Although urethral stricture mainly affects men, our impact goes further. The project advances male urethral reconstruction while enabling future female and tubular organ applications, aligned with Horizon Europe’s gender equality and inclusive research goals.
🔗 www.strong-ur.eu/about-us/the...

And one abstract accepted for the EAU27 (also 100%, only one submitted) @uroweb.org

Tissue engineering for urethral reconstruction is booming
🍆👩‍🔬

4/4 abstracts accepted, @eutermis.bsky.social here we come!

This artefact is now held in the MAN Napoli. Photo credit: James Heath via Flickr. The stele is shaped as a temple with supporting columns. Between the columns inside the temple is a phallus which is almost as tall as the columns themselves.

✨Bring on the good fortune✨

This #PhallusThursday we celebrate with this tuff stele from Pompeii that depicts a large phallus inside a temple. If you ever wondered if the Romans attributed divine power to the phallus, wonder no more!

#AncientRome

Want to know more about urethral diseases and how biofabrication may generate solutions for patients? Check out post below!

Androgen Receptor Localization in Human Oral Mucosa: Implications for Hypospadias Surgery Hypospadias is a congenital defect of the urethra that often requires surgical correction. Oral mucosa (OM) is commonly used as a graft material in adult and pediatric urethroplasties (revised as sugg...

Fresh paper!

www.jpedsurg.org/article/S002...

It was a true pleasure to host this meeting.

Talk about an in-flight meal.

For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn

Two panel comic: Left: a mostly completed puzzle with a regular-looking piece missing labeled "My Story So Far" Right: a blobby and irregular shape, with an arrow pointing at the missing piece (it obviously does not fit) labeled "My Latest Experiment"

Sigh. We're gonna need a bigger story...

Proud to host the @strong-ur.bsky.social consortium in our institute, stay tuned for more cool pictures

Targeting ECM-producing cells with CAR-T therapy alleviates fibrosis in chronic kidney disease Zhao et al. identify PDGFRβ as a common surface antigen for the major ECM-producing cells including fibroblasts, pericytes, and myofibroblasts in the kidney. They further demonstrate that PDGFRβ CAR-T cells significantly alleviate fibrosis-associated pathologies in multiple CKD models, evoking an integrated therapeutic strategy for CKD and its cardiovascular complications.

Targeting ECM-producing cells with CAR-T therapy alleviates fibrosis in chronic kidney disease

Great paper from our institute, congrats @riclevato.bsky.social and team

#biofabrication #3Dprinting #regenerativemedicine

EAU Guidelines on Urethral Strictures - Uroweb The EAU Urethral Strictures Guidelines aim to provide an overview of the aspects relating to urethral strictures.

🔎 Urethral strictures can vary significantly in severity, and understanding this, is key to improving diagnosis and treatment.
Read all about it in the @uroweb.org ’s Urethral Strictures Guidelines classifying strictures 👉 uroweb.org/guidelines/u...
#Urology #MedicalResearch #EUscience

Lessons Learned from Tissue Engineering in Urethral Reconstruction and Pelvic Organ Prolapse | Tissue Engineering Part B: Reviews Urogenital diseases, such as hypospadias, incontinence, urethral obstruction, and pelvic organ prolapse, are common conditions that often require treatments at specialized health care providers. All t...

Fresh paper! Thanks to @erneurogen.bsky.social for funding the meeting and ofcourse all the co-authors.

www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Last week we celebrated 10 years Regenerative Medicine Utrecht, so proud to be part of this community! | Petra De Graaf Last week we celebrated 10 years Regenerative Medicine Utrecht, so proud to be part of this community! I enthusiastically joined in organization of the symposium, inviting old and new friends for le...

www.linkedin.com/posts/drpetr...

Biomimetic model to study penile dysfunctions Nature Biomedical Engineering - A multi-layered penis model can be 3D printed with a complex vessel architecture for the study of penile physiology and for restoring erectile functions in vivo.

Fresh publication, check out our news and views article in Nature Biomedical Engineering
First manuscript (of many I hope) with @isabellemartinier.bsky.social
#biofabrication #diseasemodeling #peniledisease #urology

rdcu.be/erlM6

Happy Cucumber Day 🥒🎉
Cucumbers (and other things 😉) come in all shapes and sizes. Big ones, small ones, straight ones, curved ones. Because just like cucumbers, condoms also come in all shapes and sizes. #safesexysummer #cucumber #condoms #cukes #pickles #STIprevention

Biomimetic tubular materials: from native tissues to a unifying view of new vascular, tracheal, gastrointestinal, oesophageal, and urinary grafts Repairing tubular tissues—the trachea, the esophagus, urinary and gastrointestinal tracts, and the circulatory system—from trauma or severe pathologies that require resection, calls for new, more effe...

