CONTENT

Kolff Institute for Biomedical

Engineering and Materials
Science

Institute director
Prof.dr. Yijin Ren 1 Words from the director
Policy officer
Wya Kloppenburg 2 Editorial
Research program leaders
BIOBI 3 Issue theme
Prof.dr.ir. Henk J. Busscher
Dr. Paul C. Jutte
NANOBIOMAT 12 Kolff Days
Prof.dr. Andreas Herrmann
Dr. Patrick van Rijn
MOHOF 18 The People who are Kolff
Prof.dr. Henny J.A. Meijer
Dr. Prashant Sharma
REGENERATE
Prof.dr. Marco C. Harmsen
23 Recent theses within Kolff
Prof.dr. Sjoerd K. Bulstra

Founding director
24 Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine
Prof.dr.ir. Henk J. Busscher

Past director
Prof.dr. Henny C. van der Mei

Cover:
Words from the director
Prof.dr. Yijin Ren
Science and scientist, is the theme of the Very recently the mom of two toddlers
current issue. declared to NBC News that the idea of ba-
lance is antiquated, and wrote an article
It seems a matter of definition that a per- subtitled Why Balance is Bullshit. What
son successful in science is a successful she wrote made me wonder why it has
scientist. While science is a broad discipli- taken so long for someone influential to
ne with universal infinity, a scientist is abo- admit in public that work and life balance
ve all a human being with specific personal never truly existed, and why when someo-
traits. ne finally did, it went to the news headlines
as if it were a new discovery on this planet. Prof.dr. Yijin Ren
Nearly two centuries ago, Charles Darwin What annoyed me more was the fact that Director of the
said Alas, a scientific man ought to have following that news, more articles were po- W.J. Kolff Institute
no wishes, no affections a mere heart of sted by career women from different fields
stone. Recent studies seem to indicate describing their first-hand experiences tit-
the necessity of certain personality traits led Work-Life Balance Just Doesnt Exist or
of a scientist to be successful. Apart from a version of it.
the well-known general qualities one must
possess to succeed in anything at all, these Maybe its time to suspend the discussion
newly defined personality traits, ranging on whether such a balance ever did, does,
from arrogance, insensitivity, dominance should or will exist. Many men must strug-
to narcissism, do not at all sound char- gle in such a notion as much as women,
ming. To the opposite, it looks one has to though they may experience or cope with
turn himself into a rather unpleasant per- it differently. The question is why should
son in order to get close to successfulness. we idealize reality in the first place? Why
Merits such as charismatic, sympathetic, should we expect others or ourselves to
kind and gentle are being related to being be successful in different areas? Balance
weak, incompetent or unsuccessful. is never about how it looks like from the
outside, but how one performs her inner
Like in many other arenas, women in sci- calibration.
ence have often been studied as a separate
category. Today, many more women chose Things are the way they are because they
for a combination of career and family life. were the way they were, we hear Fred
A dedicated career-seeking woman stimu- Hoyle saying. If we let things the way they
lates automatically a general interest in her are, they will be the way they ought to be.
environment of her motherhood style or
domestic skills. 2017 june
Prof. Yijin Ren, Director W.J. Kolff Institute
for Biomedical Engineering and Materials
Science

W.J. Kolff Institute 1 newsletter June 2017

Editorial
Welcome to the 1st issue of 2017. In this issue we address career development and the challen-
ges faced from different perspectives. The issue that is before you provides reviews from articles
describing success stories in science, interviews with scientific staff, and opinions from the
editors.

Additionally, this issue will recap the exciting events at Kolff Days 2017, showcase recent
PhD-defenses and research highlights.

We hope that this issue will inform, inspire and make you think about how to be successful in a
scientific career. After reading the articles within, we aim to provide you with foresight to follow
a career path best suited for your personality and professional drive.

Kind regards,
The editorial board

Editorial board
Marieke van de Lagemaat (m.van.de.lagemaat@umcg.nl)
Alberto L. Llacua (l.a.llacua.carrasco@umcg.nl)
Jiapeng Hou (j.hou@umcg.nl)
Arjan Dieters (j.a.dieters@umcg.nl)
Brandon Peterson (b.w.peterson@umcg.nl)
Lu Yuan (lyuan@umcg.nl)

W.J. Kolff Institute 2 newsletter June 2017

Issue Theme
Reality makes the decision tough to be a
scientist
highlights of the Nature report on the salary and job satisfaction of
global scientists
Are you satisfied with your job as a scien-
tist? Have you heard any complaints from
your colleagues? Since the government
funding is flat and the competition for fun-
ding is extremely fierce in many nations,
scientists are worried about their future.
Recently, Nature has published a survey re-
port based on 3328 responses from scien-
tists around the world. Two thirds are satis-
fied with their current job. However, there
are still many complaints, within Europe
in particular, about the salary, job options
and prospects.
Empty pocket
Scientists from all research fields are com-
mitted to seeking for a better future for
human kind, whereas they have to accept
a low payment in return. One third of the
respondents are dissatisfied with their sa-
lary. Its pretty sad to see nearly 30% of the
senior scientists aged above 55 to have an
annual income lower than 50000 US dol-
lars. 30% of the 3292 full-time scientists
have annual income less than 30000 US
dollars, including not only post-doc and
researcher, but also associate professor
and even full professor. Only 6% have an-
nual income higher than 150000 US dol-
lars, an income that is pretty common in
many other professions. Scientists in Euro-
pe not only complain about the low salary,
but also suffer from the lowest salary rise
among all other investigated continents.
Only less than 40% scientists in Europe
report a salary rise last year, comparing to
W.J. Kolff Institute 3
two thirds scientists who enjoy a pay rise
in Asia and North America. The salary level
is slightly different between the research
fields. Those who work on health care and
clinical science enjoy a relatively high inco-
me, compare to the scientists in physics,
chemistry and engineering. While in terms
of gender, male is reported to have higher
average income than female, although it is
warned by the human-development rese-
archer that men tend to show high income
but female may express their feelings of
under-appreciation by giving low numbers.
The working-hours also has to be taken in
to account when comparing the salary be-
tween male and female because some wo-
men have to sacrifice their working hours
for housework and children care.
Pale future
The pessimism on job prospects also wi-
dely spread in Europe. Only around half
respondents feel fairy or positive for their
job prospects, in contrast to 58%, 68%
and 72% in North America, Asia and Afri-
ca. Comparing to the past generations of
scientists, more than 80% of respondents
in France, Italy and UK feel worse about
their job prospects, a percentage that is
tremendously higher than Asian countries
like India (30%) and China (29%).
newsletter June 2017
Issue Theme
Reality makes the decision tough to be a
scientist
Continued
The Italian scientist Luciana DApice com-
plains that the scientific support in Italy
is even worse than other European coun-
tries, resulting in a great loss of motivated
and brilliant young scientists for research
work. The scientist Alexander Merle in Ger-
many also feels depressed because it is too
difficult to get a permanent position even
when the candidate is qualified enough.
The German law even sets 12 years as a
limit for a scientific career (including PhD
project) in Germany without a permanent
position. Therefore, many scientists like
Alexander might have to leave academic
fields and find other jobs to do. The lack of
job security is a common problem in Euro-
pe, which kills scientists passion and force
them to leave science.
mend a science career. Because science
provides tremendous sense of satisfaction
in spirit, for those group of special people
who are willing to forget and neglect all the
pains. In this survey, the interesting work
itself and the sense of accomplishment
are the most important gains for most of
respondents. Other aspects like the work
environment, the autonomy and inde-
pendence also enhance the satisfaction.
Compared to the past year, nearly 40% res-
pondents feel an improved level of general
satisfaction in contrast to less than 30%
who feel worsened. Many successful scien-
tists would recommend science career be-
cause the gains outweigh the pains and
they just love so much the feelings of dis-
covering the mystery. But young scientists
still have to be careful when considering
science as a career because the competi-
tion for funding is going to be the biggest
challenge for their career progression and
they should love the competition.

