General Information
Maastricht University (UM) is a public university in Maastricht (the Netherlands) founded in 1976, being the second youngest Dutch university. Maastricht University is the most international university in the Netherlands and, with 18,000 students and 4,400 employees, is still growing. The university stands out for its innovative education model, international character and multidisciplinary approach to research and education.
Thanks to its high-quality research and study programs as well as a strong focus on social engagement, UM has quickly built up a solid reputation. Today it is considered one of the best young universities in the world. The University has been placed in the top 300 universities in the world by five major ranking tables. UM was at 88th place in the Times Higher Education World Ranking in 2016 (127th as of 2020), and 4th among Young Universities (10th in 2020).
The School for Oncology and Developmental Biology (GROW), part of the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences of Maastricht University, focuses on research and teaching of genetic and cellular mechanisms, as well as environmental and life-style factors that underlie normal (embryonic and fetal) and abnormal (cancer) development. The emphasis is on basic and translational research, aiming at innovative approaches for individualizing prevention, patient diagnosis, and treatment for genetically determined diseases and cancer.
GROW comprises four research programs in the Areas of Oncology and Developmental Biology, including the Basic and Translational Cancer Biology department. This department focuses on unraveling the basic (epi)genetic a cellular mechanism that underlie the induction, progression, and recurrence of malignancies by conducting molecular, histological and quantitative image analysis on blood, urine, cells and tissues from patients. Furthermore, they are developing in vivo mouse models to develop and implement innovative diagnostics and therapeutic procedures to improve tumor control and avoid harmful effects of disease and treatment.