Currently, we have several projects regarding disease modeling in patient-derived bladder cancer organoids. We focus on two different types of bladder cancer: non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). In general, we aim to investigate drivers of therapeutic resistance and find potential targets to increase therapeutic response.
We aim to investigate these responses by focussing on both the molecular and cellular aspects of cancer cells and their interaction with the tumor micro-environment (TME).
Investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying resistance to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy to identify determinants of treatment response using an advanced co-culture model of patient-derived bladder cancer organoids and BCG.
People working on the project
Dr. Maryam Akbarzadeh – Senior Scientist
Anneke Power, MSc – PhD Candidate
Sander Versteeg, MSc – PhD Candidate
Investigating the role of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in promoting disease progression in NMIBC using advanced patient-derived organoids.
People working on the project
Dr. Maryam Akbarzadeh – Senior Scientist
Mitchell Olislagers, MSc – PhD Candidate
Sander Versteeg, MSc – PhD Candidate
Investigating how cellular dynamics and cell-cell interactions shape therapeutic response in bladder cancer through live-cell imaging of immune cell and CAF migration and characterization of interaction-induced changes in cellular states and cancer cell behaviour.
People working on the project
Dr. Maryam Akbarzadeh – Senior Scientist
Anneke Power, MSc – PhD Candidate
Sander Versteeg, MSc – PhD Candidate
Therapeutically exploiting chromatin modifiers highly mutated in bladder cancer to assess and compare tumor-specific responses and drug sensitivity with molecular features.
People working on the project
Dr. Maryam Akbarzadeh – Senior Scientist
Anneke Power, MSc – PhD Candidate
Developing a novel MIBC patient-derived organoid model as a predictive tool for patients who will benefit from POC or immunotherapy.
People working on the project
Dr. Maryam Akbarzadeh – Senior Scientist
Anneke Power, MSc – PhD Candidate
Isabelle Kivits, MD – PhD Candidate
Evaluating novel and clinically established therapies targeting FGFR alterations in bladder cancer to identify effective treatment strategies for patients with FGFR-driven disease.
People working on the project
Dr. Maryam Akbarzadeh – Senior Scientist
Mitchell Olislagers, MSc – PhD Candidate
Sander Versteeg, MSc – PhD Candidate
