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Twenty-two researchers from Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� (UU), the ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht), and the Princess Máxima Center (PMC) have each been awarded a Vidi grant worth up to €850,000. The Vidi grants are awarded annually by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and enable talented, experienced researchers to develop their own innovative research lines and further expand their research groups over the next five years. This year, NWO awarded a total of 149 Vidi grants to researchers across the Netherlands.

Eighteen of the 22 Utrecht-based Vidi grants have been awarded to researchers at Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��: seven at the Faculty of Science, six at the Faculty of Humanities, two each at the Faculty of Geosciences and the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Governance, and one at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. In addition, two researchers at UMC Utrecht and two researchers at the Princess Máxima Center received a Vidi grant.

Read more below about the Vidi research projects awarded to Utrecht-based researchers (listed alphabetically by faculty), or view the full list of awarded Vidi projects in the .

Faculty of Science

Dr. Dorota Kawa: Patterns of Stress Resilience: Beneficial Microbes Tailoring Root Cells

Climate-proof plants must be resilient to a broad range of stresses. In this project, we study how certain soil-borne bacteria shape crop roots to help them better withstand different types of stress.

Soil-inhabiting microbes can induce changes in root cells that lead to the formation of layers that can protect a plant from drought, floods and pests. We will study which set of microbes is required for best-protected roots and how we can strengthen their interactions with crops. This knowledge will help developing “root probiotics”, making crops resilient to harsh environments.

Dr. Matteo Monai: Good Vibes – Stimulating catalysis through vibrations

I am honored and excited to get started on my VIDI grant. The project allows us to study the puzzling, exciting phenomena we observed when applying mechanical vibrations to catalysts.

Catalysts are key to a greener chemical industry, as they accelerate chemical reactions and can lower overall energy consumption. However, their performance is limited under steady conditions. This research explores a new approach to boost catalysis, using dynamic stress to stretch catalysts at high frequencies (100–1000 Hz). 

The team has recently proven that catalytic activity for hydrogen production increased by a factor of 30 using this method. In this project, the researchers aim to understand how the stimulation works, and how it affects catalysts selectivity and stability in CO₂ conversion reactions key for the green chemistry transition.

Dr. Paige Randall North: Proof assistants, made to order

There is a revolution in the making in mathematics: adoption of computer proof assistants promises to change the practice of mathematics and perhaps the very mathematics that is possible. This project will help bring about that future.

Many of the scientific and engineering marvels that make up our modern world rely on the correctness of the underlying mathematics. As mathematics grows increasingly complex, better verification methods become essential. We will develop mathematical foundations for software, called a proof assistant, that automatically verifies the correctness of mathematics. 

This theoretical groundwork aims to support the development of more effective verification tools tailored to particular mathematical contexts. Our work will help bring about a future in which the complexity of the mathematics that can be developed is not limited anymore by the capacity of the human brain.

Dr. Tim Ophelders: Algorithmic foundations of Geometric Network Similarity

This grant will enable me to develop methods for tracking networks. I expect that geomorphologists will be able to use these methods in the near future for the analysis of rivers.

Networks in fields like biology, geology, and logistics evolve geometrically over time. Existing methods struggle to efficiently track changes caused by external factors, especially when they disrupt the existing structure of a network. This research aims to address these challenges by creating context-aware similarity measures for tracking networks, enabling better monitoring for applications like infrastructure maintenance.

Dr. Daniel Tamarit: Blueprints of the third domain: deciphering archaeal genome organisation at the advent of eukaryogenesis

Archaea are a major branch of life that remains poorly understood. We will study their genomes to help uncover how complex life evolved.

All multicellular life is composed of nucleated cells (eukaryotes), which originated from a group of Archaea, one of the three domains of life. These archaea had large and complex genomes, and insights into how their genomes evolved are key to comprehend the emergence of complex life. In this project, researchers will study the evolution of genomes in the entire archaeal domain. The team will use phylogenomics and large-scale evolutionary genomics to understand the architecture of archaeal genomes and their underlying mechanisms, altogether illuminating the origins of the complex genomes in the archaeal ancestors of eukaryotes.

Dr. Arnaud Thevenon-Kozub: Rethinking Plastics: Designing Future-Ready Polymers for a Circular Economy

This project gives us the opportunity to redesign plastics from the start, making them easier to reuse, recycle and become part of a truly circular polymer economy.

Plastics have become essential in everyday life, from packaging to electronics, yet most were never designed with end-of-life management in mind. Chemist Arnaud Thevenon-Kozub aims to change that. In his Vidi project, he develops innovative catalysts that give precise control over how the most common plastics, known as polyolefins, are built at the molecular level. By incorporating just enough CO2 as a special “weak links” within the polyolefin chains, materials can retain polyolefin-like properties while gaining important new advantages. These materials can be more easily recycled and reused, without losing their valuable properties. Ultimately, this Vidi project aims to close the loop on persistent plastics by enabling the design of polymeric materials that are circular by design.

