Longfonds Accelerate

Longfonds Symposium on Lung Regeneration

Longfonds — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:31:26 +0000

Longfonds Symposium on Lung Regeneration Longfonds di, 09/16/2025 - 15:31 Lung regeneration

On Friday, December 12, Longfonds will host the Symposium on Lung Regeneration at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht. Top researchers including Carla Kim, Paolo De Coppi, Hans Clevers, Ali Önder Yildirim, Stuart Forbes and Reinoud Gosens share cutting-edge insights into this rapidly advancing field. Join us for a day full of inspiration, innovation and meaningful connections.

The Longfonds Symposium on Lung Regeneration unites world-leading scientists for a groundbreaking day of innovation in lung repair and regenerative medicine.

Thirteen keynote speakers reflect on the scientific breakthroughs achieved in seven years’ time and outline bold steps toward turning lung regeneration into a real-world solution for COPD patients. Many of the experts featured in the program have been working closely together through the international BREATH consortium, made possible by Longfonds funding.

Thanks to this interdisciplinary collaboration, significant progress has been made. Progress we are excited to share with you on December 12! Secure your spot, places are limited.

Location and program

Longfonds Symposium on Lung Regeneration will take place on Friday, 12 December 2025 at Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht. See the list of keynote speakers below.

Location: Auditorium Hubrecht Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, Utrecht.
Please make sure to arrive no later than 9:20 am. The program starts at 9:30 am. Coffee and tea will be available from 9:00 am.

Registration

Register now: Participation costs €75 (this includes a tasty lunch, coffee, tea, and drinks & bites afterwards)

List of Keynote Speakers:

Prof.dr. Carla Kim (USA)
Boston Children’s Research | Stem Cell Program Faculty
Principal Investigator and leader of the LONGFONDS | Accelerate BREATH Consortium
Prof.dr. Hans Clevers (The Netherlands)
Hubrecht Instituut | Clevers lab
Principal Investigator and former leader of the LONGFONDS | Accelerate BREATH Consortium
Prof.dr. Sam Janes (United Kingdom)
University College London | General and Respiratory Medicine Physician
Principal Investigator of the LONGFONDS | Accelerate BREATH Consortium
Prof.dr. Paolo De Coppi (United Kingdom)
Great Ormond Street Hospital | Consultant Paediatric Surgeon
UCL Institute of Child Health in London | Head of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
Principal Investigator of the LONGFONDS | Accelerate BREATH Consortium
Dr. Melanie Koeningshoff (USA)
University of Pittsburg | Department of Pathology
Principal Investigator of the LONGFONDS | Accelerate BREATH Consortium
Prof.dr. Reinoud Gosens (The Netherlands)
University of Groningen | Translational Pharmacology at the Faculty of Science and Engineering
Principal Investigator of the LONGFONDS | Accelerate BREATH Consortium
Prof.dr. Ali Önder Yildirim (Germany)
Helmholtz Munich | Institute of Lung Health and Immunity | Director
CPC-M, German Center for Lung Research | Director
Prof.dr. Oliver Eickelberg (USA)
University of Pittsburg | Department of Medicine
Principal Investigator of the LONGFONDS | Accelerate BREATH Consortium
Prof.dr. Stuart Forbes (United Kingdom)
University of Edinburgh Centre for Regenerative Medicine | Director of the Institute for Regeneration and Repair. Professor of Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine.
Member of the Translational Committee of the BREATH Consortium
Dr. Mareike Lehmann (Germany)
Helmholtz Munich | LHI Group Leader ‘Lung Inflammaging’
Emmy Noether Research Group Leader The Heterogeneity of Lung Aging and Regeneration
Prof.dr. John F. Engelhardt (USA)
University of Iowa | Professor Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
Member of the Translational Committee of the BREATH Consortium
Prof.dr. Christopher Evans (USA)
University of Colorado, professor of Medicine-Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care
Dr. Maria Basil (USA)
University of Pennsylvania, Penn-CHOP Lung Biology Institute (LBI) and the Penn Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) |member of the Penn Institute of Regenerative Medicine (IRM)

The Symposium on Lung Regeneration, hosted by Longfonds, will take place at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht on Friday, December 12. Leading experts - among them Carla Kim, Paolo De Coppi, Hans Clevers, Ali Önder Yildirim, Stuart Forbes, and Reinoud Gosens - will present groundbreaking insights in this fast-developing field.

