Award for young Leiden researchers who contribute to medical progress with innovative research into blood donation and bowel cancer
The Krijn Rietveld Innovation Awards 2025 have been awarded to Marieke Vinkenoog and Simon Christian Hansmann. Their research into more efficient blood donation and innovative insights into colon cancer demonstrates the power of young scientific innovation.
Smarter blood donations – Marieke Vinkenoog wins Krijn Rietveld Award
Marieke Vinkenoog received the Krijn Rietveld Doctoral Societal Impact Award for her research into more efficient blood donation. She developed models that predict the haemoglobin levels of donors, enabling the Sanquin blood bank to invite people in a more targeted manner. Vinkenoog is a postdoctoral researcher at the LUMC and a lecturer at LIACS. She donated part of her prize money to the MIND Foundation.
New insights into bowel cancer – Simon Christian Hansmann honoured
Simon Christian Hansmann received the Graduate Societal Impact Award for his research into colon cancer using 3D organoids. He discovered that even mature cancer cells can survive chemotherapy and revert to a stem cell-like state, which can lead to a recurrence of the disease. Hansmann is continuing his work as a PhD student at ETH Zurich.
