The Netherlands Archives

More than intention: Towards better collaboration within mental healthcare

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The research team analysed the level of vertical collaboration between different sustainable partnerships between stakeholders in the mental healthcare system to optimise care for people with (mental) health issues.

The Netherlands prides itself on its commitment to caring for citizens with mental health issues, as well as having a first-rate healthcare system. However, that system has come under considerable strain lately. Anneloes van den Broek PhD, MHA, and Margot Metz PhD, both senior mental healthcare practitioners and researchers at GGz Breburg and Tilburg University, together with full professor Inge […]

The human vomeronasal organ: To preserve or not?

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Bruintjes and Bleys investigate the function of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) in the human nasal septum and conclude whether the VNO must be preserved during septal surgery.

There is an ongoing debate among scientists regarding the significance of the vomeronasal organ (VNO), a small defined area of uncertain function inside the nose in humans. During nasal surgery, this organ can be permanently damaged, thereby ceasing any associated function. Dr Tjasse D Bruintjes, ear, nose, and throat surgeon at Leiden University Medical Center, and Dr Ronald LAW Bleys, […]

Ketamine: An old medication with newly discovered actions in pain and breathing regulation

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Professor Dahan studies the benefits of the drug ketamine.

Pain that lasts longer than the expected period of healing is tormenting a significant percentage of the population and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Although medications are available to control it, its management often involves trial and error, especially in cases where specific nerve damage cannot be found. Professor Albert Dahan at the Leiden University Medical Center in […]

Rethinking psychiatric medication: An interview with Will Hall

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Will Hall discusses his work in mental health advocacy, schizophrenia and coming off psychiatric medication

Influential mental-health advocate, therapist, and researcher Will Hall talks to us about his latest research on psychiatric drugs, carried out at Maastricht University in the Netherlands with fellow pioneers in the field. Drawing on his own clinical experience as a therapist and personal experience of the mental-health system, Hall’s research indicates that the current pharmaceutical approach to treating mental illnesses […]

EvoSphere: A system where robots can physically evolve

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Professor A E Eiben explores autonomous robot evolution using a potential system called the EvoSphere for the design and study of intelligent robots

While the field of robotics has made many exciting advances in recent years, designs of new robots are still generally being conceived by human engineers. Inspired by the evolution of organisms in nature, Professor A E Eiben at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in The Netherlands, aims to show how robot designs may not need to be constrained in this way. Instead, they could […]

Chemical synthesis to tackle tuberculosis

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Dr Jeffrey Buter has been researching the chemical biology of the parasite that causes TB to understand how the particular cell wall of Mtb enables it to avoid the immune response of the host

Tuberculosis (TB) – the world’s most deadly bacterial infectious disease – kills around 1.5 million people every year, and its treatment remains challenging. Dr Jeffrey Buter at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, has been researching the chemical biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the parasite that causes TB. Buter believes that understanding the structure–activity relationship of the components, in particular […]

Understanding the initiative paradox

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Antje Schmitt explains the initiative paradox within an organisation, through the application of a self-assessment of neuroticism and reactions to proactive behaviour in employees

For any organisation to function, its staff must work together – but humans are complex creatures with different personalities. Proactive behaviours can drive innovation and meaningful change, but they can also pose a threat or a source of worry to leaders who display high levels of neuroticism. Antje Schmitt, an assistant professor of organisational psychology at the University of Groningen, […]

Myocardial lipid metabolism: Targeting CD36 to treat cardiac disease

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Jan Glatz researches a transmembrane protein, CD36, which regulates cellular lipid metabolism and can lead to treatments to improve healthy heart contraction and treat cardiac disease.

Jan Glatz, Emeritus Professor of Cardiac Metabolism at Maastricht University, conducts research into the transmembrane protein CD36, which regulates cellular lipid metabolism. CD36 facilitates the uptake of long-chain fatty acids in cardiac muscles while the recycling of CD36 between endosomes and the sarcolemma regulates this uptake. Heart diseases are commonly associated with changes in the uptake and use of its […]

Can animal-free research be the future of medical science?

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scientists undertake tests in a laboratory

Professor Merel Ritskes-Hoitinga from Radboud University, the Netherlands, aims to improve biomedical and medical research, reduce the use of unnecessary animal studies and replace animal studies by using better alternatives. Throughout her career she has researched and highlighted the disadvantages of animal studies, such as the substandard quality of results produced and lack of evidence for translatability to human clinical […]

What team communication can tell us about team effectiveness

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Meetings. Love them or hate them, they’re a regular feature of working life and there are countless studies on how to plan, run and make the most of them. Few studies, however, take a detailed view of the nature of the communication, interaction and collaboration that take place within meetings, especially team meetings. The research of Marcella Hoogeboom and Celeste […]