Work-life unbalance
In order to survive in the fierce competiti-
on, 42% respondents report that they have
to sacrifice their work-life balance and one
third sacrifice their relationship. This pro-
blem worries some female scientists even
more because they feel bad when they
cannot spend enough time to take care
of their children. In this respect, marrying
a right guy is important for a female scien-
tist, just as mentioned by Marian Jols, the
dean of UMCG.

No pain no gain
Despite all the complains and sacrifices,
still two thirds of respondents are satisfied
with their job and 61% are willing to recom-
W.J. Kolff Institute 4 newsletter June 2017
Issue Theme
Women in Science
An interview with Ingrid Molema, professor of Life Sciences at University of Groningen/UMCG
and president of the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH) about equality of women
and men in science.
Why is a balance in number of men and Every year LNVH collects numbers from
women in science so important for University Medical Centers and Universities
science? with regard to gender ratios, for students,
Complexity requires different perspecti- assistant professors, associate professors
ves. All sciences have a certain extent of and full professors. From next year on we
prof. dr. Ingrid
complexity, no matter the subject. Com- will be reporting the numbers per faculty. Molema
plexity means that you have to look at the By this means, one will see that, for exam-
things from different points of views. Men ple, a faculty of science and engineering
and women are different. It is not only ge- with much less female students enrolling
nder diversity you would like to have in in the last decade cannot be forced to get
science, but also different cultural back- 30 % female full professors in the near fu-
grounds and socio/economic diversity. ture. While psychology with 70% female
Ideally we have a total package of peop- students for already a long time should be
le who look at the problem from all kinds able to reach a more equal gender distri-
of different perspectives. When you have bution for professors real quick. With reve-
such a diverse composition of your team, aling the gender problem per faculty I think
the chances of doing better research are we will have new means of supporting uni-
much bigger. versities to get new policies on board per
faculty. And if that doesnt work, then it
What can the government do to is time to finally go and ask for measures
stimulate gender equality? from the government, as a last resort. You
If all fails, they have to put quota on the should not punish the ones that do well,
percentage of women in academia. I feel, instead stimulate all to do (even) better.
though, that quota can be something that
will be very harsh on all the initiatives right When it is about the subject of gender
now that are out there in the Dutch univer- equality, many people often reply with
sities to get more highly qualified women the phrase: you do not want to be picked
on board. But in essence there could be because you are a woman, but because
pressure from the government onto all you are qualified. What is your opinion
our institutes, because we are government about this statement?
paid. They could say: If you do not manage Men and women are equally smart , know-
to attract and keep highly quality female ledgeable and skilled. Men get a better
academics in your institutes, then there chance to move up in the academic ranks.
will be financial consequences. So pressu- So the conclusion is that less compe-
re from the government to perform better tent men take up positions that could be,
could work, but I think right now it is not and should be filled by more competent
the time - yet. women. As long as men and women are
For more than 20 years we have a 50-50 equally smart, but the men have an easier
female/male undergraduate student ratio, route up, it is allowed by law to have spe-
and also since quite some years a close to cial programs on board like the Rosalind
even distribution of female/male PhD stu- Franklin Fellowship program to have the
dents, so you would expect that the ratio inequality counteracted. Be aware of the
of assistant professors would already be fact that the Rosalind Franklin Fellowship,
closer to 50-50 if the career path would be although you are only allowed to apply if
equal for women and men. you are a woman, is a fierce competition.
W.J. Kolff Institute 5 newsletter June 2017
Issue Theme
Women in Science
Continued
Last time we had 400 applications for 30
fellowships. These women are the hig-
hest competitive scientists you can think
of, they outcompete the men. Everybody
says that in academia it is meritocracy that
drives your chances, meaning what you
have achieved in life will determine your
career path. Well, meritocracy is a myth. I
understand that women want to be picked
because of quality, I want the same. In our
affirmative action programs you are picked
based on quality, if you dont qualify you
dont get the fellowship. Right now in regu-
lar competition you are not treated equally
to your male competitors, and until this si-
tuation is eliminated these affirmative acti-
on plans are needed.
You say the Netherlands is under deve-
loped in the gender equality issue. What
countries can be our example?
Scandinavian countries do a lot with re-
gard to building a family at the time you
also want to go up the career ladder in aca-
demia. So pregnancy leave and also paren-
tal leave is taken care of. Not only for the
women, but also for the men. While these
regulations are much better developed,
still for women it is often difficult to move
up the academic ladder in these countries.
This is because of the (implicit) bias we all
tend to have which drives us to think that
male leadership is more valuable than fe-
male leadership. So still in those countries
with good life-work balance regulations
there is still the problem of moving up for
women.
Do you feel or experience the effects of
implicit bias in your daily life?
Yes, I do. A while ago I was at a PhD de-
fense, we were with seven professors, six
were men and I was the only female. The
chairman was also a man. He addressed
the six men as professor and he addres-
sed me as Ingrid. Not once, but four times.
So I thought what to do? I called the man
and asked if we could sit down and talk. He
W.J. Kolff Institute 6
then apologized and thanked me for dis-
cussing it with him. So dont accuse people
of doing wrong, but just make them aware
of the fact that they are biased. Discussing
it makes people much more aware of this
implicit bias. I hear a lot of my female col-
leagues rightfully complain that they al-
