Trots op mijn neef Joey
Mijn neef heeft de 1e prijs gewonnen voor zijn onderzoek naar hersentumoren, die soort waar mijn vader en zijn opa aan is overleden. trotser kan ik niet zijn, hier zijn eigen stukje tekst:
Last weekend at the award ceremony of the Schild-De Groen Onderzoeksprijzen, I was awarded the 1st prize by Universiteit Leiden for my master's thesis on the orthotopic zebrafish xenograft model for glioblastoma that we've been working on at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL)! This research holds a deeply personal connection to me due to my grandfather's battle with this rare and debilitating brain tumor, so this recognition means a lot to me.
The significant life extension made possible by experimental treatments at Erasmus MC and the Daniel den Hoed Fonds showed me the value of cancer research and has been a driving force in my efforts to push the boundaries of glioblastoma research during this internship under the guidance of B. Ewa Snaar-Jagalska.
Building on the foundational work of Daan Kloosterman, Arwin Groenewoud, Winant van Os, and Yoran Broersma, our study uses transparent zebrafish larvae to visualize the tumor's development, growth kinetics, and brain immune response, offering novel insights into the tumor microenvironment (some time ago I posted some of these images). Now, the research continues in the expert hands of Gabriel Forn Cuní and our dedicated collaborators, who are focusing on targeting tumor-associated macrophages as a novel therapeutic strategy against glioblastoma.
This internship was my first encounter with Murphy's Law: marked by periods of failure, frustration, and despair, it taught me that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong at some point. However, this hardship contributes to the deep feeling of reward and gratitude when, in the end, it finally pays off.
For this reason I'd like to leave you with some words by Khalil Gibran that resonate deeply with me. He speaks of love, but I believe these words apply to all things done passionately, including the pursuit of knowledge:
'But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.'
