NWO Summit consortiumDriving Regenerative Medicine
We unite excellent science on biology, engineering and medicine to drive material-based regenerative therapies.
What if materials could do more than support healing — what if they could become living tissue?
Connecting science, technological innovation and clinical translation
We are a Dutch Summit consortium exploring how smart, bioinstructive materials can guide the regeneration of tissues and organs inside the body. These materials don’t just sit there — they interact, respond, and adapt.
Our goal? To understand how these materials behave in real biological environments, and to steer those interactions in ways that lead to safe, lasting, and scalable regenerative therapies.
Our research is organised across three domains, each focusing on a different level of regeneration: cells, tissues and complex organs. These domains are closely linked and supported by two hubs that provide advanced technology and clinical expertise.
We will unravel key cues from the cellular environment that, together with intrinsic signaling pathways, control cel behavior and self-assembly.
Domain 2
In-situ tissue regeneration
We aim to deeply understand the spatio-temporal, bidirectional interactions between intelligent materials and body responses.
Domain 3
Regenerating complex organ functions
We focus on understanding and steering the endogenous regeneration of essential kidney and heart functions using intelligent materials.
HUB
Technological Innovation
Ensures continuous access to top-notch technology and advancements.
Our shared infrastructure connects researchers across institutions to cutting-edge tools in regenerative biology, engineering and medicine. By making expertise and technologies accessible to all, we accelerate discovery and keep the entire programme at the forefront of innovation.
HUB
Clinical Translation
Proactively lays the groundwork for translating DRIVE-RM’s findings to benefit society.
We embed clinical, ethical, economic and legal expertise into every phase of the research. By aligning science with societal needs from the start, we turn breakthrough ideas into real-world therapies — faster, safer, and with lasting impact.
Talent Development Programme
As the future of RM relies on next-gen scientists, we prioritize training for leading interdisciplinary scientists. Mid- and early-career scientists will be actively involved in the development, organization and execution of the research program, as well as in networking and outreach activities.
The talent program is designed to prepare scientists to excel at the international level, by fostering international exchange of talented RM researchers and supporting education, training programs, mentorships and co-funding. We organize internal events to stimulate the cohesion of the program and knowledge exchange among talents from different institutes.
