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September 2025

Dear iCNS participants,

Welcome back! We hope you’ve all had a relaxing summer and started the new academic year with renewed energy and inspiration.

This autumn promises to be another exciting phase for iCNS. We’re pleased to see more researchers have joined the program. Several PhD candidates and postdocs have made their start as you might have seen on LinkedIn, and more vacancies will be filled in the coming period. It’s great to witness our community steadily growing and new collaborations taking shape within and between the work packages.

We’re also looking forward to the upcoming meeting with our International Advisory Board mid-November. It will be an important moment to reflect on our plans and progress, receive strategic feedback, and further strengthen the scientific direction of iCNS.

Since July, Sabina van der Zanden has taken up the role of iCNS Project Manager. Her experience and dedication have already made a great difference, and we’ve very much enjoyed working with her. Later this month, Sabina will go on maternity leave, and we wish her all the best during this special time! Of course, interim support will be available during her absence.

Finally, a special moment for the Dutch neuroscience community: Koningin Máxima will soon attend the 40-year anniversary celebration of the Netherlands Brain Bank. It’s wonderful to see such visible interest in scientific research using human brain tissue, and it underscores the importance of the work we are working on.

We wish you a smooth and inspiring start to the new season — and we look forward to what’s ahead!

Best regards,

Inge Huitinga, Paul Lucassen & Mario van der Stelt

Read more on the

40-year anniversary of the

Netherlands Brain Bank

Article by the Netherlands Brain Bank (https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...) (Dutch)

Article by NRC (https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...) (Dutch)

https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...

Kind Reminder to Register

Consortium Meeting - December 16th, Kasteel Oud Poelgeest, Oegstgeest

Young Researchers Meeting - December 11th, Science Park, Amsterdam

New Additions to the iCNS Team!

From left to right:

Daan van der Vliet - Postdoc with Femke de Vrij (EMC)

Daniël Huitema - PhD with Marc Baggelaar (UU)

Tina Zajec Hudnik - PhD with Bert Janssen (UU) Learn more about our new colleagues, join the conversation and stay connected with our growing iCNS community via LinkedIn (https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...)

** A word from the NBB Tissue Dissemination Officer ------------------------------------------------------------

Hi everyone!

Since June 15th I’ve been working at the Netherlands Brain Bank as Tissue Dissemination Officer, with part of my position dedicated to iCNS. I obtained my Master’s in Neuroscience at Radboud University and currently, I am in the finalizing stage of my PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam under the supervision of Prof. Sabine Spijker. My PhD research focused on how social stress affects memory in mice, especially through changes in perineuronal nets in the hippocampus. Along the way I worked with behavioral assays, stereotactic surgery, chemogenetics, electrophysiology, and single-cell proteomics using LCM and mass spectrometry.

https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...

Within iCNS my role is to make sure that tissue dissemination supports the projects of our consortium members. I advise researchers and students on suitable material, coordinate and oversee sample preparation, and train students in handling and processing tissue. I really enjoy these interactions because they connect my scientific background with the collaborative spirit of iCNS. It’s rewarding to help colleagues match the right tissue to their questions and to see how this becomes the starting point for exciting experiments.

Tissue dissemination is at the foundation of iCNS. By ensuring quality and sharing knowledge, I hope to contribute to smoother workflows and stronger results across the consortium. I’m looking forward to meeting more of you, hearing about your projects, and supporting your research in any way I can.

Best regards, Payam Safavi

Meet our International Advisory Board

The IAB brings together leading scientists and key stakeholders to provide external strategic advice to iCNS. It supports maximizing impact, aligning with global initiatives, and guiding talent selection. Its five chambers represent the scientific community (S), patients (P), clinicians (C), industry (I), and ethics (E).

Learn more about our esteemed IAB members by clicking on their pictures. https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...