This review is from @isabellemartinier.bsky.social, @fm-fernandes.bsky.social and Léa Trichet:

'Biomimetic tubular materials: from native tissues to a unifying view of new vascular, tracheal, gastrointestinal, oesophageal, and urinary grafts'

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

RMU Symposium Regenerative Medicine Utrecht 10-Year Anniversary Symposium

Check out the RMU Symposium in Tivoli Vredenburg on June 30th!
Registration is open for all those interested in Regenerative Medicine

We celebrate our 10 year anniversary with key note lectures, workshops, posters, and more! Get a sneak peak of our program below.

www.uu.nl/en/research/...

eUROGEN webinar: Tissue engineering as applied to the urinary tract - is it a reality? - STRONG-UR STRONG-UR will be presented during the webinar “Tissue engineering as applied to the urinary tract – is it a reality?” by Dr. Christopher Chapple. The is organised by the ERN eUROGEN. The term ‘tissue...

🚨 Join the upcoming @erneurogen.bsky.social webinar about the latest evidence on tissue engineering in the urinary tract.

🗓️ 28 May
🕙 18-19h
📍 Online

Our project will be presented as an example of ongoing research in this field!

👉 All info: shorturl.at/M1pCd

#TissueEngineering #EUproject

Lab-kept bumble bees roll small wooden balls around for no apparent purpose other than fun, a 2022 study reveals.

Learn more on #WorldBeeDay: scim.ag/4dAwCuD

Don’t forget penis cancer! Have your sons vaccinated too #GetVaccinated

TERMIS-EU 2025 is coming to Freiburg! 🇩🇪
Join hosts Bernd Rolauffs, Melanie Hart, Günther Schlunck & Thorsten Steinberg, May 20–23.
Workshops, cross-disciplinary science & big ideas.
#TermisEU2025 #TissueEngineering #RegenerativeMedicine

Picture of Sandra van Vlierberghe on a podium next to her slide.

Proud of my colleague in @strong-ur.bsky.social

Prof. Sandra van Vlierberghe received her @eutermis.bsky.social Mid Term Career Award #TERMISEU2025

Two small figures pose for a photo on top of a large telescope dish which reflects the colours of the aurora in the sky over an Antarctic landscape

In a wood, surrounded by trees and tall grass, a researcher wearing outdoor gear and a cap, crouches in shallow water next to a large white box and holds several tiny frogs in open hands

A figure wearing red overalls illuminated in a doorway that appears to open from a black area of trees and buildings, silhouetted by a starry night sky

A researcher wearing high vis jacket and head torch sits in a small boat holding a wide-barrelled air gun. Behind, a fishing trawler surrounded by flocks of sea birds, and snow covered hills on the horizon

These are the striking winners of our 2025 Scientist At Work photo competition, taking viewers on a voyage of discovery that includes the Arctic and Antarctic circles, and a shot from atop a Greek mountain.

Read the full stories of these images: https://go.nature.com/4dqQK2s

🚨 Bladder Cancer: The Forgotten Cancer

This May, let's unite to shift the narrative around bladder cancer. It’s time to elevate awareness, recognise the early symptoms, and dismantle the barriers preventing individuals from seeking the medical advice they need.

‘About as close to aliens as we’ll ever get.’ Can AI crack animal language? Dolittle Prize recognizes breakthroughs in translating “speech” of dolphins, cuttlefish, and other creatures

"Dolphins call each other’s signature whistles if they get separated. Once, we played one of those whistles while the pair was still together. They responded with a totally different whistle. We call it the 'WTF whistle,' because it really did seem like that’s what they were asking." @science.org

Figure group in soft white limestone of a woman and a man with an oversized phallus, dated 305-330 BCE. The nude man is seated, his enlarged phallus extended on ground. A smaller figure of a nude woman playing her harp is seated on the far end of his phallus. The man holds a curious object in front of him – a musical instrument? Some detail are outlined in black paint.

Give it up for these hard working entertainers on Labour Day!

#PhallusThursday

How to 3D print human tissue - Taneka Jones YouTube video by TED-Ed

🧬 This short video offers a clear and insightful look at how 3D bioprinting works, a key technology driving innovation in regenerative medicine!

📺 Check it out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHbn...

#3Dprinting #Biotechnology

It's Testicular Cancer Awareness Month 🐿️ 🥜 🌰 Self-exams are important to familiarize yourself with what is normal for you. If you notice any changes or something feels off, take action & see a doctor. #KnowThyNuts #TCisNoJoke #TesticularCancerAwarenessMonth #nuts #cancer @tcsociety.bsky.social