How tricks from nature inspire asthma research

Longfonds — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 10:23:21 +0000

How tricks from nature inspire asthma research Longfonds di, 02/20/2024 - 11:23 Asthma prevention

Erika von Mutius would love to make herself superfluous. That would mean her big dream has come true: that children no longer get asthma. Von Mutius, pediatrician and epidemiologist, has been one of the key players in the international collaboration united in this mission since 2017. As the research team puts the finishing touches on five years of analysis, we reflect with her on her impressive career and look ahead.

'Asthma is the most common chronic condition in children. I think of all those children and their families whom I've seen over the years. All those hospitalizations, all the medications you have to take. Not being able to go to your best friend's house because they have a cat and you might have an asthma attack. Wanting to be as active as any other child, but being limited in sports because of asthma. And if you're one of the unlucky ones, it lasts a lifetime. You just have to think about the nights as a parent when you helplessly watch your child struggle to breathe. It's terrifying.'

Two careers

Professor Dr. Erika von Mutius (1957) is not only a pediatrician but also an epidemiologist. 'That was pure coincidence. Well, not entirely. I started my training at the academic children's hospital in Munich. It was expected of me to also do some research. And since I wanted to continue my training there, I agreed. When you want to stay, you don't say no, right?'

The focus on asthma and allergies occurred early in her career. 'The first research I was involved in was about air pollution and croup (a viral infection of the upper airways). But honestly, I didn't consider croup as such a significant problem. Children usually recover quickly after an attack. In terms of disease burden, I found asthma much more serious. And allergy goes hand in hand with asthma. Even during that research on air pollution and croup, I started working at an outpatient clinic for children with asthma. So, I've treated many children with asthma.'

Von Mutius was responsible for a famous study showing that children in East Germany had fewer allergies than those living in West Germany. 'When the study on air pollution and croup was completed, my supervisor urged me to do new research. I devised a plan to compare urban and rural air pollution in Bavaria. My theory was that air pollution was the cause of asthma and allergies. But we doubted if there would be enough air pollution in Munich to prove that theory.

Just as the research began – we're talking about 1989 - the Wall fell. That gave us the unique opportunity to go to East Germany where there was really a lot of air pollution. It was the chance to prove my theory. But what did we find? In East Germany, many fewer children suffered from allergies and asthma than in West Germany. Meanwhile, we know that the type of air pollution determines the risk of developing asthma and allergies. Pollution from traffic, as in Munich, turned out to be the real risk for asthma and allergies.'

Teamwork

In 2013, Von Mutius received Germany's highest science award. She received it for her study on the effect of farm exposure on the development of childhood allergy and asthma. 'I never expected to receive the Leibniz Prize, because my research was about pediatrics and epidemiology. Often, the German scientific council awards this famous prize to basic science (also called 'pure' science because it has not yet resulted into translation in clinical practice).'

Von Mutius has worked in research teams her entire life. 'I love teamwork. I have learned a lot from my colleagues and would never have been able to do it alone. Participating in conferences provides you with new ideas. The best conversations with colleagues happen at the end of the day. That's when you tell each other what you really think. That's what makes it interesting.'

Since 2017, von Mutius has been involved in the international collaboration to prevent asthma. In von Mutius’s and her colleague Markus Ege's project, the effect of minimally processed cow’s milk was tested on young children. 'The study is based on strong evidence from farm studies that drinking raw cow's milk can protect children against asthma and allergies. However, raw cow's milk can also be dangerous and lead to serious infections that can damage the kidneys. Therefore, we cannot recommend drinking raw cow's milk to prevent allergies. But cow's milk that has only been lightly pasteurized, without being heated to high temperatures or mixed, may have the same effect.

The various studies we do within the collaboration complement each other. We reinforce each other with our knowledge. Some colleagues do research in the laboratory, while we tested the effect of minimally processed cow’s milk on children. Ultimately, the outcomes together will help in developing new avenues to prevent asthma. I am convinced of that.'