From left to right, top to bottom:

IAB-S: Guus Smit - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)

IAB-S: Elly Hol - Universiteit Utrecht (NL)

IAB-S: Schahram Akbarian - Mount Sinai School of Medicine (USA)

IAB-S: Staci Bilbao - Duke University (USA)

IAB-S: Elisabeth Binder - Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry (DE)

IAB-S: Benjamin Cravatt - Scripps Research (USA)

IAB-S: Boudewijn Lelieveldt - Leiden Universitair Medisch Centrum (NL) https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am... https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...

From left to right, top to bottom:

IAB-P: Marieke van Eijkelen - Plusminus (NL)

IAB-P: Dirk-Jan Saaltink - Dutch Brain Foundation (NL)

IAB-C: Sachin Patel - Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University (USA)

IAB-C: Brenda Penninx - Amsterdam Universitair Medisch Centrum (NL)

IAB-C: Josef Priller - University of Edinburgh & Charite University Berlin (UK/DE)

IAB-I: Casper Hoogenraad - Genentech Research & Universiteit Utrecht (NL)

IAB-I: Uwe Grether - Roche (CH)

IAB-E: Gerben Meynen - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)

** Meet our iCNS Data Manager: Eric Hoekstra ------------------------------------------------------------

Neuroscience first caught my attention during my bioinformatics bachelor's degree, and joining the Holtman lab in 2021 gave me the chance to explore it. That’s also when I became involved with the Netherlands Neurogenomics Database (NND), where we aim to clean and standardize the rich clinical and neuropathological data collected by the Netherlands Brain Bank (NBB). My first project focused on developing machine learning models to extract symptoms from textual NBB data, and I continued this work during my graduation internship by building models that predict donors’ main diagnoses based on their symptoms.

https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...

After these experiences, I was excited to officially join the Holtman lab as a technician to help further develop the NND. Within this project, my main responsibilities include building the data infrastructure for the NND and our research group, developing the publicly accessible NND website, and supporting colleagues wherever data-expertise is needed. The NND will become a valuable resource for the iCNS consortium. By bringing together the standardized clinical, neuropathological and genetic data, we all can gain a deeper understanding of the NBB donors’ their backgrounds, supporting more informed research within the consortium.

Within the iCNS consortium, my role is to develop a data-sharing infrastructure where we can securely store and share our research data and complement this with the rich donor information available in the NND. For me, the most rewarding part of this work is seeing how well-organized data enables researchers to study psychiatric and neurological disorders more effectively. Knowing that the information I help structure can lead to new insights makes the role meaningful.

I look forward to seeing all of you in December at the consortium meeting!

Publications (https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...)

A Novel Cyclopropenyl Fatty Acid Library Reveals Tissue-Specific Preferences for Regulatory T Cell Uptake Through Click-Chemistry.

Heieis, G., Reinalda, L., Bogue, L. I., Steuten, K., Corrigan, C., Wang, X., Bertheussen, K., El Boujadayni, M., Sinclair, L. V., Van der Stelt, M., Everts, B., Finlay, D. K., & Van Kasteren, S. I.

The iCNS-affiliated groups of Van Kasteren and Van Der Stelt with collaborators from the immunology field have developed a new method in which they can measure uptake of different fatty acids by immune cells. The major breakthrough is the ability to quantify the uptake of different fatty acids of single cells, and for the first time, whilst keeping the cells alive. This method enables researchers to explore how the availability of specific nutrients influences cellular growth, differentiation, and responses in disease. This technology will feature heavily in multiple iCNS projects, so stay tuned! Read the full article (https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...)

Gi Signaling Controls Microglial Surveillance and Neuronal Synchronization.

Van den Bosch, A. M., & Hamann, J. Read the full article (https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...)

Cross-Analysis of Single-Cell Transcriptomic Datasets Reveals Conserved Neurogenic Gene Signatures and New Insights Into Neural Stem Cell Aging

Polzer, O., Kinloch, E., Lucassen, P. J., Salta, E., & Fitzsimons, C. P. Read the full article (https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...)

Missed The Last iCNS Newsletter?

If our last newsletter got lost in your summer inbox, or you would simply like to revisit the July edition - you can find it here (https://i-cns.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9153e18ffe39dd83583a27335&am...) .

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