ways have to be the ones to point out the
problem, while it actually is a problem of
all of us. I wish more men would be daring
enough stand up as well: just do it, be bold,
dont be afraid.
What is your personal motivation for
this topic?
What I see is that highly skilled women get
stuck in a system which is unfair. The num-
ber of women students increased in the
1970s and from the late 1980s on the ratio
of men and women students stabilized at
50-50. When I started to go to university in
the 1980s, I slowly became aware that I was
actually part of the change, that women en
masse started to study. What motivates me
is that I see female undergraduates, PhD
students, and also staff members, fighting
to get the same treatment as the men, but
it eats up so much energy. They are some-
times only fighting and do not have the
energy anymore to do the work that we are
hired for, to do high quality teaching and
high quality research. So if women experi-
ence these counterforces they dont have
the same opportunities to florish and to
contribute to the universitys main tasks.
What I find difficult to accept is that an in-
tellectual environment like a university is
not capable of allowing everybody to get
the same chance and have people develop
themselves to their best. It is a waste of hu-
man potential, money and energy.
Ingrids research group Endothelial Biomedicine & Vascular Drug
Targeting
newsletter June 2017
Issue Theme
Women in Science
Continued
Equality and equity. Can you explain
this figure when it comes to gender
equality?
I associate equality with similar chances
for men and women. Equity on the other
hand is associated with the value of peo-
ple, so my female perspective on how sci-
ence should be approached should weigh
equally to the perspective of men. Which is
not that you want me to be as my male col-
league but that you accept the fact that I
have a different view on matters, a different
way of looking at life, how to build a team,
how to teach, how to supervise a student
etcetera. One of the things that people still
say is that if you want to be successful as
a woman, in a university or in a company
for example, you need to act like a man.
I think equity is about women not beco-
ming men, but about women and men as
professionals being able to differently deal
with work related matters which is both va-
lued by our organizations .
Do you consider yourself as a role
model?
No, but a realize I am. Which is sometimes
difficult. Some people say I can be a little
millitant when I want to make a certain
point clear. But hey, a revolution without
militants is not happening, right? Some-
times you need a kind of millitant fighting
mode. I can shock people by just saying
what I think and sometimes that can be
a little offensive to particular people. I do
that because saying something in a friend-
W.J. Kolff Institute 7
ly way doesnt always hit home. Saying it
in a slightly offensive or shocking way ma-
kes people become agitated, which means
to me they heard what I said. This is not an
ideal role, but on the other hand, it shows
people to not be afraid to discuss difficult
matters. It is the balance of sometimes wis-
hing to get away from the role model role
and say what needs to be said and then be
the model academic professional again.
Do you have advice for our readers how
to deal with gender (in)equality?
Not only gender equality is important to
me, but equality in general. The number
of international students and colleagues
is increasing. Embrace this diversity and
make sure that everybody feels at home.
When growth for all people will be achie-
ved we will create a much better work en-
vironment for everybody. I work based on
four foundations: have respect for people,
provide high quality work, take up respon-
sibility, and be accountable for what you
do. I do that from the perspective that eve-
ry person has the right intentions. If you
feel someone is not doing the right thing or
you feel that something is not right, then
let respect for different view points drive
you into discussing what is bothering you
or worrying you. It is my biggest wish for
the organisation that we allow everybody,
woman,man, dutch, non-dutch, religious
or not , to get an equal and fair chance.
Hungry for more about this topic?
Visit these websites:
- http://crosstalk.cell.com/blog/how-can-scientific-pu-
blishers-combat-implicit-gender-bias
- http://magazine.sofokles.nl/magazine/door-
stroom-vrouwen-de-wetenschap/drie-succesfactoren/
- https://www.lnvh.nl/site/About-the-LNVH/Board-Bu-
reau/Ingrid-Molema
newsletter June 2017
Issue Theme
Narcissism and Science: The slippery slope of
advancement
Based on The Narcissistic Scientist by Bruno Lemaitre,
The Scientist October 1, 2016.
With thousands, if not millions, of scien-
tists competing worldwide for scientific
breakthroughs that can change the course
of society or the environment, it stands to
question how can a scientist get recogni-
zed? In Bruno Lemaitres essay, based on
his book An Essay on Science and Narcis-
sism he suggests that certain personality
traits may assist scientists in getting the
recognition, whether deserved or not at
the time, which then assist them to be able
to create noteworthy breakthroughs in the
future. He cites a Nobel Prize laureate,
Jacques Monod, as an example, but the-
re are many cases, and probably most of
the readers of this article know someone
who may fit part if not all of the personality
traits of Monod. This article will explore the
slippery slope of personality traits that led
Monod to his success against the possibili-
ties of exploitation and harmful effects to
the scientific community.
The first trait explored by Mr. Lemaitre,
was the unyielding need to be recognized
combined with a thirst for power. In his
quest, Monod sought out key personal re-
lationships to advance his career: the first
being his marriage to a well-connected
woman. While a marriage of convenience
is not uncommon, when that relationship
wasnt fulfilling enough for Monod, he
sought other extra-marital relationships
with key women to further his career, ac-
cording to Lemaitre. Most of us would con-
sider this to cross a barrier and consider
this behavior unacceptable, yet because of
the recognition he gained, he was able to
further his career, create scientific capital
which was then used to discover the ideas
W.J. Kolff Institute 8
leading to the Nobel Prize. THE EDITIORS
OF THIS NEWSLETTER DO NOT CONDO-
NE ANY EXTRA-MARITAL BEHAVIOR FOR
THE PURPOSES OF SCIENTNIFIC ADVAN-
CEMENT. That being said, networking in
a business atmosphere is highly advanta-
geous to promote your research and gain
name recognition.
The second trait explored in Monod was his
