Wally van der Laan

MD/PhD-student Profile

MD/PhD-student

Supportive care for children with cancer

My research focuses on gastrointestinal side effects of chemotherapy for cancer, namely gastrointestinal mucositis. This includes research with animal (rat) models, gut bacteria and cell lines. Children that develop gastrointestinal mucositis during cancer therapy experience a decrease in quality of life due to pain, diarrhea, nutritional deficiencies and an increased risk of infections. The goal of my research is to better understand how gastrointestinal mucositis develops and to develop a treatment against gastrointestinal mucositis.