Cracking the Code of Gene Regulation with AI
Jeroen de Ridder and Bas van Steensel, as part of an Oncode instute initiative, introduced the lightweight AI model PARM in Nature. PARM accurately predicts how regulatory DNA controls gene activity. The model enables scalable interpretation of cancer-related mutations, opening new avenues for diagnostics, patient stratification and future therapies. This publication marks a successful collaboration project entitled PERICODE, which […]
Vici grant for Roeland Berendsen
Roeland Berendsen has been awarded a prestigious Vici grant. His project, called ResistoBiome, combines AI, large-scale microbiome sequencing and advanced phenotyping at the Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre (NPEC) to predict plant health and disease resistance. By harnessing beneficial soil microbes, the project aims to reduce chemical inputs while maintaining resilient, high-yield potato cropping systems. Read […]
Vici grant for Ynte Ruigrok
Ynte Ruigrok has been awarded a prestigious Vici grant (€1.5M) to investigate sex-specific mechanisms underlying brain aneurysms. Combining genetics, imaging and patient-derived cells, her team aims to identify blood-based markers for early risk detection. The may pave the way for improved prevention and treatment of this life-threatening condition. Read more on the website of the UMC
Recent publications by UBC members
Below, you can find an overview of publications by UBC principal investigators during the period from December 2025 – February 2026. Benchmarking fungal species classification using Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-read ITS metabarcodes Fungal Genetics and Biology, Vol.181 , December 2025 Abigail Graetz et al. (With Duong Vu) Matthews correlation coefficient-based feature ranking in recursive ensemble […]
Open Science NL Grant for Duong Vu
UBC member Duong Vu has been awarded funding from Open Science NL, together with co-applicants Jos Houbraken and Wieland Meyer. Their project will build an open, central hub connecting fungal collections and datasets from the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute with international resources. By integrating morphology, genomics, ecology and more, the platform will support fungal identification, AI-driven research, […]