Newsletter August 2024

Utrecht Science Week is coming: 3 events highlighted

The Utrecht Science Week is from 27 September till 6 October. The Utrecht Science Park then opens its doors for anyone interested in (applied) science.

A varied programme has been put together with a focus on the themes ‘health’ and ‘sustainability’.

Almost 20 programme elements have already been announced. Find out more about the three highlighted sections in advance.

Lying still for three to six minutes in the small, impressive space of the MRI scanner. This is difficult for most children under the age of eight. That is why young children often go under anaesthesia when they get an MRI scan. At the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, there is a new MRI. Not a real one, but a practice MRI. The aim is thus to minimise anaesthesia and the practice MRI allows children to get used to the real MRI without anaesthesia.

On Saturday 20 July, the Falafel & Halloumi food truck on the Utrecht Science Park burned down. The food truck had been on the Utrecht Science Park for a long time and was popular. For owner Eid Alhadad, this is a huge loss and has a big impact. As Eid is keen to make a fresh start, he started a crowdfunding. Money is needed to rebuild the food truck and breathe new life into the business. Will you help?

From Monday 19 August to Sunday 1 September, the P-Cambridge car park will be closed. Earlier information only mentioned closure for one week: from 26 August to 1 September. This has now been extended to two weeks. If you want to park during this period, you can park in car park P-Olympos or the car park on Leuvenlaan.

On Wednesday 2 October 2024, Utrecht University is organising the sixth lecture of the Animales Foundation during the Utrecht Science Week. This year's speaker is Daniela Salvatori, professor of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology at Utrecht University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Want to learn more about animal-free innovations? Then visit this lecture.

On Wednesday, 7 August, a cooperation agreement was signed with the pediatric oncology center at the PMSI Institute of Oncology, Chisinau, Moldova. This was during a working visit to the Princess Máxima Center. The collaboration will include training and education of pediatric oncology professionals and improvements in the guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of children with cancer.

Irati Beltrán Hernández and Sebas Pronk have founded a startup together. They are currently developing a new treatment to cure cancer that has minimal side effects for the patient. They recently completed UtrechtInc's validation program, which specifically targets life sciences startups. Now they are working full-time on their startup, Lumox.

After three vibrant editions with more than 25 entrepreneurs, Utrecht Science Park Foundation, Municipality of Utrecht and ROM Utrecht Region will organize the summer edition of the U-Forward Life Sciences BreakFast on Tuesday, August 27. Join the breakfast session to exchange ideas and connect with other life sciences entrepreneurs from the Utrecht region, while enjoying a croissant and good coffee.

The current treatment of the side effects of immunotherapy in cancer must change. In fact, medication for these side effects has a negative impact on the effectiveness of the therapy, causing patients to live up to 1.5 times shorter. This is according to a study coordinated by researchers from the UMC Utrecht