The nominations for the Hugo van Poelgeest Prize have been announced! This is a scientific prize for excellent, animal-free research in the life sciences, aimed at the young, new generation of scientists. A scientific jury has selected the top three nominees from all submissions. One of these young researchers will win the Hugo van Poelgeest Prize and a cash prize of €3,000 for their animal-free, innovative scientific research.
Scientists of the future
The Hugo van Poelgeest Prize is the oldest Dutch prize for animal-free research. With the prize we want to support young scientists in their lab-animal-free research and motivate future scientists to follow their example.
Together with the foundation Bouwstenen voor Dierenwelzijn we award the prize to a young, talented researcher who is conducting innovative, animal-free research within the life sciences.
“The absence of representative human cardiac models does not only result in unnecessary use of laboratory animal, but also limits the development of much needed new therapies for patients. This nomination is a wonderful show of support and motivates me further in my efforts to humanize cardiac research.” – Niels Harlaar
And the top three is…
At the beginning of this year, research group leaders could nominate their young researchers for the Hugo van Poelgeest Prize. A scientific jury then selected the following top three (in random order) from all the nominees:
- Niels Harlaar, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC)/ Heart Lung Center Leiden
Niels Harlaar is a researcher and medical student at the LUMC. He received a grant for outstanding students from the LUMC to perform his PhD research besides his medical training. Niels is working on the development of new human cardiac models to reduce the use of animals for research into heart diseases. For this purpose, he developed an inexhaustible source of human heart muscle cells. This allowed him to better mimic atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia, in the laboratory than when using animal models.
- Victoria de Leeuw, Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM)/ Utrecht University
Dr. Victoria de Leeuw is a scientific researcher at RIVM. She works on the transition towards animal-free, human-relevant safety assessment of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Together with a team she works on human stem cell-based models in a culture dish. Victoria is also a mentor for PhD students at RIVM. In addition, she is the chair of Young TPI. This group was founded by the Transition Programme for Innovation without the use of animals (TPI) and consists of young professionals, PhDs, and students who want to be part of the transition to a animal-testing-free world. She also hosts TPI’s video platform which shares knowledge about animal-free methods, called TPI.tv.
- Valentina Palacio-Castañeda, Radboudumc
Valentina is a researcher and PhD candidate at Radboudumc. She uses organs-on-chips to study the application of innovative therapeutic proteins that treat diseases in novel ways. Valentina utilizes organs-on-chips to validate the behavior of these therapeutic proteins predicted through mathematical modelling, thereby replacing the use of laboratory animals for similar purposes. As part of her work, Valentina developed a tumor-on-a-chip model that mimics hypoxic conditions (i.e. tissues are not getting enough oxygen) seen in tumors. Valentina has also been instrumental in expanding the use of organ-on-a-chip technology at the Radboudumc through collaborations and expert sessions.
Rondje wit
“There is tremendous momentum in toxicology right now to make better predictions about the safety of substances with new, human-based, non-animal tests. With my research, I hope to contribute to one of the most difficult endpoints, the developing brain. We’re not there yet, but I can see a lot of promising techniques and concepts emerging that we can move forward with!” – Victoria de Leeuw
Amazing promotional video
Niels, Victoria and Valentina will now, with our help, make an amazing promotional video about their research. These videos will be used by the jury in determining the winner of the Hugo van Poelgeest Prize. The nominees have until early September 2022 to create the videos. The award ceremony will take place later this year. The winner of the Hugo van Poelgeest Prize will receive a cash prize of €3,000. In addition to the jury prize, a public prize will also be awarded. The public can vote, based on the videos, for one of the top three nominees. The public prize amounts to €1,500.
“I feel very privileged to be nominated for the Hugo van Poelgeest prize. It means a lot to me to be part of this movement that aims to replace animals in the lab with more human-relevant alternatives and to be acknowledged for my contribution to this goal.” – Valentina Palacio-Castañeda
