Regenerative Urology Utrecht
Reconstructive surgery, Tissue engineering, Urethra
Research aim
Urinary tract symptoms are common and have major impact on quality of life. We focus on the male urethra. Our aim is to generate treatment options by regenerative medicine. Our mission is to create laboratory grown tissue for urethral reconstruction
About us
The Regenerative urology laboratory in the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht (RMCU) is closely linked to the clinical urology department at the UMCU. Together we synergistically work to improve treatment options for urinary tract problems, with special focus on urethral diseases in men: around 50 thousand men in the Netherlands are affected by this. The approach and composition of the team (the combination of backgrounds, focus on vascularization of the engineered tissue, use of residual patient material and access to animal experiments) makes our group unique.
In the RMCU we share facilities and research meetings, to ensure collaboration between groups. Via Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society we disseminate our research on their meetings and on clinically congresses (like the European Association of Urology and the International Continence Society). Our department is member of the European reference network eUROGEN and a specialized referral center for urethral reconstructive surgery. We have been involved since 2014 in the focus area Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells of the UMCU.
Three PhD students are working on the overarching theme ‘Tissue engineering for urethral reconstruction’. We participate in several consortia for Horizon Europe applications and use an internal starting grant and a grant from the animal welfare committee Utrecht in 2020 (urethra on a chip) to fund research.