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Nico Vermeulen to receive honorary doctorate for his research into side-effects
Nico Vermeulen, professor of Molecular Toxicology at VU University, will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Copenhagen on Friday November 18. He will receive the doctorate as recognition for his research into how drugs are degraded in the body, sometimes causing serious side-effects. Vermeulen has authored or co-authored over 350 scientific publications and is one of the most frequently cited scientists in this field.
Understanding side-effects
The main question addressed in Vermeulen’s research is where and how the body degrades and eliminates drugs. To this end, he tries to find ways of predicting the underlying mechanisms using innovative tools and models. is very important to gain as much insight as possible into side effects before the drugs are marketed.
Vermeulen also uses these computational and experimental models to predict the possible side-effects of new drug candidates. It His predictions play a crucial role in increasing our understanding in this area. Many serious side-effects result from the biotransformation of drugs by enzymes in the liver. The enzymes and the toxic metabolites produced are therefore central to Vermeulen’s research.
Sensitivity to side-effects varies significantly
Nico Vermeulen gained his PhD in Pharmacology in 1980 from Leiden University and has worked as professor in Molecular Toxicology at VU University since 1985. “Sensitivity to the side-effects of drugs varies significantly from patient to patient. In order to explain these inter-patient variations, we need to look at the underlying mechanisms at the molecular level,” explains Vermeulen. “It’s a very challenging and complicated job. That’s why we collaborate intensively with other leading research groups in Europe, including the University of Copenhagen.”
Dutch-Danish cooperation
There are close ties between Amsterdam and Copenhagen in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. “Through close collaborations with Vermeulen, we have become a stronger actor in international contexts,” informs a press release from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Copenhagen.
Vermeulen is one of the initiators of the double MSc-degree program, where VU-students from the pharmaceutical sciences master program Drug Discovery and Safety may take the last year of their program in Copenhagen, and vice versa. A similar model is under way for a PhD program in both universities.
Vermeulen has also collaborated with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Copenhagen via the ULLA Consortium - a European network for PhD education in pharmaceutical sciences, which amongst others, organizes summer schools for European PhD students. Moreover, Vermuelen is one of the two leaders of LACDR (the Leiden-Amsterdam Center for Drug Research) and director of the AIMMS: the Amsterdam Institute for Molecules, Medicines and Systems.