COVID-19

Shortly after starting the farm milk research, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. That caused difficulties. 'Our research started in the fall of 2019. In hindsight, it turned out to be the most unfortunate time to start a study involving families with young, healthy children. Many fewer families participated than we had hoped. Additionally, the company that supplied our milk had financial difficulties. We had to quickly find a new supplier. We switched from powdered milk, which we could send every 2 months, to liquid milk which must be sent freshly within one day or two. Because we had to have it delivered, the costs became much higher. Also, due to the pandemic, we couldn't perform the clinical visits as planned. It made it extra difficult.'

The results of the research on minimally processed milk are promising: more microorganisms were found in the intestines of children who drank the milk. Also, the children had fewer infections. But to really demonstrate that these two things are related, larger numbers of children need to participate in the research. That wasn't possible now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, von Mutius believes the research was worth it.

'Absolutely. It is important to start these kinds of studies anyway. It is important to take a gamble on something. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Because the opportunity to prevent a disease like asthma using relatively simple means is so tempting.'

Von Mutius dreams of preventing asthma in children. 'I would love to make myself superfluous. Preventing diseases in children is what pediatrics is often about. You want children to be healthy. We have been very successful in preventing certain diseases. Think of vaccinations, screenings for diabetes, and research into severe metabolic diseases. We can now detect and treat children with problems at an early stage.

Although we can treat asthma, we cannot cure it or prevent it yet. We will probably never be able to prevent it 100% because people can also be genetically predisposed to the disease. But if we can prevent thirty, forty, fifty percent, that is a fantastic achievement.'

Nature knows

Von Mutius is curious about where the research into preventing asthma in children will lead. 'In my long career, I have done a lot of research on health and diseases. It is very clear from that research that asthma simply does not occur in certain environments. Nature offers strong protection. We need to learn from that and try to pull off the same tricks as nature.

Everything in childhood is about development. A child grows and learns to talk, but the organs also develop. The lung matures in the first three years of life, as does the immune system and the system of microorganisms in the intestines. If a child is around animals, plants, and soil a lot, as it occurs on traditional farms, it comes into contact with many bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The immune system develops faster as a result than when the child grows up in a city. I think we have lost the art of educating our immune system in our Western world. If we know how to restore that, then we're well on our way.'

Text: Marlijn Klerk

Photo credits: Helmholtz Munich / © Matthias Tunger

Erika von Mutius is one of the key players in AWWA, the international collaboration united in the mission to prevent asthma in children since 2017. As the research team puts the finishing touches on five years of analysis, we reflect with her on her impressive career and look ahead.

Research on lung damage repair

Longfonds — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 10:00:46 +0000

Research on lung damage repair Longfonds do, 06/22/2023 - 12:00 Lung regeneration

BREATH researchers have made great strides. PhD Antonella Dost, one of our stem cell researchers at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, is working on promising ways to better understand and manipulate lung regeneration. To find out more, Longfonds research manager Dorothee Laan went to the Hubrecht Lab. Watch their conversation below:

A scratch on your arm, a graze or a bruise: the skin is usually repaired within a few days. But unlike other organs, the damaged lungs in COPD are no longer capable of repairing or renewing damaged tissue. Making COPD currently an incurable disease. It is already the number three cause of death worldwide. This is why the Lung Foundation Netherlands (Longfonds) has brought the best scientists in regenerative medicine from the US and Europe together in the Lung Regeneration Consortium.

Antonella Dost, one of our stem cell researchers at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, is working on promising ways to better understand and manipulate lung regeneration.

Károly Illy appointed as new director of Lung Foundation Netherlands (Longfonds)

Longfonds — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 07:08:28 +0000

Károly Illy appointed as new director of Lung Foundation Netherlands (Longfonds) Longfonds ma, 06/05/2023 - 09:08

The Supervisory Board of Longfonds has announced that it has appointed Károly Illy as its new director. Illy is currently a paediatrician at Ziekenhuis Rivierenland Tiel and -until mid June ’23- chairman of the Dutch Paediatric Association. On October 1st, he will take over from Michael Rutgers at Longfonds.

The Supervisory Board is happy to present Károly Illy as Rutgers’ successor. The Board is impressed by Illy's performance and is confident that he can take Longfonds forward in the rapidly changing societal landscape,’ says Patricia Huijbregts, chair of the Supervisory Board. Illy is delighted with his appointment: ‘Longfonds is an organization with a mission, and I consider it an honour to lead it. I am excited to work towards representing the interests of 1.2 million individuals with lung disease in our country.’

