With this voucher, each team can further develop their research projects and bring them one step closer to real-world impact.

Tessa Scharringhausen, Managing Director of Utrecht Holdings, opened the event with a warm welcome. She then passed the floor to Arie Jan (Arjan) Stoppelenburg from Tolvac Therapeutics—former voucher winner—who shared how he used the funding to move his project forward and where that journey has taken him today.

Afterwards, all the new winners took the stage to pitch their projects, each showcasing impressive ideas, determination, and vision. Then came the celebratory moment: receiving their voucher in person.

This year’s winning projects are:

• MicroRNA panel for breast cancer detection — Cathy Moelans, Paul Van Diest, Elsken Van Der Wall
• Improving prime editing efficiency — Paul Schürmann, Stijn van Breda Vriesman, Sabine Fuchs
• Transforming genetic discovery into treatment for ALS — Wouter Van Rheenen, Vamshidhar Vangoor
• New powerful astatine-211 radiopharmaceuticals — Berend van der Wildt, Alex Poot
• A new diagnostic modality for angina with non-obstructive coronary arteries — Tim Sakkers, Hester den Ruijter, Ernest Diez Benavente
• U-WorkWell — Iris Beerepoot, Hajo Reijers, Thomas Martens
• Antifungal volatiles to treat human fungal infections — Robert-Jan Bleichrodt
• A bacterial combination of D-amino acids and antimicrobial peptides to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria — Edwin Veldhuizen, Marc Wösten

We wish all winners the very best as they take the next steps in their projects, and we look forward to keeping everyone updated on their progress!