extreme self-confidence. To be a successful
scientist, you must have confidence and
believe in your work: if you cant believe in
your results, how can you convince others?
Yet, being overly self-confident yields blind
spots that can cause significant errors in
judgement. For example, take an adult
driver who has been driving for 20 years
without an accident. The driver becomes
overly confident in their ability to drive a
car that extra tasks are added while driving:
eating, texting, or even after small alcoho-
lic consumption. Sooner rather than later,
these tasks will interfere with the proper
operation of the car and an accident will
occur, that would not have occurred had
the focus stayed on task. In science, this
holds true with ideas that are certain to be
true, regardless of underlying data sugge-
sting otherwise. The non-supportive data
is dismissed as errors or random event and
the main idea is still pushed forward as
100% certain. Later, as the ideas develop
further, the underlying hypothesis may be
proven inaccurate, which could have been
foreseen by these dismissed data points.
Thus, it remains as it always has, that ob-
servations during experiments are critical
in formulating discussion points based on
the hypothesis tested.
newsletter June 2017
Issue Theme
Narcissism and Science: The slippery slope of
advancement
Continued
Lastly, a need for dominance was also de-
scribed as a personality trait. This is espe-
cially important when dealing with the po-
litics of science. Like it or not, the politics
of science dictate how science is practiced.
Having a dominant personality demon-
strates the desire to be the best, something
financiers greatly desire. Those with a do-
minant personality may use their positions
of power for merely personal benefit rather
than serving the community. If every suc-
cessful scientist were dominating in this
narcissistic manner, there would be little
collaboration, and very few scientific ad-
vances due to the cut-throat nature of the
scientific community. Thus, formulating a
team with different personalities creates a
great balance that allows opportunities for
financing, while maintaining the focus on
research that can serve the community or
the environment.
The Star Wars saga, Sith and Jedi are registered trademarks of Lucusfilm Industries currently owned by the Disney Corporation.
W.J. Kolff Institute 9
While self-serving personality traits seem
to aid the career advancement of scientists,
it is important to remember to keep them
in balance as to not create blind spots in
your work. For those familiar with the Star
Wars saga, a comparison could be made
to the Sith and the Jedi. The Sith were
known to be in a constant search for po-
wer, despite harm to others, while the Jedi
were always servant to others. The main
goal of the saga was to bring a balance to
the two sides, with neither side holding ab-
solute power. The same can be true of a
scientific team, a few dominant types are
required to procure financing for the team,
while the others can undergo key scientific
breakthroughs from the money, creating a
successful circle promoting more funding
opportunities.
newsletter June 2017
Issue Theme
Why women are under-represented in academic
medicine? Any solutions?
In the past but also nowadays, women are
under-represented in academic medicine.
Take USA as an example, women constitu-
ted 40% and 47% of admissions to medi-
cal schools in 1992 and 2013, respectively;
however, despite the increase percentage
of women faculty from 21% in 2004 to 28%
in 2014, gender equity in academic medici-
ne has not yet been achieved. There were
many concerns about the waste of intellec-
tual capital which would lead to a potenti-
al lack of diversity in research agenda and
future health practices.
Why was it that the entry to medical school
was nearly split between men and women,
but working in the field of academic me-
dicine were predominantly occupied by
men? The Oxford research group tried to
find explanations why women choose or
reject careers in academic medicine, based
on 52 studies published between 1985 and
20151. Eight potential themes were analy-
zed in these studies. Some of them were
found well supported by empirical eviden-
ce, whereas others despite being widely ci-
ted as reasons, lack decisive evidence.
There was no consistent evidence in sup-
port of four themes: women are less inte-
rested in research than men; women lose
commitment to research during their edu-
cation and training progress; women are
deterred from academic careers by financi-
al considerations and the concerns about
the work-life balance.
1
Edmunds, Laurel D., et al. Why do women choose
or reject careers in academic medicine? A narrative
review of empirical evidence. The Lancet 388.10062
(2016): 2948-2958.
W.J. Kolff Institute 10
But four other themes were consistently
supported by empirical evidence: women
are less interested in research than tea-
ching; exposure to the research can encou-
rage women into academic medicine; wo-
men lack adequate mentors and models;
women experience gender discrimination
and bias.
The study indicated that women are less
likely to take a serious consideration of re-
search career unless exposed to research
and positive model during their medical
education and training. Even those wo-
men who take up academic careers might
subsequently be discouraged and finally
abandon it, unless theyre positively sup-
ported. It is true that medical and research
training tends to coincide with most wo-
mens childbearing and early child-rea-
ring years and the gender roles within the
family might be changing, so the decisi-
on-making processes for women during
this period is likely to be extremely com-
plex. Interestingly, the study mentioned a
nationwide survey of US general surgeons
about the occupation of their spouse, 63%
of men reported their spouses as the pri-
mary childcare providers, compared with
only 5% of women.
newsletter June 2017
Issue Theme
Why women are under-represented in academic
medicine? Any solutions?
Continued
The researchers also considered several effect of encouraging women to enter and
specific measures to improve gender equi- remain in, an academic career.
ty in academic medicine. The researchers
found that female students and residents
at research-intensive medical schools are
more likely to retain strong interests in
research and careers in academic medi-
cine. But they thought that the faculty of
medical school might lack enthusiasm or
resources for supporting student research,
suggesting that both cultural change and
dedicated resources might be needed,
which could be beneficial to both genders,
especially to these women taking up aca-
demic medicine.