Wealth of experience

Illy has a wealth of expertise and experience in the medical sector and in managing healthcare organisations. He has worked as a paediatrician at Ziekenhuis Rivierenland for almost 30 years, including eight years as chairman of the Medical Staff. Since 2008, he has worked as a medical specialist in patient safety. Illy combines his work at the hospital with roles as chairman of the Dutch Paediatric Association and board member of the European Academy of Paediatrics. He is also vice chairman of the Supervisory Board at Pantein Zorggroep. Illy is a prominent member of the Dutch Outbreak Management Team (OMT).

Prevention and Smoke-Free Generation

Michael Rutgers is proud that Illy will succeed him: ‘He is substantively experienced in the field of lung disease and has much experience in the political domain through his role in the OMT. For many years, Illy has been dedicated to the cause of preventing lung disease and to promoting a Smoke-Free Generation. I have great faith that Longfonds will flourish under his leadership as he becomes a part of a respected organisation with important societal objectives.

World without lung disease

Longfonds is Europe's largest respiratory patients organisation. Under Károly Illy's leadership, Longfonds will continue to work on its mission: eliminate lung disease from the world and contribute to a healthier and happier life for people with lung disease. Almost 40,000 volunteers and around 85 enthusiastic staff are committed to a world where everyone can breathe freely. To rapidly achieve this goal, working together and partnering is increasingly paramount. Longfonds collaborates with many like-minded health organisations and foundations, leading scientists and corporate partners.

‘Chances are a surge of knowledge is coming’

Longfonds — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 11:07:46 +0000

‘Chances are a surge of knowledge is coming’ Longfonds wo, 04/19/2023 - 13:07 Lung regeneration

For treatments to arise, more basic knowledge is needed about COPD. To acquire this, top scientist Oliver Eickelberg put together a research team that was the first in the world to map the proteins in the lungs. “I feel it is my duty to help patients as fast as possible.”

“I have been a physician-scientist for decades. Still, after all these years, the moment I realise we have discovered something new, is very exciting. But when other labs reproduce and validate our results, that’s when the excitement really kicks in,” says Oliver Eickelberg, renowned Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh (US) and lead scientist in the Lung Regeneration Consortium. “Every experiment you do, is basically a conversation with nature. It does not always give you the answer you expect. But it always brings you further.”

This is very much needed. COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide and current treatments only relieve the symptoms. “Many people don’t realise what it is like to have a severe lung disease. Having limited breathing capacity, limits all aspects of your life. And imagine the frustration of walking around in air, but not being able to take it in.”

Neglected child

The goal of the Consortium is to treat the underlying causes. For this to happen we need to know: how does the damage occur? What happens in the cells and on a molecular level? This is not yet known. Eickelberg: “COPD is the neglected child of biomedical research. It likely affects more people than other severe lung diseases combined. The mechanisms of many of those diseases are known. We have made significant progress in areas such as lung cancer and cystic fibrosis, but not in COPD.”

Unravel hallmarks of COPD

To change this, Eickelberg unravels the hallmarks of COPD. His group focusses on the extracellular matrix (ECM): the mixture of proteins, that function like a 3D-scaffold for all tissues, including the lungs. To explain the importance of ECM, Eickelberg draws a parallel with the skin. Young skin is elastic, flexible and strong. This is because of the extracellular matrix. As we age the skin loses its flexibility due to changes in the composition of the extracellular matrix. “In COPD a similar process occurs in the lungs. It results, amongst other things, in alterations in the 3D-structure and stiffness (emphysema). As the ability to expand is key to lung function, this is why the ECM is important.”

Eickelberg wants to be able to regenerate damaged ECM. To do this he needs to know the basic role this matrix plays in COPD. What cellular components, molecules and signalling pathways of the cells are involved?

Proteins regulate tissue function

For this he studies the set of proteins (called the proteome) present in the ECM of lungs. Proteins are interesting because functionality of any tissue is based on the chemical processes and signalling pathways in it: most of these are carried out by proteins. “So knowing the proteins involved, shows us the signalling pathways. But this demands a precise 3D-map of which proteins are present, how much and where exactly in the organ.”

