic tests and discover new therapies.
- Dr Willem Frankenhuis (Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics): Mental abilities in stressful environments: An integrative approach
Growing up in stressful conditions can have a negative impact on development and learning. However, this is not the whole story: people might also develop intact or even enhanced abilities adapted to stressful conditions. Previous research shows that certain content in tasks (e.g., money) can increase or reduce the performance of people from stressful environments. Frankenhuis will examine such content effects in three abilities that are key for goal-directed thought and action –attention, memory, and inhibition – using tasks designed to illuminate this dual effect on performance. The findings can support innovative applications in education, policy, and interventions.
- Prof. Josephine Hoegaerts (Amsterdam School for Regional, Transnational and European Studies): Audible Democracy: How 'Being Heard' Became Political in Modern Europe
Does political participation make a sound? Most citizens vote in silence, but nevertheless care about being ‘heard’. This project dives into the evolving ways people have voiced political opinions across Europe, from the early 1800s to today. We particularly focus on how newcomers to political debate – workers, women, radicals - managed to raise their voices, and how they sometimes managed to change the way we do politics in modern democracies.
Two additional UvA-affiliated grants
In addition to the four grants mentioned above, Prof. Anja Spang, Professor by special appointment of Symbioses in Evolution at the UvA, has also been awarded a Vici grant for her project ‘Mapping the evolutionary history of symbionts and their role in our biosphere’. She submitted her application from NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.
Dr Valeria Gazzola of the Brain & Cognition group at the UvA has likewise been awarded a Vici grant for the project ‘What Stops Us from Hurting Others: Insights from Brain Research’. Gazzola applied for the grant from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience.