The key objective of the M4I Division of Nanoscopy is to gain greater insight into the 3D form of cell proteins, thus paving the way for the development of more effective treatments for diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis. A better understanding of how protein complexes manage healthy, but also diseased, cells will allow drugs and vaccines to target problems more effectively.
For instance, professor Peter Peters and his team are working to improve the vaccination presently used against tuberculosis. This research is based on Peters’s finding in 2007 of how the bacteria that cause tuberculosis behave in within cells. Each day, several thousand people die of tuberculosis, especially in developing countries. The M4I Division of Nanoscopy also aims to develop greater insight into the workings of the immune system, which may in the future lead to an immune response against cancer cells in the human body.
Another prominent researcher and colleague of Peter Peters is Ron Heeren in M4I Division of Mass Spectometry. Ron Heeren’s group has long been a world leader in the relatively young science of imaging mass spectrometry. Heeren:
“Mass spectrometry is in fact the identification of masses of particles. In each cell are molecules that determine how the cells organize themselves and behave. In cooperation with the Dutch Cancer Institute, we have examined tumors with mass spectrometry. We can use this technique locally in a tissue section to see exactly which cells are healthy or sick and which cells are dead or becoming sick. This allows us to advise surgeons whether sufficient tissue has been removed, and also which therapy works with a given tumor. In our recent experiments, we have demonstrated that our technique gives surgeons the information they need during an operation much faster. This is very special.”
For more information on M4I go to the website of M4I.
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