From DNA to RNA and protein

Until recently the standard approach was to compare COPD-ECM to healthy tissue. And to use measurements of RNA to determine the proteins present. “The hereditary information on the DNA gets transcribed into RNA. And this is translated into a protein. That is why scientists thought the amount of RNA correlated with that of proteins. But it was discovered that this correlation is incorrect, and many RNA-protein correlations are in fact poor.”

‘Thankfully we succeeded’

So, Eickelberg set himself to the task of mapping the proteins themselves. “It took a significant effort to create a team that allows this proteome mapping. Proteins are less stable and much more difficult to accurately measure then RNA. Thankfully we succeeded, as the first in the world.”

Different approach

And more progress is coming. Eickelberg is now comparing the proteome of COPD tissue not only to healthy tissue, but also to lung tissues with a wide range of diseases. “This is a completely different approach that leads to much more information – and understanding of COPD.”

Dutch cuisine

Eickelberg clarifies with another analogy. Let us assume you’d like to know the hallmarks of Dutch cuisine. You might compare it to the German cuisine. The differences will be labelled typically Dutch. Eickelberg: “You will probably find that cheese stands out. But then you compare the Dutch cuisine to the Swiss cuisine. And discover that cheese is a major ingredient there too. So you learn that specific types of cheese are hallmarks for respectively the Dutch and Swiss cuisines. And the more cuisines you compare it to, the more detailed hallmarks you will find. Comparing proteome maps of many different diseases works the same way.”

An added benefit of this approach is that for these other diseases it is often known what proteomes correspond with specific signalling pathways. “So finding common proteomes, points to similarities in underlying mechanisms.”

Major progress

These are promising steps. But when can patients expect treatments to arrive? “It is very hard to give an estimate,” Eickelberg admits. “I do expect major scientific progress in the next five to ten years. History shows that if you put smart people together in a consortium, this often results in a sudden surge of knowledge. And sometimes even in a paradigm shift: a completely new view on the topic that opens doors to many new possibilities. The intensive and transparent way we work together in the Lung Regeneration Consortium maximizes the chance of this happening.”

Powerful motivator

Eickelberg realises the relatively slow progress of medical science is hard on patients in need. “Anyone who has been a patient some time in their life, has experienced how important it is to have someone help you. Even medical doctors experience this when they can’t offer real solutions to their patients. Personally I have witnessed it too, since severe lung disease is common in my family. For me, this need is a powerful motivator. I feel it is my duty to help patients as fast as possible.”

Text: Karin Postelmans

For treatments to arise, more basic knowledge is needed about COPD. To acquire this, top scientist Oliver Eickelberg put together a research team thatwas the first in the world to map the proteins in the lungs. “I feel it is my duty to help patients as fast as possible.”

A shortcut to reliable repair and growth of airway cells

Longfonds — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 09:10:34 +0000

A shortcut to reliable repair and growth of airway cells Longfonds wo, 04/05/2023 - 11:10 Lung regeneration

Leading respiratory scientist Professor Sam Janes developed a rapid method to identify the needles in a haystack of drugs that stimulate growth of airway stem cells. 'This may lead to new treatments. But first we need to expand our work to more realistic models.'

In the Netherlands, about 600,000 people have COPD. According to the World Health Organization, lung damage from COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide. “Considering the high morbidity compared to other diseases, respiratory disease is relatively underfunded,” says leading scientist prof. Sam Janes. “That is why I’m very happy with the Lung Regeneration Consortium and eager to contribute.” Janes works as a respiratory clinician, and is Head of the Respiratory Research Department at University College London (UK).

‘We need to know more’
Janes also works as a clinical physician and sees a lot of COPD patients. There are drugs available but a lot of patients don’t experience any relief, he notes. “The effect of the loss of lung capacity is very sad. Patients really need new therapies that make a difference.”

People with COPD have trouble breathing out, partly because their airways are narrowed. This is due to damaged and inflamed epithelial cells that line our windpipes. Basal cells are one of these epithelial cells and line the airways like a pavement. Some of them are also stem cells: these produce other types of cells that also make up the airways. Janes: “My research for the Consortium aims to find drugs that make the basal cells grow and control their stem cell behaviour. If we succeed, we can then work towards repairing the airways of patients.”

