Nearly one-fourth of all humans are infected with parasitic worms, also known as helminths. These infections are common in tropical regions and often go unnoticed. But they may have a hidden impact: they could weaken the body’s ability to respond to vaccines. Rajagopal Murugan, a B cell immunologist at Leiden University Medical Center, received a prestigious ERC Starting Grant to investigate how these parasites interfere with our immune system, and how we might fix it.
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A driving force
LUMC strongly underpins the idea that ‘Science is the driving force behind innovative healthcare’. Outcomes of top level fundamental, translational and clinical research by LUMC researchers form a strong basis for innovative and qualitative healthcare on a national, European and international level.
A real game changer was the development of the Dutch national research agenda (NWA) in 2015. The agenda reveals the complexity of the issues challenging Dutch society today. These issues are clustered in so called routes. LUMC is involved in many of these routes and contributes this way to solving important societal challenges.