I joined the Princess Máxima Center as a basic researcher and pediatrician in training in June 2018. My primary research interest lies in understanding the molecular biology of pediatric soft tissue sarcomas (STS) and to use that knowledge to develop new treatment options for patients suffering from these tumors. To this end, I study establishment procedures for novel preclinical models of pediatrist STS (i.e., tumor organoid models) as well as bulk and single-cell genomics of these tumors. I am furthermore member of the molecular tumor board of the Dutch iTHER as well as the German INFORM pediatric precision medicine trial.
My hobbies include sports (running, bootcamp) and gaming (board games, tabletop role-playing games, video games). I am the proud father of a boy and a girl.
News & Updates
PhD candidate Maroussia Ganpat publishes her work
March 2025
In our latest paper, which you can read here, we present an engineered tumor organoid model that represents translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC), a rare form of RCC. Our model serves as a valuable tool for advancing the understanding of tRCC biology and, ultimately, facilitating the development of new therapies, which are urgently needed.
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Our latest work published in Cell Reports Medicine
December 2024
In this study, authored by our PhD student Marjolein Kes, we focused on malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRT), a highly aggressive childhood cancer with limited treatment options. By utilising patient-derived tumor organoids, we identified de novo nucleotide biosynthesis as a key vulnerability of MRT. Targeting this pathway effectively reduced MRT growth and showed promising results in preclinical models. This work hopefully brings us one step closer to developing better treatments for children facing this devastating disease.
You can read the paper here.​
ERC Consolidator Grant for Jarno
December 2024
We are proud to share that Jarno has been awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC)! This will allow him to expand the group's research in the next five years and dive into tumor plasticity, a feature that makes many cancers resistant to treatment. See here for more on Jarno's plans and what he had to say on receiving such a prestigious grant.
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PhD candidate Jeff DeMartino successfully defends his thesis
November 2024
Jeff has successfully defended his PhD thesis "Dual perspectives: Cellular differentiation in health and disease”! We are thrilled that he has decided to continue his research in our team as a postdoc. Congratulations, Dr. DeMartino!
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New collaboration with The Netherlands Cancer Institute thanks to Kika
October 2024
We are excited to announce that the Drost lab will start a collaboration with the group of Elzo de Wit at the The Netherlands Cancer Institute, funded by Stichting Kinderen Kankervrij (KiKa)! Thanks to this research grant, we will be able to further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the development of malignant rhabdoid tumors, a form of rare but extremely aggressive childhood cancer.
Irene Paassen has successfully defended her PhD thesis
September 2024
Big congratulations to Irene, who defended her PhD thesis titled "Complexity in Simplicity: Unraveling the Heterogeneous Nature of Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors"! Irene will continue her academic journey as a PostDoc in the lab of Mark Rubin, studying lineage plasticity in prostate cancer.
PhD candidate Marjolein Kes publishes review
September 2024
In her review, which can be read here, Marjolein examines the effects of current cell culture practices on cancer cell metabolism and highlights recent advancements in establishing more physiologically relevant in vitro culture conditions and technologies, including organoids. Applying these improvements may bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo findings, facilitating the development of innovative (metabolic) therapies for (rare) cancers.
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New KiKa research grant for the Drost lab
February 2023
We are happy to announce that our group was awarded another research grant by Stichting Kinderen Kankervrij (KiKa), which will allow us to continue our work on synovial sarcoma. Children with this tumor have a poor outcome, especially those whose disease comes back after treatment. Michael Meister, physician-scientist and joint applicant on the grant explains: ‘While this tumor is made up of many different cell types, we only see few DNA changes. Using single cell analyses and organoids, we aim to find out where these differences within the tumor come from. By understanding this better, we hope to find leads for a possible new treatment in the future. We are very happy and grateful that we can continue this research thanks to the support of KiKa.’
Irene Paassen's research is published in Nature Communications
December 2023
Check out Irene's most recent paper titled "SMARCB1 loss activates patient-specific distal oncogenic enhancers in malignant rhabdoid tumors". Her research, in collaboration with Elzo de Wit's team at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, has discovered intertumoral heterogeneity at the epigenomic level, shedding light on how the expression of the MYC oncogene is driven in malignant rhabdoid tumors. This discovery significantly contributes to enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying this aggressive childhood cancer.
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Our most recent work is now on BioRxiv
September 2023
Our PhD student Maroussia Ganpat has published her most recent paper on BioRxiv. This study demonstrates that SFPQ-TFE3 expression is sufficient to transform kidney epithelial cells into tRCC and defines the trajectories underlying malignant transformation, thereby facilitating the development of new therapeutic interventions. Read the paper here.
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PhD candidate Michael Meister successfully defends his thesis
June 2023
On 7 June, Michael successfully defended his PhD thesis titled “En route to better treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma”. He says: "As a future pediatric oncologist, I want to help children as best I can. For me personally that also includes scientific research as an integral part of my work. I am therefore very happy and proud to receive my PhD title". See here for what else Michael's had to say on the day of the defense.
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PhD candidate Jeff DeMartino publishes his work on rhabdomyosarcoma
May 2023
New publication by our PhD candidate Irene Paassen
April 2023
Irene's work on establishing and thoroughly characterizing tumoroid models of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (ATRTs) has been published! These tumoroids are the first pediatric brain tumor organoid model, and the differential drug sensitivity that the ATRT subgroups were found to display will hopefully contribute to the development of subgroup-specific treatment regimens. You can read the paper here.
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Our latest manuscript is on BioRxiv
November 2022
Have a look here for our new manuscript describing a role for long-range promoter-enhancer looping of the MYC oncogene in malignant rhabdoid tumors, very aggressive childhood cancers. A great collaboration with the De Wit group from the Netherlands Cancer Institute! This study helps us understand how these tumors arise, which is critical for therapy development in the future.
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PhD candidate Camilla Calandrini has successfully defended her thesis
November 2022
On 24 November, Camilla successfully defended her PhD thesis, titled “Applying organoid technology to pediatric cancer research”. Congratulations Dr. Calandrini!
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PhD candidate Maroussia Ganpat wins presenter award
September 2022
Maroussia participated in the “11th International Pediatric Renal Tumour Biology Conference”, where she presented her work on the establishment of a pediatric kidney tumor progression model to study SFPQ-TFE3 translocated Renal Cell Carcinoma. She has received the award for best oral presentation.
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New publication by Michael T. Meister of our sarcoma team
August 2022
Michael's paper, featured on the cover of October's issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine, describes the first collection of comprehensively characterized tumor organoid (tumoroid) models of pediatric rhabdomyosarcomas (RMS) as novel preclinical models for this highly aggressive pediatric cancer entity. You can read the paper here.
PhD candidate Irene Paassen appointed a travel grant
January 2022
Irene will participate in the conference "Organoids as tools for fundamental discovery and translation", where she will present her work on the establishment of an ATRT organoid model. She has received a Keystone Symposia Future of Science Fund scholarship to cover her travel expenses.
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The Drost website has launched!
January 2022
Our very own website is now online. Visit us for more details on our research, news and many more.
PhD candidate Lars Custers has successfully defended his thesis
October 2021
Warm congratulations to Lars for defending his PhD thesis "From Derailed Development to Childhood Cancer: Using organoid models to study Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors​".
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NWO Vidi grant for Jarno Drost
July 2021
Jarno has been awarded the prestigious Vidi grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). He will receive €800,000 in research funding, which will be used to investigate the epigenetic landscape of childhood tumors.
"This is not only a very welcome appreciation for the research that we have worked so hard on in the past few years, but it also enables us to further develop it and start new lines of research."
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