Skip years of research
Instead of developing new drugs, Janes decided to find out if there are existing drugs that stimulate basal cell growth. “Generally, after discovering a novel treatment it takes about 15 years to develop a drug that can be used in humans and get it approved for use in disease. We skip much of this time by turning the process around: we test drugs that are already proven to be safe.” For this his team combed through a database of FDA approved but unused medicines. These are drugs that for example have been tested for other diseases but proved not to work. They selected over a thousand types of drugs that might stimulate basal cell growth. “The aim was to experiment on a large scale: to test over a thousand types of drugs in one go on many different patients’ samples. Excitingly, we succeeded in creating such a High Throughput Assay.”

Promising drug candidates
From the haystack of drugs, Janes’ team identified twelve promising candidates for drug treatments: these proved to stimulate growth of human basal cells. But how did that work?

Janes’ lab receives biopsies from human airways, taken during procedures that patients undergo. After a sample arrives in the lab, it is broken up in single cells. These are put on a medium that specifically stimulates growth of basal cells and creates organoids: small versions of airway lining tissue. “When the organoids are big enough, a lab robot dispenses the cells evenly on a plate with 384 separate wells.”

Some cells multiply
Next, the robot dispenses the different drugs in each well. Over time some cells die, some stay the same and some will multiply compared to those in control wells. This way Janes identified the twelve promising drugs.

Nine out of twelve validated
“We are very grateful to the patients who consent to a biopsy,” Janes says. This way Janes can see if the drugs work in people of different sex, age and who use different drug prescriptions. Some twenty different samples are necessary to validate each of the twelve drugs. “So far, nine drugs have remained successful.”

Treatments for patients
Janes is hopeful that his research will lead to at least two types of treatments. One is to treat acute insults of the lungs, for instance caused by an inflammation or a burn. “We want to enable the basal cells to survive and grow in such a difficult situation, to enhance the recovery of the lungs.” A second treatment entails the transplantation of huge amounts of cells cultured in the lab. “Both have great potential to be put in use within the next 5 to 10 years.”

Next steps
So what happens soon? “Exiting things, actually.” Over the next two years Janes will expand his work to more complex models to find out what effect other cells have on basal cells. “After all, in the body the basal cells are surrounded by many types of cells. We will discover if the drugs still work or even work better with other cells present.”

Also, Janes wants to clarify how the drugs work. What signalling pathways of the cell do they effect? And which of those are particularly relevant for basal (stem) cell growth? “With this knowledge, we can check if there are other existing drugs known to influence these pathways. This can lead to rapid design of new treatments.”

Working together
Key to this progress is working in close collaboration with other lead scientists of the Lung Regeneration Consortium. Janes’ group cooperates with Melanie Könighoff (University of Pittsburgh, VS) because she developed the more complex model Janes needs to test his validated drugs in. And one of Janes’ scientist has worked in the lab of Carla Kim (Boston Childrens Hospital, US) to find out if the promising drugs also work in tissues specifically developed for transplantation.

Acceleration and fun
“Interacting with the most brilliant people in the field gives our work a great boost and makes it more robust. Different labs look at results from new angles. Working for the Consortium is also great fun.”

“The part of my work I love the most is training young scientists. Discussing with them brings fresh ideas to the projects: their minds are still open to creative sollutions that can overcome difficult challenges. Also, this also gives rise to an enthusiastic new generation of scientists to work towards more breakthroughs for future patients.”

LONGFONDS | Accelerate
In the international research program LONGFONDS | Accelerate, international top researchers are rapidly bringing solutions for chronic lung diseases closer. Under the direction of Longfonds, they work together intensively to achieve a medical breakthrough for asthma and COPD. Already this is yielding important insights and results.

Leading respiratory scientist Professor Sam Janes developed a rapid method to identify the needles in a haystack of drugs that stimulate growth of airway stem cells.

Michael Rutgers announces departure from Lung Foundation Netherlands (Longfonds Nederland)

Longfonds — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 11:00:12 +0000

Michael Rutgers announces departure from Lung Foundation Netherlands (Longfonds Nederland) Longfonds wo, 03/22/2023 - 12:00

Michael Rutgers (65) will step down after the summer to make way for a successor. This was announced by the director of Lung Foundation Netherlands today. Rutgers has been the figurehead of Lung Foundation Netherlands for over 17 years and is known for his passionate commitment to the challenge of chronic lung disease, both for patients and for society. Health and health problems have been central throughout his long career. His convincing way of addressing health issues is innovative and shows courage. Rutgers is acknowledged as one of the most impactful executives in the world of civil power in the Netherlands.

