ADHD is the most common mental disorder in children. However, diagnosing ADHD can unintentionally lead to decontextualization, where problems are mainly attributed to the child itself and not to the interaction with their environment. This causes children, their parents, teachers, and care professionals to believe that the children themselves are the primary cause of their symptoms. Although ADHD is caused by both biological and environmental factors, societal emphasis is mainly on biological factors such as genetics and brain functions, while environmental factors like poverty, parental mental health issues, trauma, screen time, early neglect, and being the youngest in the class are often overlooked. This can lead to an oversimplified view of ADHD. Dekkers is investigating to what extent diagnosing ADHD leads to this decontextualization, the potential negative consequences of this, and how these consequences can be mitigated.
A major breakthrough in treating patients with end-stage diffuse large B cell lymphoma is Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. This therapy uses the patients’ own genetically modified immune cells and is effective in ~50% of the patients. To improve CAR T cell therapy, Wiersma will investigate the largely unexplored ‘sugar decoration’ of CAR T cells, which, based on preliminary data, impacts on immune responses. By determining the optimal ‘sugar decoration’, a novel CAR T cell with increased efficacy will be developed. This project will thus contribute to improved treatment options for DLBCL patients.
NWO has awarded Veni funding of up to EUR 320,000 to 174 promising researchers from across the full breadth of science. This will allow the laureates to further develop their own research ideas over the next three years. Read more about the Veni-grants.