Dr. Lisa Tran: Tough and vibrantly colored biomaterials through defect design of cellulose nanocrystals

Nature shows us how to build materials that are both strong and beautiful. By learning from it, we can create sustainable alternatives.

How do some beetle shells achieve their brilliant colours and remarkable strength? Nature creates such materials from tiny, helically ordered building blocks that both scatter light and distribute stress. Inspired by these natural structures, physicist Lisa Tran aims to reproduce their beauty and resilience using cellulose, the main component of plant fibres. 

In her Vidi project, she will control the microscopic alignment of cellulose nanocrystals to create films that are strong and vividly coloured without relying on pigments. By fine-tuning how these particles assemble and interact, Tran aims to design sustainable coatings that combine durability with natural brilliance. Her research could lead to environmentally friendly alternatives for numerous materials, such as paints.

Faculty of Humanities

Dr. D. Alinejad: Mediated Science: Expanding How We Study Social Media’s Influence on Climate Disinformation

What happens to scientific knowledge about climate change as it is transformed into social media content? By adopting a novel method that combines studying science communicators’ social media usage and platform’s own policies about how they moderate (dis)information, the Mediated Science project will show how powerful social media platforms do not simply deliver scientific knowledge about climate change and its consequences to the public, but rather actively intervene in multiple ways at once to transform that knowledge. The project’s outcomes will shed new light on how the rise of powerful platforms impacts climate communication/-disinformation, with applications for science communication practice.

Dr. G. Colpani: Fabulous Subjects: Queer Intellectuals and their Archives

Intellectuals such as writers and artists have always played a fundamental role in queer communities and movements. Their work helps give shape and meaning to gender and sexual identities that have long been excluded from the dominant culture, while at the same time recording the transformations of these marginalized identities, communities, and movements over time. Thus, this project studies three European archives of such queer intellectuals as repositories of both creative work and historical record. Through this study, the project will develop a theory of the queer intellectual and a better understanding of the specific features of queer intellectuals’ archives.

Dr. P. Corduwener: Democracy and the (de-)regulation of the media in Europe, 1970s-2000s

Media regulation plays a central role in urgent debates about the future of democracy in Europe today. But where does our current model originate, and why does it appear so resistant to change? This project explores the transformation of broadcast media in Europe from public service institutions to a ‘government-free zone’ in the final decades of the 20th century and investigates how this shift influenced the regulation of the Web. In doing so, it uncovers the foundational elements of the media governance model scrutinized today and offers a fresh perspective on the challenges facing Europe’s postwar model of consensual democracy.

Dr. L.S. Costiner: Artful Algorithms: A Computational Study of Artistic Collaboration in Renaissance Perugia

The Renaissance has been viewed as the age of artistic genius, where figures such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael conjured masterpieces from divine inspiration. In practice, it was a world of templates, tracings, and teamwork, of artists who shared designs freely, copied habitually, and collaborated widely. This project develops a set of new digital tools, drawing on computer vision, artificial intelligence, and 3D modeling, to unravel workshop dynamics and artistic collaboration. Focusing on Perugia c. 1475-1525, it proposes a new digital framework for the study of art and reshapes understanding of Renaissance artistry and its collaborative foundations.

Prof. S.E. de Haan: Diverse, disordered, or 'just me'? Evaluating sense-making practices in mental healthcare

There are many different ways to understand mental health problems. How you understand your problems influences your view of yourself and your possibilities. And how others make sense of your experiences will affect their view on your (im)possibilities. But what would be a helpful way of making sense of your experiences? This project explores how people make sense of their experiences in mental healthcare settings. Next, we develop criteria for determining what would be beneficial ways of sense-making, and examine how this can be done ethically—respecting the knowledge and perspectives of service-users, their loved ones, and clinicians.

Dr. N. Kerssens: Reclaiming the Digital Classroom: Securing Public Value in European Education in the Era of Big Tech and AI (RECLaiM-EDU)

As AI tools from tech giants (EdTech) invade primary and secondary schools across Europe, concerns are mounting over how to uphold public values in education. RECLaiM-EDU investigates how schools can safeguard public values in digitalization by reclaiming digital autonomy. Therefore, the project studies pioneering European initiatives that advance public-interest innovation: 1) co-designing (AI-)EdTech; 2) developing impact assessment systems for (AI-)EdTech; and building public AI infrastructures for EdTech. Based on these insights, RECLaiM-EDU develops a theoretical model of digital autonomy alongside a practical framework to help European schools reclaim control over technology in public education.

Faculty of Geosciences

Dr. S. Geilert: Impact of terrigenous mineral input on marine silicate alteration and marine element cycles (SILICYCLE)

On long timescales, CO2 and hence climate, on Earth is controlled by volcanic emissions and silicate rock dissolution. Minerals, transported by rivers to the ocean, dissolve and take up additional CO2. However, the rate and magnitude of carbon and elemental cycling is not well studied.I will conduct experiments simulating various oceanic settings to identify controlling factors on mineral dissolution. I will compare the results to field studies in tropical regions. I will use novel chemical tracers to quantify the speed and element turnover caused by mineral dissolution and identify the impact on the global CO2 cycle and thus climate.