As women seem to be more interested in

teaching than research, the study sugge-
sted two ways to encourage and help wo-
men to step into and stay in academia. One
is to increase the status of teaching and al-
lowing greater crossover between teaching
and research; the other is to increase of in-
vestment in research and scholarship that
focuses on medical education and also to
encourage those who began their careers
by researching education to transfer sub-
sequently to other research fields.
The study also calls for medical schools
and teaching hospitals might consider the
induction of unconscious bias training and
addressing so-called stereotype threat by
promoting a more inclusive and suppor-
tive culture, to ensure that both genders
have an equal opportunity to become the
next generation of leaders and innovators
in academic medicine.

Also, some new family-friendly policies

that encourage men to share the child-care
role and strong job protection for women
returning to work, could have an indirect

W.J. Kolff Institute 11 newsletter June 2017

Kolff Days
Day 1: Sunday
Chair:
Yijin Ren

Lectures:
dr. Amir Zadpoor, TU Delft
prof. dr. Marian Jols, UMCG
The Kolff days 2017 started in the best wayThe second keynote speaker was Prof. dr.
possible. More than 70 people, of which 40 Marian Jols, Dean of the UMCG since Sep-
PhD students, participated to the Confe- tember 2016. She held a highly motivating
rence. The sunshine and the warm weather lecture and, in a remarkably humble man-
contributed to enhance an already enthu- ner, she shared with us the main stages,
siastic and friendly atmosphere, ideal for struggles and achievements of her out-
networking and for getting to know new standing career, while giving many advices
colleagues in the Kolff institute. Everybo-directed especially to young scientists. For
dy decided to enjoy the sunshine sitting example, she highlighted the importance
on the open deck of the ferryboat during of personal motivation and perseverance,
the trip to the Dutch island of Schiermon- as well as the ability to seek advice and to
nikoog and, since physical activity is a key
grab the chance to advance in a scientific
aspect for healthy ageing, many of us cho- career. Furthermore, she explained strate-
se to walk until the hotel situated in the vil-
gy and plans for the UMCG in the coming
lage of the island. years, encouraging all of us, as individual

research groups and as an institute, to fo-
After a delicious dinner at Hotel van der cus on the areas where we are excellent.

Werff, the 18th Kolff Conference started
with two brilliant keynote speakers. The
first was dr. Amir A. Zadpoor from the Fa-
culty of Mechanical, Maritime, and Materi- It is a great opportunity for me to know other
als Engineering, TUDelft. He fascinated us peoples project and the instruments in other labs.
with an inspiring lecture on meta-bioma- Maybe I could use them for my research someday.
terials, materials in which the geometry (first year PhD student)
influences the mechanical properties, and
how they can be employed for treating
bone defects and other skeletal diseases.
He demonstrated how 3D printing, mi-
cro-architecture and surface nano-pat-
terns could work synergistically to create
a perfect meta-biomaterial with tailored
mechanical properties.

W.J. Kolff Institute 12 newsletter June 2017

Kolff Days
Continued
Day 2: Monday
Chair:
Patrick van Rijn (Morning)
Paul Jutte (Afternoon)

Lectures:
Chao Ma, Ren Rozenbaum, Qihui Zhou, Monica Echeverry Rendon, Kirian van der Laan,
Casper van der Wal, Brandon Peterson, Keni Yang, Elzo de Lange, Flip Klatter,
Henk Busscher, Edwin de Jong, Yafei Luan, Yong Liu.
The nice sunshine and fresh air on Monday
morning gave everyone a great mood to
start a wonderful day. After breakfast, the
Kolff scientific director Prof. dr. Yijin Ren of-
ficially start the 21st Kolff conference. She
gave a general introduction of the Kolff
program this year and made a summary of
the development and achievement of Kolff
institute last year, in terms of the research
output, institute viability and teaching. We
should be happy for what weve done in
the past and eager for something more in
the future.
Then the floor was given to the PhD stu-
dents and Post-docs to present their nice
projects. Chao Ma firstly introduced us a
nice SUP as a glue for skin use with a strong
adhesion strength. This glue, consisting of
the supercharged elastin-like polypeptides,
are biocompatible, degradable, cleanable
and recyclable, and are thus potential in
cosmetic application. Then Rene Rozen-
baum told us how to treat the infections on
skin wounds by showing a synergy effect of
monolaurin lipid nanocapsules and anti-
microbial peptides on killing of Staphylo-
coccus aureus. But since the bacteria and
biofilms are always recalcitrance, Brandon
Peterson studied the effect of common
anti-biofilm treatment on biofilm residu-
als by measuring the bacterial vibrations.
He found that the combination treatment
of DNase and N-acetyl-L-cysteine could
lock the bacteria residue on the surface
with barely vibration. Then Monica Eche-
verry-Rendon diverted our attention from
bacteria to human cells. She developed a
magnesium-based stent to deliver thera-
peutic cells for healing of vascular lesions.
The problem of releasing hydrogen gas for
magnesium material was overcame by the
MgO/Mg(OH)2 coating with improved ad-
hesion and function of therapeutic stem
cells. As referred to cell adhesion and res-
ponse on biomaterials, Qihui Zhou sho-
wed a high-throughput screening platform
for cell response with gradient surface to-
pography. With this platform, they could
easily mimic and predict the response of
human bone stem cells on clinically rele-
vant biomaterials with gradient wrinkle
size. After cell adhesion and growth, we
started thinking about cellular aging. Kiran
van der Laan presented the fluorescent
nano-diamonds that were used to easily
detect the production and accumulation
of reactive oxygen species as an indicator
for cellular aging. At last, Keni Yang showed
us how to deliver molecules to the target
cell. She coated the liposome carrier with
protein nano-corona in order to recognize
the target cell and enhance the cell uptake
of the delivered molecules.

W.J. Kolff Institute 13 newsletter June 2017

Kolff Days
Continued
Day 2: Monday
Besides the talks from PhDs and post- The afternoon session started with a talk
docs, we were also glad to hear a detai- from Ing. Flip Klatter, the director of central
led introduction of the Zernike institute animal faculty. He introduced us the new
for advanced materials (ZIAM) from Prof. assessment procedure of the animal rese-
dr. Caspar van der Wal. He highlighted the arch proposal due to the newly introduced
ZIAM activities that drew attention in me- European directive in the Dutch legislation.
dical application, such as the 3D printing In this new situation, it became more com-
teeth with antimicrobial function from the plicated for researchers to get a licensee
group of Prof. dr. Andreas Hermann; the for animal experiments because the new
optical tweezers with viral assembly on idea was that no animal experiments were
trapped DNA/RNA from the group of Prof. allowed unless there was no alternative.
dr. Wouter Roos and the laser control and But Mr Klatter still gave us some good tips
probing of spins in silicon carbide from his for writing a successful project proposal.
own group. In the future, he expected more Then the floor was given to Prof. dr. Henk
collaboration between multidisciplinary Busscher who talked about the plagiarism.
group in a more open laboratory. The last He suggested us to copy-paste the mate-
talk in the morning session is given by Elzo rial & methods part and save the writing
de Lange from EmpowerMi. He taught us skills for the introduction and discussion. A
how to build a research collaboration with very useful tip was to give a reference after
the industries. Relying on a special data the sentence as explained before.
system, industrial companies were easy to
find and contact a suitable research group,
but the research group needed to contact
the right person if they wanted to start a
collaboration with an industrial company.
The research groups could not just wait

