Leiden University Medical Center

• by EVOMT
• 2023-12-25

　　Leiden University Medical Center (Dutch: Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum), referred to as LUMC, is a university hospital affiliated with Leiden University. It is the medical department of the university. It is located in Leiden, Netherlands. It is a modern university medical center integrating research, education and patient care. Its research practices range from purely basic medical research to applied clinical research. The medical center has six major directions including vascular and restorative medicine, immunity and infection medicine, cancer pathology and treatment, drug research and development, data science, and medical care. Vascular and restorative medicine mainly studies how to repair damaged organs, find new alternatives for treating chronic diseases and organ transplantation, and restore cell functions, among which stem cell research plays an important role. Immunity and infection medicine treats disease by manipulating the immune system so that it attacks pathogens that invade the body and avoids its own healthy cells. Cancer Pathology and Treatment mainly helps patients improve their living standards, find suitable quality plans, work with patients to face and treat cancer, and help them regain health. Drug R&D is committed to the entire process of drug R&D and production from basic medicine, clinical trials to pharmaceuticals. Data science produces innovative results through intelligent analysis of massive data. Healthcare is primarily dedicated to helping people prevent physical and mental illnesses.

　　Leiden University is one of the top 100 universities in the world and a world-class research university. Founded in 1575 AD, it is the first national university in the Netherlands. Since 2018, Leiden University has established in-depth cooperative relationships with top universities in inland China, including Tsinghua University and Peking University. In the past nearly five centuries, Leiden University has cultivated many outstanding talents who have influenced the process of human civilization, and enjoys a high international reputation and academic influence. The scientist Einstein taught here for 26 years. As of 2017, the school has produced a total of 16 Nobel Prize winners, such as Einstein, Fermi, etc.; it has trained 9 scientific and literary giants such as Descartes, Huygens, Rembrandt, and Spinoza; Heads of state and members of the royal family have studied and taught here, such as US President Adams, British Prime Minister Churchill, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, South African President Mandela, two NATO Secretary-Generals, etc.

　　Vascular and Regenerative Medicine

　　Repair damaged organs

　　Treatments for chronic diseases are limited. Doctors at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and researchers at Leiden University are studying new treatments as alternatives to organ transplants. The goal is to cure the disease by restoring the organ to its original function. Stem cells play an important role in this process.

　　Leiden University Medical Center has many research facilities in the field of regenerative medicine. In 2011, LUMC was the first to have facilities for culturing induced pluripotent stem cells and has very extensive good manufacturing practice facilities for producing stem cells for therapeutic applications. At Leiden University and LUMC, there is good interaction with cell biologists, doctors and technicians from surrounding technical universities.

　　Immunity, infection and tolerance

　　Fighting disease by manipulating the immune system

　　Our immune system protects us from disease, but every now and then something goes wrong: a pathogen invades our body or our immune system attacks our own cells, and we get sick. Doctors and researchers at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) hope to control the immune system so that it can fight pathogens entering the body without attacking the body's own cells.

　　LUMC has a long tradition in immunology research. The first kidney transplant in the Netherlands took place in Leiden, where the major immune signaling protein HLA (human leukocyte antigen) was discovered in the 1960s. The immune system uses these "antenna molecules" found on the surface of all human cells to track infections and changes in autologous tissues. Immunology research in Leiden is often multidisciplinary, as immune system diseases can affect many different parts of the body. For example, treatment of the autoimmune disease rheumatism can lead to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. A coordinated approach can avoid such secondary effects. Researchers also try to learn by observing each other.

　　Focus on quality of life and effectively fight cancer

　　With cancer, a person's body cells grow uncontrollably. Understanding more about how this happens could lead to the development of effective treatments. Researchers at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University are working together to better understand different forms of cancer and develop new, more effective drugs and treatments that can both cure patients and improve their quality of life.

　　Over the past few years, an increasing number of drugs have emerged that target specific characteristics of cancer cells. For example, there are now drugs that specifically inhibit molecules that cause uncontrolled cell growth. Much effort has also been devoted to immunotherapy, in which a patient's own immune system is stimulated to powerfully fight cancer cells. Researchers have successfully treated gynecological tumors with an immunotherapy that is still in the experimental stage.