Dr. M. Nussbaum: PROSOIL: Process-informed machine learning for mapping chemical soil properties empowering simulation of global biomass dynamics

Taking soil samples in the field is a huge effort, so we never have enough. This VIDI allows me to develop meaningful ways of soil mapping.

Global ecosystems depend on healthy soils to capture carbon and support plant growth. Models that simulate soil and plant interactions need detailed soil maps of pH, nitrogen, and clay. Soil maps created with machine learning can be inconsistent due to missing soil samples at many locations. By adding knowledge about soils into the machine learning toolchain, this VIDI project will create a new generation of global soil maps that support future climate policy making.

Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance

Mr. Dr. A.S.H. Timmer: Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg: Structural Discrimination and Dutch Equality Legislation

In the Netherlands, discrimination often occurs not only openly, but also hidden in systems, rules and policies. This affects society as a whole. However, current anti-discrimination laws mainly focus on individual cases and do not sufficiently address underlying causes. This research examines how Dutch equality legislation can be reshaped to better combat structural discrimination. The researchers clarify legal concepts, study experiences from other countries, and explicitly involve communities that experience discrimination and policymakers. The result is scientifically well-founded and at the same time concrete suggestions on how the legislation can be revised.

Dr. C.S. Santos: With greater power must come great responsibility: attributing data protection compliance to those with real control

Data protection law currently holds everyone equally responsible for compliance, regardless of their actual level of power and influence on other actors. Small-to-Medium Publishers (SMPs) using third-party tools on their websites or apps are held fully responsible, even though they have minimal control over these tools. Yet they are subject to hefty fines and are often unable to comply with the law, or protect users’ fundamental right to data protection. This project investigates the level of power an entity must have to qualify as a data controller ensuring compliance with the law and the protection of users' rights.

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Dr. A. van Leeuwen: Empowering teachers or increasing power play? Towards effective and responsible data-informed teaching in Higher Education

Learning Analytics (LA) provide detailed insights into students’ study processes that higher education teachers can use to provide high-quality education. However, this raises questions about power dynamics: when and why do teachers (not) want to use LA, and does it provide too detailed information about students? This project uncovers the complexity of this process, focusing on how the institutional context can contribute to effective preparation for the use of LA, and the impact of LA on teacher-student dynamics. The findings will result in toolkits that institutions can use to guide the responsible implementation of LA in higher education.

UMC Utrecht

: Charting the maze of brain fibres with multidimensional MRI and multimodal integration (BRAINSTORM)

Our brain works through billions of connections between regions. MRI can be used to map distant connections between brain areas, whereas short connections – critical for local information processing and integration – remain invisible. This project develops new MRI methods and models to map the brain’s “superficial white matter” — a dense network of short connections near the cortex playing a key role in brain function. In the future, these methods will pave the way to advance our understanding of how the brain works, and of how pathological processes of short connections such as neurodegeneration can lead to cognitive decline.

: MRI-TARGET: MR-based Imaging of Tissue conductivity and quAntitative paRameters for Guidance of cancEr Therapy

This project develops a new MRI technology to measure the electrical conductivity of human tissues. The electrical conductivity differs between healthy and cancer tissues and changes rapidly during treatment, making it a promising indicator for non-invasive cancer diagnosis and monitoring treatment response.

This research focuses on developing this technology for clinical MRI machines for brain, breast, and prostate cancer, three of the most common cancer types worldwide. This work will support personalized, effective cancer care improving (cost) efficiency, while creating open-access tools and data to help hospitals and researchers accelerate adoption in clinical practice.

Prinses Máxima Center for Pediatric oncology

: Metabolism as the nexus between fatty liver and regeneration

An adverse diet high in fat and sugar poses a threat to our liver, which in turn becomes fat. Fatty livers possess impaired liver function. While the liver usually has a remarkable ability to recover from damage through a process of regeneration in which new cells are generated, this capacity is progressively impaired in fatty livers as the disease further develops. In this project, the researchers will gain new fundamental insights into the underlying causes of this regeneration defect. This will enable to develop novel strategies to safely reignite the fitness of fatty livers.

: No place like home: The bone marrow microenvironment as key to succesful stem cell transplantation in children

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a last-resort treatment for children and adults with blood cancer, hemoglobinopathies, metabolic diseases and immune deficiencies. Unfortunately, in about a quarter of patients, transplanted cells do not grow out sufficiently, which is life-threatening. This project investigates how stem cells restore blood after transplantation and why this sometimes fails. The researchers suspect that damage to the bone marrow environment, caused by pre-transplant medication, contributes to transplant failure. Using advanced techniques, they will map this environment in children undergoing transplantation. By improving this environment, they aim to enhance stem cell outgrowth, increasing the survival and quality of life of transplantation recipients.