TU Delft: Convergence brings together investment of 60 million for future-proof healthcare
Ten Flagship projects of the Convergence, the strategic collaboration of TU Delft, Erasmus MC and Erasmus University Rotterdam, will conduct research aimed at future-proofing healthcare. The Flagships together receive 20 million euros from the Convergence Health & Tech program. Collaboration with public and private parties will add over 40 million euros.
Stefan Sleijfer, president of Erasmus MC, kicked off the Flagships on Wednesday, July 6, at the Convergence Square, the specially created innovation hub in Rotterdam. The investment in joint research is a solid step forward in the collaboration between the three institutions. Hundreds of scientists and dozens of societal stakeholders are joining forces to find innovative solutions to problems facing healthcare.
Sleijfer: “With this impulse, the Health & Tech program of the Convergence has made a flying start. With the Flagships, we contribute to better outcomes and care for patients, a healthier population, the sustainability of our care and to global innovation. This is much needed, given the major challenges we face in healthcare such as an increasing demand for care in a tight labor market and limited resources.’
Tim van der Hagen, Rector Magnificus and Chairman of the Executive Board of TU Delft, underlines the importance of the Flagships: ‘With more than 250 scientists involved and 37 partners, we are opening a frontal solution attack on the problems in healthcare.’
Ed Brinksma, chairman of the Executive Board of Erasmus University Rotterdam, points to the positive effects of the collaboration for the region. ‘This is a great example of how we want to improve the future of healthcare through intensive cooperation between technical, social and medical sciences. This is the only way we can solve these kinds of major issues together. We are giving a major impulse to public health and the economy of Rotterdam and Delft.
Durability
Healthcare faces complex problems. An increasing demand for care and an extremely tight labor market are putting the sustainability of our health care system to the test. To make healthcare future-proof, upscaling is necessary. That’s what Convergence is doing,’ says Floris Italianer, director of Convergence. ‘With ten Flagship programs, Delft and Rotterdam are jointly developing solutions, for example in the field of prevention, innovation programs in the organization of care and as rapid reintegration of patients.’
The Flagship projects were chosen from 36 proposals submitted by mixed teams of researchers from the three institutions. The submissions were reviewed by an international panel of scientists. Projects that were not selected in the first round will be considered for the next round, and other ways to support these initiatives will be explored.
About Convergence
Convergence is the collaboration between TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC. With the Flagships, a core scientific program is set up to develop and strengthen the scientific Convergence Health & Technology community.
New scientific knowledge and technologies are necessary to make public health future-proof. Human behavior plays a crucial role in this process. This requires a merging, or convergence, of a wide range of disciplines. Only by harnessing the medical and health sciences, the life sciences, the technical and data sciences, the social sciences and the humanities, can we succeed in making our health care system future-proof.
Projecten
Tien Flagship projecten ontvangen van Convergence Health & Tech een startsubsidie van 2 miljoen euro. De projecten staan hieronder vernoemd. Op de Convergence website zijn de publiekssamenvattingen te lezen.
Integrative Neuromedicine (IN)
Onderwerp: Neurodegeneratieve ziekten
Daan Brinks, TU Delft; Zhenyu Gao, Erasmus MC en Maren Wehrle, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam.
Proactive Technology-supported prevention and Mental Health in adolescence (Protect ME)
Onderwerp: Geestelijke gezondheid jeugd
Loes Keijsers, Erasmus Universiteit; Manon Hillegers, Erasmus MC en Willem-Paul Brinkman, TU Delft
Convergence Imaging Facility and Innovation Centre (CIFIC)
Onderwerp: Innovatie bio-beeldvorming
Jacob P. Hoogenboom, TU Delft; Adriaan B. Houtsmuller, Erasmus MC en Murat Tarakci, Erasmus Universiteit
Healthy Joints
Onderwerp: Gezonde gewrichten
Sita Bierma-Zeinstra, Erasmus MC; Jaap Harlaar, TU Delft en Inge Merkelbach, Erasmus Universiteit
Organ Transplantation: making unsuitable donor organs suitable
Onderwerp: Orgaanperfusie ten behoeve van b.v. transplantatie
Jan N.M.IJzermans, Erasmus MC; Pim French, TU Delft en Esther de Bekker-Grob, Erasmus Universiteit
Consultation Room 2030 – Continuity of care from hospital to home
Onderwerp: Digitale technologieën in de spreekkamer
Joke Hendriks, Erasmus MC; Richard Goossens, TU Delft en Kees Ahaus, Erasmus Universiteit
A Lifecourse and Individual-based View on Lifestyle to Enhance Health (ALIVE)
Onderwerp: Leefstijlinterventies
Annemarie Luik, Erasmus MC; Jos Kraal, TU Delft; Trudy Voortman, Erasmus MC en Bram Wouterse, Erasmus Universiteit
Personalized, Real-Time Health Impact of Climate Change and Pollution
Onderwerp: Effecten van omgevingsstress op het individu
Alina Rwei, TU Delft; Pilar Garcia-Gomez, Erasmus Universiteit en Hok Bing Thio, Erasmus MC
Convergence in a dish: Individualized CELLular models of disease diversity in the population
Onderwerp: Geïndividualiseerde celmodellen
Joyce van Meurs, Erasmus MC; Joana Gonçalves, TU Delft en Ken Redekop, Erasmus Universiteit
Convergence Human Mobility Center
Onderwerp: Thuisrevalidatie na beroerte
Gerard Ribbers, Erasmus MC; Jane Cramm, Erasmus Universiteit en Laura Marchal-Crespo, TU Delft