Four Utrecht Researchers receive Rubicon Grant

Four researchers from the Utrecht University and the University Medical Centre Utrecht received a Rubicon grant. The Rubicon grant allows these scientists to do their research at top institutes and gives them the opportunity to gain international research experience.

With a Rubicon grant researchers can conduct research for a period up to 24 months at a foreign research institute. For many researchers, experience abroad is an important step in their career.  The size of the grant depends on the destination chosen and the length of stay. In this round, 16 researchers in total received the Rubicon grant.

Quantum properties on demand

Marlou Slot will be conducting her research for the next two years at the Physical Measurement Laboratory from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the United States of America. Strong interactions between electrons in quantum materials lead to remarkable properties. This research project aims to create an experimental model platform to realize and control these properties at will so that the underlying mechanisms can be systematically unraveled. 

Faster and more efficient drug research

Ruben van Eijk will be going to Stanford University for 12 months. It costs a lot of time and money to develop drugs. The researcher will produce innovative mathematical models to more rapidly determine whether an experimental drug works and is safe. That will enable researchers to use the resources they have more efficiently in the future.

Sink or flourish?

Philip Minderhoud will do his research at the Padua University Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. His research in Italy will take 18 months. Worldwide, 500 million people live in river deltas. Many deltas are sinking faster than the sea level is rising. The researcher will study the processes of sinking deltas, create accurate future predictions, and develop effective mitigation and adaption strategies for sustainable delta management.

How do intestinal bacteria influence our response to medication?

Carlos Voogdt will conduct his 2-year research at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. Intestinal bacteria can change medicines taken before these reach their target. The researcher will determine which bacteria are responsible for this, how they do this exactly, and the consequences of this bacterial activity for our intestinal cells.