Before Michael Rutgers joined Lung Foundation Netherlands, he was director of, among others, the Dutch Burns Foundation, the Johanna Children's Foundation and he worked as a manager at the Dutch Association of Neuromuscular Diseases. Rutgers: “I have always committed myself to a healthier Netherlands and will continue to do so. People have the right to live in a world where it is easier to make healthy choices and where they can breathe freely."

Driver of innovation

Rutgers is a driver of innovation. He succeeded in transforming charitable organisations from the classic ‘do-gooders’ to influential partners within the triangle of politics, business and society. As part of his role at the Lung Foundation Netherlands, he was one of the co-authors of the Prevention Agreement and the instigator of the Clean Air Agreement. He also worked with the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) to develop the Lung Foundation Healthy Air Check.

Together for a healthier Netherlands

As CEO of Lung Foundation Netherlands, Michael Rutgers has set up numerous collaborations and partnerships with other health organisations . One of the most successful initiatives is Health Funds for Smoke-Free, a collaboration of Lung Foundations Netherlands,the Dutch Heart Foundation and the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF), which under the chairmanship of Rutgers promotes a smoke-free generation. He is also chairman of the Collaborating Health Funds, in which 22 parties work together to achieve the healthiest generation in 2040. Rutgers has also developed several successful partnerships with the business community.

Trailblazer

The coronavirus outbreak in the spring of 2020 which led to an unprecedented pandemic was the reason for Michael Rutgers, as Lung Foundation Netherlands, to initiate the first digital platform for COVID-19 patients with long-term post-infectious symptoms. It was launched in May 2020 and has since grown into the patient organisation PostCovid NL.

Medical breakthroughs

Michael Rutgers is also the driving force behind the mission of the Lung Foundation Netherlands: to ensure that people can take control of their lives with their disease and have access to solutions and medical breakthroughs. For example, the Lung Foundation Netherlands finances both national and international research to prevent asthma and regenerate damaged lung tissue. A progressive new initiative was the establishment of LungHealth BV, which supports scientists in their effort to ensure that promising results from national and international research lead to products and treatments for people with lung disease.

The list of Rutger’s achievements is long. After his departure from Lung Foundation Netherlands in September 2023, Rutgers will continue to address health challenges and strive for a better health for all.

Michael Rutgers (65) will step down after the summer to make way for a successor. This was announced by the director of Lung Foundation Netherlands today.

'We are working together towards one goal: to eliminate COPD'

Longfonds — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 15:06:45 +0000

'We are working together towards one goal: to eliminate COPD' Longfonds di, 03/07/2023 - 16:06 Lung regeneration

Jos Pielage and Pieter van Eck consider their volunteering for the Patient Advisory Committee of the Longfonds research on lung tissue repair especially important. Especially for people with lung disease. 'And mightily interesting!'

Just before each meeting, Jos Pielage thoroughly reads up. 'That is tough stuff sometimes. Because it is often difficult to understand exactly what researchers are doing. Especially since this lung study is still in the lab phase. We are here to keep researchers on the right track. Pieter van Eck: 'Researchers are sometimes working on a very small piece of the puzzle. By asking them questions from the patient's point of view, they see the bigger picture again. This benefits the research. It is important that they stay focused on what they are doing it for.'

Mini-lung

Jos and Pieter are both members of the Patient Advisory Committee (PAC) of the international study on lung tissue repair. With the PAC, patients are directly involved in this scientific research that Lung Fund provides funding for. Pieter is chairman. " As of 2018, I have been committed to Lung Foundation Netherlands. Since 2020 as a Lung Foundation Experience Expert (LED'er), where I get to review grant applications for lung research. And since 2021 for this PAC. For example, we are involved in research on mini-lung. With this, researchers can target solutions to restore damaged lungs to health.'

