Boudewijn van der Sanden

In the early nineties, I started my PhD in the department of Radiology and Radiotherapy at the Radboud Academic Hospital in Nijmegen in the Netherlands. I was a pioneer in the development of protocols for noninvasive analysis of the bio-energetic & perfusion status of gliomas using magnetic resonance spectroscopy & imaging. These studies helped to orient future radio- and chemotherapy protocols on patients. During my Post-Doc period at the Utrecht Academic Hospital, I did similar research but focused on cerebral ischemia. These skills helped me to get a permanent research position at INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et la Recherche Médicale) in France. My first research projects in France were focused on the use of MRI and intravital microscopy in analysis of the effects of new radiotherapy protocols on normal brain tissue, including the vasculature, and gliomas. This research optimized new radiotherapy protocols in a way that normal tissues were spared and the damage to gliomas enhanced. During this research, my interest for intravital microscopy was growing and I funded a national platform as scientific director in 2007 at the institute of Neuroscience at Grenoble. On the platform, I developed collaborations with scientist that worked on new nanotechnologies for brain tumor diagnosis and treatment. In 2013, I became director of a research group in Clinatec (CEA-Tech Grenoble) that explore nanotechnologies in the detection and treatment of glioma recurrence in the resection cavity. For the detection of recurrence, we worked on new optical imaging methods such as photo-acoustic microscopy & imaging. The treatment was based on new photo-dynamic therapy protocols. In 2017, INSERM and university scientists were fired from Clinatec after a stupid battle between our institutions. In 2019, I became a permanent member of the institute TIMC at Grenoble in the research group SyNaBi that works on implantable medical devices (MD) capable of interacting with the body. In this group, I use my platform of intravital microscopy to develop new inflammation imaging methods for biocompatibility test of MD in vivo. I explore further new smart matrixes for cell therapy applications that include optical biosensors to follow in vitro and in vivo the viability and maturation of the implanted cells. Applications are : artificial pancreas, skin, myocardial infarction and in vitro companion diagnostic devices in (neuro)oncology.