for invitations but they had to prepare a
list of relevant companies, understood the
research interests of those companies and
tried to contact the decision maker. Actually, I was surprised about the
Kolff meeting, very interesting. I quite
This year, the lunch on Monday seemed enjoyed it. Also, I got some useful
to taste even better because of the nice suggestion for my research.
weather. Everybody couldnt wait to walk (post-doc)
around the beautiful island and enjoy the
one and half hour free time after lunch.
Most of us chose to walk with our work-
shop group members so we could exchan-
ge our nice ideas that were inspired by the
nice sunshine and great view. Then we
went back to the conference hall to have a
pre-look of all the interesting posters befo-
re afternoon session started.

W.J. Kolff Institute 14 newsletter June 2017

Kolff Days
Continued
Day 2: Monday
The last three talks were all from PhD stu-
dents. Edwin de Jong presented an effec-
tive trans-endothelial drug delivery system
across the blood brain barrier by using GMI
targeted biodegradable polymersomes as
the drug carrier. Yafei Luan studied the ef-
fect of surface roughness on the race bet-
ween bacteria and human cells. By adjus-
ting the surface roughness, human cells
could survive in the cell-bacteria co-cul-
ture even when the concentration of the
bacteria suspension was 10 times higher
than the clinical condition. Yong Liu sho-
wed a photodynamic antimicrobial thera-
py to overcome the multidrug resistance of
bacteria. He used light-activatable micelle
to kill bacteria by releasing reactive oxy-
gen species when activated. The micelle
could penetrate staphylococcal biofilms
and showed high killing efficiency in mice
in vivo experiments.
To be honest, it is quite good, but
Im a little bit tired
(First year PhD student)
W.J. Kolff Institute 15
The next part was the poster session. As
usual, those who didnt have any poster
just walked around to study the poster that
they were interested, and the poster pre-
senters explained their nice work to their
own audience and answered the difficult
questions. The posters this year were all
clear and nicely designed with high quality.
The discussion was pretty warm and every-
body enjoyed in learning with each other.
One hour seemed to be still too short.
After a tasty dinner, all the workshop
groups started to be serious in discussing
their project design, searching for the sup-
porting references, making slides and pre-
paring to convince the jury. They all wor-
ked late at night with high passion and
concentration. Those who still didnt want
to go to bed after the exciting discussion
went to the toxic bar to enjoy the Monday
night tradition of the Kolff conference.
The most exciting part is the work-
shop, not only the interactions be-
tween team members but also the
questions from other groups.
(Junior researcher)
newsletter June 2017
Kolff Days
Continued
Day 3: Tuesday
Chair:
Sjoerd Bulstra
Henny van der Mei (Afternoon)

Lectures:
Leonie Los, Isabelle Degors, Matheus Ramos, Aldy Aliyandi, Vincenzo Terlizzi, Maria Pihl,
Derly Tescaro Narcizo de Oliveira, Jiapeng Hou, Xenos Petridis, Gabriel Liguori,
Simon hemlaar
The final day of Kolff Days started with
the keynote lecture given by Dr. Leonie
Los from Department of Ophthalmology.
She shared us with the important effects
of collagen structure on vitreo-retinal pa-
thology. The following wonderful presen-
tations focus on gene or stem cell therapy,
nanotechnology and antibacterial materi-
als. After all presentations in the morning,
the most exciting and cheerful moment,
Yijin announced the award winners before
lunch. This year, two female PhD student,
Mnica Echeverry-Rendon and Valentina
Vignali won the Best PhD student Oral Pre-
sentation Award and Best PhD student Pos-
ter Presentation Award, respectively.
possibly lead to failure. The most interes-
ting part was the game between the tricky
questions and smart answers, both of
which were the real winner of applauses
and cheers. The final decision for inves-
tors was quite hard, the final winner was
group six with the project SUPer gene the-
rapy followed by group four with the pro-
ject If you cant kill it, let it go.
We left the island Schiermonnikoog by fer-
ry at 16.30; Surprisingly, there were seals
sitting on the beach, also a Piranha flying
in the sky. What a happy ending for Kolff-
Day this year! See you next year April 15-17!

After two-night teamwork, all six groups al-

ready had their perfect project and were
ready for the battle. First, there was one
group member to introduce the project
that based on clinical questions, how to
solve it and the significance of the project.
Only the best project could get the big
prize from these investors. The competi-
tion was quite fierce, teams were requi-
red to not only answer the questions from
these investors but also the questions
from their competitors, one mistake could

W.J. Kolff Institute 16 newsletter June 2017

Kolff Days
Continued
Photos

I was so happy during the Kolff

meeting! The most exciting part was
the battle, a lot of fun. Its a great
idea to bring us together!
(post-doc)

I have been the meeting for almost
15 years, and the best thing is that
the program is always improving!
(senior researcher)

