FHML Homecoming Alumni Day - presentations and tours

Presentation, language ENGLISH

Over the past fifty years, Maastricht University has generated knowledge that prolongs, improves and enriches lives. But how does that knowledge find its way out of the lab and to the people who stand to benefit from it? This is where Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus plays a key role.

But what exactly is Brightlands? And more specifically: what is Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus?

As a commercialisation campus, Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus translates Maastricht University’s groundbreaking research into concrete impact: both social and economic. In this session, we’ll take you behind the scenes. Using tangible examples such as the Balance Belt, an innovation that significantly changes the lives of people with balance disorders, we’ll show how an idea from the laboratory develops into a product that makes a difference.

Presentation and hands-on workshop, language ENGLISH

Curious to learn about education and research developments in breast imaging? In this session from GROW Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, participants will be provided a brief overview of the historical perspective of breast imaging at Maastricht University and current practices. UM alumnus Thiemo van Nijnatten shares his personal story on how he became a breast imaging expert. In addition, a current international fellow from Poland presents his experience as a breast radiologist at Maastricht UMC+ for the past three months. During an interactive hands-on workshop, participants to get an impression how ultrasound skills are being trained to students, radiologists in training and international fellows in order to improve their skills.

This interactive session will be organized in the Maastricht UMC+ hospital (Greepzaal).

Tour and presentation, language ENGLISH (or Dutch when possible)

How does a human embryo attach itself to the lining of the uterus? At the Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction (GROW), we are trying to understand this crucial, yet normally invisible moment at the start of a pregnancy. During this tour, we will take you through every step: from stem cells, to embryo models, to patient-derived uterine cells, and finally to the microfluidic chip platform on which we make those initial interactions visible and measurable. Along the way, we’ll show how microtechnology, cell biology and clinical questions come together in a single research narrative.

Tour and presentation, language ENGLISH 

How can we make even the smallest molecules visible? The Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4I) develops, performs research, and holds training events for state-of-the-art molecular imaging technologies. These include mass spectrometry imaging, electron microscopy, and multi-omics imaging. This tour will give you a perspective on the importance of molecular imaging and introduce several cutting-edge and “beyond-cutting-edge” molecular imaging technologies. 

Note: participants will enter a room containing a high magnetic field. Participants with pacemakers or metal prosthetic implants will be required to remain outside this room for their safety.

Hoe kunnen we zelfs de allerkleinste moleculen zichtbaar maken? Het Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4I) ontwikkelt en onderzoekt geavanceerde technologieën voor moleculaire beeldvorming en organiseert hierover opleidingen. Denk aan beeldvorming met massaspectrometrie, elektronenmicroscopie en multi-omics-beeldvorming. Deze rondleiding laat zien hoe belangrijk moleculaire beeldvorming is en welke baanbrekende technologieën er zijn in Maastricht.

Let op: deelnemers betreden een ruimte met een sterk magnetisch veld. Deelnemers met een pacemaker of metalen prothesen moeten voor hun eigen veiligheid buiten deze ruimte blijven.

Tour, language ENGLISH

3D-printing bones and creating organs in a lab may sound like science fiction. However, at MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, it is becoming a reality. Researchers from different backgrounds work together to address complex medical challenges through technology-inspired regenerative medicine. During this tour, you will see a broad range of innovative approaches, from printing technologies and platforms to create advanced tissue models to regenerative strategies based on the synthesis of particles and compounds. Along the way, we highlight how engineering, biology, materials science, and clinical questions come together within a single interdisciplinary research environment.

Presentation, language ENGLISH

Neurological conditions are the leading cause of global disease burden. During this session, three researchers from the Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNs) will showcase innovative research aimed at improving our understanding of these neurological disorders and reducing their impact. Colin Rosenau zooms in on the importance of a healthy lifestyle in supporting long-term brain health. Sven Hildebrand shows how recent method developments in histology and microscopy are opening up new ways to investigate the human brain. Curious to see what methodologies are used in neuroscience? Lars Eijssen explains how models, (epi)genetic techniques and screening methods are applied to studying brain disease.

Language ENGLISH and DUTCH