Following the 2017-2021 coalition agreement from the Dutch Cabinet Rutte III, in which it was recommended to focus on developing alternatives for research with human embryos, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport commissioned ZonMw to implement a program for research with human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).
The aim of the PSIDER research program is to develop alternative model systems for human embryos, advance our understanding of and ability to treat serious hereditary diseases, and put the Netherlands at the forefront of this field. The PSIDER research program is divided into two main research lines.
Read more about PSIDER (in Dutch).
The HipGametes consortium aims to develop egg and sperm cells from (edited) hiPSCs in the laboratory, and to explore the ethical, legal, and societal implications of potentially using these cells (or: gametes) to create non-viable human embryos.
The Beyond the Blastocyst consortium aims to use human blastoids to study the molecular mechanisms of early human development, develop methods to improve IVF success of mosaic embryos, and develop an ethical framework that facilitates policy-making.
The GREAT consortium aims to develop a 3D human gastruloid model system from pluripotent stem cells to study the early development of heart, muscle and blood tissue while simultaneously exploring the ethical and social issues of this technology.
Have questions about our research or interested in contributing to (one of) the consortia? Your input is invaluable to us and we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out with any inquiries, ideas, or suggestions.
