By funding academic staff exchanges, we bridge the gap between research and clinical practice, improving outcomes for children with cancer.

By funding academic staff exchanges, we bridge the gap between research and clinical practice, improving outcomes for children with cancer.

Childhood cancer is a rare disease. Each year, about 600 children in the Netherlands are diagnosed with cancer. Because these numbers are low in every country, international collaboration is essential. By sharing knowledge and data, researchers can develop new treatments more quickly. Grasshopper, an initiative made possible by the European Union and led by the Princess Máxima Center, supports this by bringing together researchers from 15 different countries. This way, they learn more about each other’s methods and approaches. Genetic Cancer Predispostion in Children The first three participants who recently started at the Máxima work at the King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Jordan. Dr. Mayada Abu Shanap is a pediatric oncologist and wants to deepen her expertise in genetic predisposition to children with cancer  during her time at the Máxima. She worked one month in the research group of Prof. Dr. Roland Kuiper. She explains: ‘Specifically,  I wanted to deepen my expertise in the of novel germline mutations in pediatric cancer, and explore reclassification of so called variants of uncertain significance (VUS) particularly among children of Arab ancestry. Within the Grasshopper program, knowledge exchange goes both ways. ‘My perspective from a region with high consanguinity and unique founder variants provides an important complement to the Máxima’s ongoing work in identifying novel predisposition genes and refining variant interpretation. I hope this mutual exchange strengthens global efforts toward precision oncology for all children.’ New Knowledge for Better Diagnostics Mohammad Yaseen and Rawan Abu Abboud are medical technologists and now work in the laboratory for childhood cancer pathology at the Máxima. Yaseen has been studying the DNA of children with cancer for many years. He wants to learn more about two techniques he plans to use in Jordan. ‘I want to learn everything about applying clonality testing for diagnosis and testing for residual disease using nanopore sequencing. It is valuable and educational to discover these techniques and workflows by collaborating with colleagues at the Máxima. This will certainly help us when we implement these methods in diagnostics and disease monitoring at KHCC.’ Abu Abboud adds: ‘In addition to practical experience with these techniques, I also want to gain inspiration about the research approach at the Máxima and how I can apply that knowledge. When we return home, I hope to put our new insights into practice immediately.’ Building Global Childhood Cancer Care Together Prof. Dr. Jan Molenaar is a research group leader at the Máxima and, together with project coordinator Linda Schild, leads the Grasshopper program. Molenaar and Schild are excited about the arrival of the first Grasshoppers. Schild says: ‘The success of childhood cancer research depends on collaboration. It’s wonderful and important that we can give this a big boost with this program and extra nice that we have now welcomed the first Grasshoppers in Utrecht.’ Partner Network Since the program started late last year, 17 Grasshoppers have begun working at one of the partner organizations. In the coming years, that number will continue to grow. More information about the program and how researchers can apply can be found here. Organizations sending and hosting Grasshopper participants:  SJD-Cerca (Spain), Rigshopitalet (Denmark), KiTZ-DKFZ (Germany), Institute Curie (France), Princess Máxima Center (Netherlands). Organizations hosting Grasshopper participants:  Indiana Bioscience Research Institute (United States), Sanofi (multiple locations), Roche (multiple locations), Children’s Cancer Institute (Australia), UCL (England). Organizations sending Grasshopper participants: Children’s University Hospital Latvia (Latvia), MS Curie (Romania), Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Centre (Ukraine), King Hussein Cancer Foundation/Center (Jordan), Children’s Hospital Agia Sofia (Greece), NUDCH (Slovakia), Comenius University in Bratislava (CU BA). Training partners: ITCC and Cancer Core Europe. This project is made possible thanks to Horizon Europe/Marie Sklodowska-Curie Staff Exchange project GRASSHOPPER number 101182922, the Princess Máxima Center, and the participating research groups.