Renée van Amerongen appointed professor in Fundamental Stem Cell and Cancer Research
4 April 2025
Van Amerongen's research is positioned at the intersection of developmental, stem cell and cancer biology. It focuses on unravelling the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate the growth and maintenance of mammalian tissues. A fundamental understanding of how cells divide and adopt a specific identity (differentiate), such that different tissues and organs acquire and maintain their final form and function, forms the foundation for new prevention strategies, diagnostics and therapeutic interventions in medicine.
In particular, Van Amerongen studies how our bodies can use the same molecular communication mechanisms over and over again with starkly different, context-dependent outcomes. ‘In a healthy situation, these molecular signals are used to balance cell division and differentiation. When their regulation is disrupted, the balance can tip both ways: It can result in rampant cell growth and the development of cancer, but it can also cause loss of tissue integrity resulting in degenerative diseases.’
Multi-scale problems
As a professor, Van Amerongen will further consolidate the research program of the Developmental, Stem Cell & Cancer Biology group, part of the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences. Her own focus lies on the breast tissue, which largely develops after birth and undergoes tremendous changes during the various stages of life.
‘Over the past 10 years, I have come to see the issues we study more and more as so-called “multi-scale problems”. This is because we are trying to understand the biological processes at different levels. You are dealing with subtle changes in gene expression and protein activity, which are sometimes barely measurable and vary from cell to cell. How is it that amidst this jumble of molecular noise and heterogeneity, stable patterns eventually emerge, so that cells ultimately make unambiguous and robust decisions? The challenge lies in sometimes focusing on and tweaking apart all those molecular details and sometimes seeing right through them to unearth the underlying and overarching principles.’
Van Amerongen is also active in education, particularly within the Biomedische Wetenschappen bachelor's program and the Biomedical Sciences master's program. Here, she sees a similar challenge as in her own research:
‘Future employers also expect our alumni to be both specialists in their field as well as “systems thinkers”. So it’s crucial that our curriculum continues to offer solid subject matter knowledge, combined with the 21st-century skills that enable our students to eventually solve various complex problems.’
About Renée van Amerongen
Renée van Amerongen studied medical biology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (1999, cum laude). She conducted her doctoral research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and received her PhD from the University of Amsterdam (2005, cum laude). Following her doctorate, she also completed a theatre training program at theatre school De Trap.
During her postdoc at Stanford University in the United States, Van Amerongen expanded her interests toward developmental and stem cell biology. In 2013, Van Amerongen started a tenure track at the UvA, where she has been leading the “Developmental, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology” group since 2020. She has previously served on the management team of the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences and is currently the program director of the bachelor Biomedische Wetenschappen.
To fund her research, Van Amerongen acquired multiple competitive grants, including an NWO VIDI, an NWO XL and research grants from KWF Cancer Society. Internationally, she is active in the WNT signalling and mammary gland biology communities, including as chair of a Gordon Research Conference and as a member of the organizing committee of the European Network of Breast Development and Cancer labs.
Van Amerongen likes to set aside time for science communication and outreach. In 2024, she was on stage in theatres throughout the Netherlands with a theatre lecture on stem cells and eternal life, in collaboration with the Universiteit van Nederland. She also enjoys collaborating with artists and designers, for which she established her artist-in-residence program in 2021. Time permitting, she writes book reviews for De Nederlandse Boekengids.
On Thursday 20 November 2025, Prof. Renée van Amerongen, appointed as Professor in Fundamental Stem Cell and Cancer Research, will publicly accept the professorship by delivering an address.