W.J. Kolff Institute 17 newsletter June 2017

The people who are
Kolff
Introduction
drs. L. Yang, PhD student
Hello, everyone! My name is Liangliang Yang
and I come from Hebei province, China. I star-
ted my PhD from 1st January, 2017 under the
supervision of Professor Henk J.Busscher and
Dr. Patrick van Rijn. My PhD project is to study
the mechanism of double gradient biointer-
faces for cell-biomaterial interaction. It is well
known that stiffness and topography of bioma-
terial have an important impact on cell behavi-
ors and the differentation of stem cells. So our
purpose is to find the best suitable parameter
to drive stem cell differentation into specific
cell types.
I got my masters degree in Donghua Universi-
ty of Shanghai and majored in biological che-
mistry and molecular biology. I focused on the
preparation of scaffolds and stem cell differen-
tation in the past three years, so the research
drs. V. Vignali, PhD student
Hi!
I am Valentina Vignali and at the beginning of
this year I have started my PhD on virus-poly-
mer hybrids at the department of Biomedical
Engineering, under the supervision of Dr. Pa-
trick van Rijn.
I was born in Ferrara a small city in the North
East of Italy and I have studied there and in
Bologna Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotech-
nology. After the Masters I have continued to
work on my thesis project investigating the
behavior of the prion protein, etiological agent
of spongiform encephalopathies, from a biop-
hysical point of view.
W.J. Kolff Institute 18
of now have a close relationship with before.
During the past three months, I learned a lot
about the research methods and instruments
with the help of my colleagues, and many
thanks to you from my heart.
The people here are very nice and I like them. drs. Liangliang
Yang
Groningen is a beautiful city full of tradition
and energy. For myself, I am an outgoing and
humorous person and I like to make friends
with other people. In my spare time, I like to
play basketball and table tennis. I hope to have
a wonderful experience here.
During my studies I have always been attracted
by viruses as customizable tools for therapeu-
tic applications and finally I got the chance to
work on them during my PhD here. The aim of
my research is to increase the effectiveness of
bacteriophage treatment in humans but I will
probably use viruses for other interesting pur- drs. Valentina
Vignali
poses. I will let you know.
What about myself? I like running in the coun-
tryside and searching for beautiful landscapes
to photograph and I love to spend sunny days
at the sea.
newsletter June 2017
The people who are
Kolff
Introduction
drs. X. Ren, PhD student
My name Xiaoxiang Ren. I have become a Ph.
D student from Oct 1st under the supervision
of Professor Henk J. Busscher in Biomedical
Engineering department of UMCG.
I studied in the Chinese medicine in Guang-
zhou University of Chinese medicine from
September 2009 to July 2013. In the same year
after my graduation from university, I joined
lab under supervision of Professor Xudong Li
at the National Biomaterial Engineering Rese-
arch Center of Sichuan University as a master
student of pharmaceutic. My master project
was about hybrid hydroxyapatite nanoparti-
cles for the drug delivery application and an-
ti-cancer therapy.
W.J. Kolff Institute 19
After that, I have received the scholarship
from CSC to financially support me do the PhD
project at the University of Groningen in the
group of prof. Henk. Now, my research mainly
focus on the co-culture of HGF cells and HOK
cells with the challenge of bacterial and den-
tal material. I think it is really meaningful to the drs. Xiaoxiang Ren
oral clinic research.
In my free time, I am fond of travelling, reading
and cooking, if you have the same interests,
you can contact me and we can enjoy the wor-
ld together.
newsletter June 2017
The people who are
Kolff
Introduction
drs. Matheus Ap. S. Ramos, PhD Student and Guest resear-
cher
Hello Kolff People!
My name is Matheus Aparecido dos Santos
Ramos, a PhD Student from Brazil (So Paulo
State University - UNESP) doing my research
internship at Department of Biomedical Engi-
neering. In January 2017 I started a new jour-
ney in my academic carrier as a guest resear-
cher at BME Department under supervision of
Prof. dr. Henk J. Busscher and Prof. dr. Henny
Van der Mei, in this sense, since this special
date I am a Kolff people.
Since my undergraduate school in Pharma-
cy (2009-2012) I am an integrant in research
groups to discover new therapeutic agents
from natural products, such as the medicinal
plants and their applications. During my mas-
ters degree (2013 - 2015), in Pharmaceutical
Sciences, we principal objective was to in-
vestigate the antifungal potential of a vegetal
extract to employ in the vulvovaginal candi-
diasis treatment. According to positive results
obtained in the Masters project, the research
drs. A. Morita, PhD student
My name is Aryan Morita. I come from Yogya-
karta, a small city in the center of Java, Indo-
nesia. Since November 2016 I started my PhD
under supervision of Dr. Romana Schirhagl. Im
a dentist and got my bachelor and master de-
gree from Universitas Gadjah Mada, the oldest
state university in Indonesia. During my PhD,
I plan to use nanodiamond particles which
W.J. Kolff Institute 20
have been continued in the Doctorate project,
and since 2015 we are studying the compositi-
on and the application of a natural derivative
in the fungal vaginal infections and fungal bio-
films control using nanotechnological phar-
maceutical formulations to improve the anti-
microbial potential. drs. Matheus
Aparecido dos
Santos Ramos
Without any question, this is the best experi-
ence in my academic career. The possibility
of working side-by-side with important rese-
archers who seek improvements for humanity
is simply a gift to me! To be a Kolff person
is having the opportunity to experience and
participate daily in the routine of an amazing
research center that seeks improvements for
the human being.
For myself, the experience to live in the Nether-
lands, especially the direct contact with BME
Department and the UMCG brought to me
many especial things, such as new friends the
opportunity to learn something new every day!
function as magnetic resonance sensing pro-
be into the cell. By following the particles and
measure at different locations and times I want
to reveal where free radicals are generated un-
der which circumstances in an aging cell.
Im easy going, like to make friends, and little
bit quiet. I do love cat, so you can find me in
cat caf Groningen especially after finishing
drs. Aryan Morita
newsletter June 2017
The people who are
Kolff
Introduction
drs. Damla Keskin, PhD Student
My name is Damla Keskin and I am a PhD stu-
dent working at the Department of Biomedi-
cal Engineering together with Patrick van Rijn,
Henny van der Mei and Henk Busscher. The
subject of my project is preparation of ionic-li-
quid polymer brushes as antifouling surfaces. I
will be here for the next 4 years.
I studied my M.Sc. degree in Graduate School
of Chemistry, Biology and Physics (Ecole Na-
tionale Suprieur de Chimie de Biologie et
de Physique-ENSCBP) at Bordeaux Institute
of Technology in the field of Polymer Design
and Formulation in France. I carried out my in-
ternship for my M.Sc. thesis preparation at In-
stitute of Polymer Research in Helmholtz-Zen-
trum Association in Hamburg, Germany. The
main focus of my work for my thesis was func-
W.J. Kolff Institute 21
tionalization of the surfaces of the membranes
by using surface-initiated ARGET ATRP with
the hydrophilic monomers in order to enhan-
ce the membrane characteristics. Previously,
I completed four years B.Sc. degree in the De-
partment of Chemistry at Istanbul Technical
University (ITU) in Turkey. drs. Damla Keskin
I really like to live in Groningen so far, such a lo-
vely city. Besides, I love travelling and reading.
I am feeling so lucky about the group mem-
bers in BME, all the people are very nice and
positive. I am so sure that I will enjoy working
together.
newsletter June 2017
The people who are
Kolff
Introduction
drs. Y. Wu, PhD student
Hello! Im Yanyan Wu and I come from China. I
am doing my PhD studies at UMCG under the
supervision of Professor Yijin Ren, Professor
Henny van der Mei and Professor Henk Bus-
scher.
I hold a masters degree in chemistry and stu-
died nanoscience & technology. When I was a
graduate student, I was amazed by the diffe-
rent properties of nanomaterials and curious
about their bioapplications. It is fantastic as
we can investigate complicated biological and
biomedical processes through nanotechno-
logy that are hard to access with conventional
approaches.
drs. A. Forson, PhD student
My name is Abigail Forson. I was born and rai-
sed in Kumasi, which is one of the main cities
in Ghana. Before moving to Groningen, I lived
in Belgium where I completed both my ba-
chelor and master studies in biochemistry and
biotechnology at the University of Leuven. My
experience in Leuven birthed my interest in
innovative research which is one of the main
focus of the UMCG.
W.J. Kolff Institute 22
During my PhD, I will focus on the synthesis of
antibacterial nanocomposites for clinical ap-
plications. This project is very meaningful to
me, as I believe that to do research is to make
it capable of being used in real life and benefi-
cial to people, so I think I have figured out what
I like.
drs Yanyan Wu
I am glad to continue my research studies in
Groningen, to be exposed to different cultures,
to learn how to communicate with people who
have different backgrounds, and to develop
and grow as a person. Here there are so many
beautiful reasons to be happy, the beautiful
city, friendly and enthusiastic colleagues, and
the work that I really want to do. I enjoy my life
every day!
At the moment, I am working on a project
that aims to understand the three-way relati-
onship between neutrophils, staphylococcal
nuclease and biofilms on different substrates.
This project is part of the ALERT-COFUND PhD
programme and under the supervision of Prof.
Henny Van der Mei and Dr. Jelmer Sjollema.
drs. Abigail Forson
I love my job at the UMCG and I look forward
to achieving every one of my set goals. Due to
its beauty, I adore the city of Groningen, but on
dry and sunny days, I totally fall in love with it.
newsletter June 2017
Recent theses within
W.J. Kolff Institute
dr. C. Jensen-Louwerse