For everyone

It is especially important that patients can tell the researchers what they are up against and what is important to them. And conversely that researchers can tell how their 'piece of the puzzle' fits into the search for solutions to repair lung damage in COPD, for example. Pieter: 'As a PAC member, we were able to give suggestions at the beginning to give the enquiry direction on what should come out. For example, we would prefer a solution to repair lungs without surgery, and that as many people with COPD as possible can use.'

Suddenly fast

Only research never goes as fast as patients would like. Jos: 'We cannot expect the researchers to come up with a solution tomorrow. It is a quest and the researchers do not know beforehand whether their idea will be successful. So what makes it interesting for me? Things can also move fast all of a sudden. ' Pieter: 'I find it mightily interesting to hear what's going on. And I find it valuable that we give 'the patient' a face and can think along with researchers. Because even if the solution is not there tomorrow, at the end of the day, we are working together towards one goal: to eliminate COPD from the world.'

Text: Naomi van Esschoten

Vici grant for the prevention of severe respiratory infections

Longfonds — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 08:08:24 +0000

Vici grant for the prevention of severe respiratory infections Longfonds di, 02/28/2023 - 09:08 Asthma prevention

Hermelijn Smits, professor of Immunomodulation through Host-Commensal Interactions at LUMC, receives a Vici grant of 1.5 million euros. With this grant, she wants to use substances produced in the intestines to strengthen the immune system. She hopes this will prevent respiratory infections.

Severe respiratory infections caused by viruses often occur in people with a weak(ened) immune system, such as small children, the elderly and lung patients. In these groups, an infection can lead to hospitalisation or even death. Treatment is usually aimed at targeting invading pathogens, but that is not always effective. Therefore, Hermelijn Smits does not focus on the viruses, but rather on strengthening the patient’s own local immune system in the nose. To this end, she uses substances produced by bacteria and other commensals in the intestines.

Strengthening the immune system

Gut bacteria have a major influence on our immune system. Among other things, they produce bioactive molecules that promote gut health and the protective activity of immune cells. 'I propose to administer these bioactive substances, which have been proven safe for humans, directly into the nose to strengthen the immune system at this site. This is important because a proper immune system response in the nose prevents pathogens from spreading to the lower respiratory tract and lungs', explains Smits.

Among other things, she will use organoids of the nose – which are 3D mini-organs – to study the effects of these bioactive substances on immune cells and whether they reduce rhinovirus infections. Smits: 'We then want to administer the bioactive substance that showed to be most effective in our experiments to healthy volunteers in a proof-of-concept study to investigate whether they also protect against a controlled rhinovirus infection.'

Smits is very pleased with this grant: 'It is an absolute milestone and crucial to be able to start this research.' If this approach proves successful, Smits says it will open up a new therapeutic avenue for high-risk groups of severe respiratory infections.

NWO Talent Programme

The Vici funding, together with the Veni and Vidi grants, is part of the NWO Talent Programme. Vici is aimed at senior researchers who have demonstrated their ability to successfully develop their own innovative line of research.

Hermelijn Smits, professor of Immunomodulation through Host-Commensal Interactions, receives a Vici grant of 1.5 million euros. With this grant, she wants to use substances produced in the intestines to strengthen the immune system. She hopes this will prevent respiratory infections.

Meeting Lung regeneration Consortium

Longfonds — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 08:04:17 +0000

Meeting Lung regeneration Consortium Longfonds di, 01/31/2023 - 09:04 Lung regeneration

Early January, Longfonds and the Lung regeneration Consortium (BREATH) met in person for the first time since the Covid pandemic. The meeting was organized at- and hosted by- prof.dr. Ed Morrissey and his lab at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.

The two-day meeting was kicked off by patients. Their stories, perspectives and wishes made a big impression on the group and helped to remember the initial purpose of the consortium.

Main aim of the meeting was to update each other on the status and progression of the project and discuss future steps. Presentations by the different labs were followed by in-depth discussions. Considering future plans, we reached out to partner organizations – such as the COPD Foundation – and invited them to our meeting. It was great to having them in the discussions and learning from their activities and plans. The meeting was closed by the impression of the Scientific Advisory Board on the progress: “the discovery science is of top quality, and the translation to solutions for patients is great. Make sure to stay focused on the latter.”

In the coming period, we will discuss the future plans with our partners and convert this into new program for 2024 and further. We hope we can take the next step towards lung regeneration in COPD together.