Open Competition Science-M grants for Krushynska and Dekker

Two researchers of the Faculty of Science and Engineering have been awarded an Open Competition Science-M1 grant from the Dutch Research Council (‘Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – NWO’). Dr. Anastasiia Krushynska of the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG) has been awarded a grant for her project ‘Exploring material-architecture relations in additively manufactured polymer metamaterials’. Dr. Frank Dekker of the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy (GRIP) receives the grant for his project ‘Breaking therapy resistance in for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)’.

M1 grants have an amount of around EUR 360,000 and are intended for realizing curiosity-driven, fundamental research of high quality and / or scientific urgency.

Dr. Frank Dekker (GRIP) | Breaking therapy resistance in for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

The current therapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) suffers from development of therapy resistance. Cancer cells responsible for development of therapy resistance reside in the bone marrow in a low oxygen environment. Dekker aims to develop a novel therapeutic strategy in which therapeutics are activated by low oxygen concentrations and trigger degradation of proteins that enable survival of cancer cells, which will enable eradication of cancer cells that are resistant to chemotherapy, which will postpone or abolish relapse into cancer progression.

Dr. Anastasiia Krushynska (ENTEG) | Exploring material-architecture relations in additively manufactured polymer metamaterials

Elastic metamaterials – rationally designed composites with exceptional dynamic properties – are highly needed in many industrial, medical, and other applications. They enable, for instance, acoustic or heat cloaking, high-resolution ultrasound imaging, or attenuate vibrations, low-frequency noise, and even seismic waves. However, their practical use is scarce due to insufficient knowledge about material-structure interplay. This project aims at filling in this gap by studying the properties of 3D-printed polymer elastic metamaterials. It will enable commercial applications of the metamaterials and, on a broader scale, a better understanding of mechanical characteristics of 3D-printed polymers that currently constitute about 80% of all 3D-printed solutions in multiple sectors.