News overview

News
10 May 2022
Cancer Research UK forms strategic alliance with the Oncode Institute
Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest private funder of cancer research, today announces a strategic alliance with Oncode Institute. The five-year partnership is the first under Cancer Research UK’s new innovation organisation, Cancer Research Horizons, as well as being Oncode’s first UK partner. The alliance aims to foster innovation and collaboration between world-leading cancer researchers.


News
6 May 2022
A new critical regulator of interferon signaling discovered
The group of Oncode Investigator Daniel Peeper (NKI) has published in Nature Communications its discovery of a new regulator of interferon γ (IFNγ signaling. The IFNγ response pathway is associated with response to immunotherapy in cancer.


News
4 May 2022
Simmunext: where immunotherapy and chemistry meet
Simmunext is a company name made of three words describing the innovative approach Oncode Investigator Carl Figdor has developed to create polymers which can act as artificial antigen-presenting cells to stimulate the immune system to obtain a therapeutic response. The company is now ready for its journey to leverage this platform technology to bring novel cancer therapies to the clinic.


News
29 April 2022
Missing enzyme identified: how MATCAP works and affects brain development
Oncode Investigator Thijn Brummelkamp’s lab (NKI) previously identified Vasohibins as detyrosinating enzymes, but most cells contain detyrosinated microtubules even when the two Vasohibin genes are deleted. The team now identified MATCAP as a new enzyme involved in this process. Together with Oncode Investigator Anastassis Perrakis’ lab (NKI) they then showed how MATCAP works and how it engages with microtubules.


In the spotlight
25 April 2022
Interview on Oncode-PACT: De-risking the preclinical phase
Although Dutch fundamental cancer research is among the world’s best, findings in this area rarely result in viable cancer medicines. How should this be improved? Oncode’s Managing Director Alain Kummer, Oncode Business Development expert Emil Pot and Friso Smit, business development manager of the Utrecht Science Park, reflect on this issue, with reference to the Oncode-PACT* Growth Fund proposal. They co-created this proposal with many other stakeholders.


News
26 April 2022
Oncode Investigators Bas van Steensel, Daniel Peeper and Alexander van Oudenaarden receive ERC Advanced Grant
Bas van Steensel and Daniel Peeper (both NKI) receive 2.5 million euro each. Van Steensel will use the grant to explore our messy genome while Peeper will focus on reinvigorating anticancer T cells.


News
22 April 2022
Oncode finalizes Investigator Assessment in preparation for Phase 2
This year marks the final year of the first phase of Oncode Institute. Together with our funders, Oncode is working hard on putting together a new five-year plan to continue realizing our vision: outsmarting cancer, impacting lives. As a part of moving into Phase 2, Oncode Institute has been assessed by our International Advisory Board and International Review Committee. As part of the institute’s assessment, a large part of our 61 Oncode Investigator (OI) team has been evaluated.


News
14 April 2022
Growth Fund invests 325 million euros in Oncode-PACT to accelerate the development of cancer drugs
The National Growth Fund invests 325 million euros in the Oncode-PACT plan to accelerate the preclinical development process of cancer drugs. With this investment, Oncode-PACT will develop valuable drug candidates faster and cheaper and thus bring them to patients sooner. This will improve the quality of life of cancer patients while strengthening the future economic earning capacity of the Netherlands.


News
7 April 2022
Finally live: looking back at the single-molecule imaging masterclass
On Thursday, 24 March 2022, at the NKI, we finally held a live masterclass again! This was the first masterclass on location since November 2019: an event organized by Oncode Investigators Marvin Tanenbaum (Hubrecht Institute) and Tineke Lenstra (NKI) with a guest lecture by Lukas Kapitein (Utrecht University).

Scroll for more