Implant-supported removable partial

dentures in the mandible
Conventional removable partial dentures
(RPD) in a free-ending situation in the
lower jaw (i.e. only front teeth left) have
a poor reputation. Several problems like
discomfort and functional problems are
frequently encountered, resulting in dis-
satisfied patients and desperate dentists.
By supporting the RPD by implants, good
results were reported by other researchers
as we started our clinical trial, be it based
on weak scientific evidence.
In our randomized cross-over clinical trial
several aspects of distal extension im-
plant-supported removable partial den-
tures in the mandible were investigated.
Clinical , radiographical as well as func-
tional aspects and patient-based outcome
measures were obtained and related to
different implant positions within each
patient: more to the front or further to the
back of the lower jaw. This concept was
unique and innovative. In addition cost-ef-
fectiveness and the radiographical inter-
pretation of bone volume were studied.
In general it is concluded that patients
are well served with an implant-suppor- dr. Charlotte
Jensen-Louwerse
ted RPD, regardless of implant-position.
Implant-support resulted in a significant
improved chewing ability, oral health rela-
ted quality of life and patient satisfaction
with stable clinical and technical conditi-
ons. Based on the preference of patients,
the implants should be placed more to
the back, but from a clinical point of view
it is wise to place the implants directly
behind the last remaining natural teeth.
The cost-effectiveness is determined and
dependent on the willingness of the payer
to invest. Panoramic radiographs suffice
in most of the cases for the evaluation of
implant placement in the lateral parts of
the lower jaw.

Defended
19th April 2017

Promotors
prof. dr. M.S. Cune
prof. dr. H.J.A. Meijer
prof. dr. G.M. Raghoebar

W.J. Kolff Institute 23 newsletter June 2017

Are you interested in CARDIOLOGY and do you have no plans for the first week of July? Do you want to learn about the
newest techniques in this field? Then join us!

The Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Summer School is a one-week interactive school for advanced undergraduate,
master and PhD students who want to learn about the complexities of regenerative medicine in cardiovascular biomedi-
cal research.

When: from 2nd to 10th July 2017

Where: Groningen, The Netherlands
APPLY BEFORE 1st of May 2017

Visit our website and apply: http://www.rug.nl/research/gradschool-medical-sciences/summerschools/cavarem/?lang=en

Or contact us directly: summerschoolcavarem@rug.nl
Like out Facebook page for the latest updates: https://www.facebook.com/CaVaReM/

W.J. Kolff Institute 24 newsletter June 2017

W.J. Kolff Institute 25 newsletter June 2017
W.J. Kolff institute was
founded in 1998
After the passing in 2009 of Prof. W.J. Kolff, in-
ventor of the artificial kidney and many other
biomedical devices, his relatives have allowed
us the exclusive right to carry his name.
We believe this is a sign of recognition of our
quality an will be a stimulus for our students and
staff.

About our logo

The W.J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Enginee-
ring and Materials Science rebuilds the human
body once it is beyond natural repair. Bees are
the busy animals strongly associated with buil-
ding. Moreover, bees know how to work together
in an efficient way. There the bee was chosen as a
symbol for the institute. The four cells in the logo
not only refer to the constructions made by bees,
but also represent the four research programs
of the institute. The bee and the cells together
constitute a logo that encompasses the multidis-
ciplinary nature of the institute, from biology to
constructing.

WJKI-news is a publication of Edditorial address:

the W.J. KOLFF INSTITUTE Hanzeplein 1 / BB72
9713 GZ Groningen
June 2017 Kolff-office@med.umcg.nl
Issue 68 +31 50 361 0131
www.kolff-umcg.nl

W.J. Kolff Institute newsletter June 2017