R. Bansal PhD (Ruchi)

Ruchi obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Biochemistry from Delhi University, India. In 2012, she obtained her PhD from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands focused on designing of novel strategies to target nanobiologicals to key pathogenic cells in the chronic diseases (liver fibrosis and cancer). During the last stages of her PhD, she received two prestigious grants Sheila Sherlock research fellowship (from European association for the study of liver diseases, EASL) and The Ruth and Richard Julin’s Foundation Swedish research grant to pursue her postdoctoral research at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Her research project was focused on “Understanding the fundamental disease mechanisms behind Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced and alcohol-induced liver diseases”. In October 2012, she moved to the Netherlands and started as a senior postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biomaterials Science and Technology at the University of Twente. Her aim was to combine fundamental disease understanding to identify new disease targets to develop (nano)biotherapeutics against liver diseases. In 2014, she received the prestigious VENI grant (from ZonMw, NWO) to pursue her research on “Development of novel targeted nano-therapeutics for the treatment of liver diseases”. From 2016-2019, she was an appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomaterials Science and Technology. In 2019, she moved to the Department of Medical Cell BioPhysics, University of Twente where established her research group "Translational Liver Research". She has received several awards, published >60 publications, and obtained several research grants for pursuing her research. She has also served as a young academy board member, faculty council member and Twente graduate school award jury member. She participate in editorial board of several journals, evaluation committees and advisory boards.

Chemistry

# Stellate Crystal

Medicine & Life Sciences

# Fibrosis
# Hepatic Stellate Cells
# Interferon-Gamma
# Liver
# Liver Cirrhosis
# Liver Diseases
# Myofibroblasts

Faculty of Science and Technology (TNW), Applied Stem Cell Technologies (AST)

My research group, Translational Liver Research, focuses on multiple research lines: 1) understanding the underlying disease mechanisms and cellular crosstalk, 2) identification of new therapeutic and diagnostic targets, 3) non-invasive detection methods and single-cell analysis, 4) designing of novel cell‐specific (nano)therapeutics (and theranostics), and 5) development of new in vitro culture systems and in vivo (preclinical animal models). The group broadly focuses on fibrotic and inflammatory liver diseases, and (liver) cancer.

Poosti, F. , Bansal, R. , Yazdani, S. , Prakash, J., Beljaars, L., van den Born, J., de Borst, M. H., van Goor, H., Hillebrands, J. L., & Poelstra, K. (2024). Retraction: Interferon gamma peptidomimetic targeted to interstitial myofibroblasts attenuates renal fibrosis after unilateral ureteral obstruction in mice. Oncotarget, 15, 35. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28532

Carvalho, A. M. , Bansal, R., Barrias, C. C., & Sarmento, B. (2024). The Material World of 3D-Bioprinted and Microfluidic-Chip Models of Human Liver Fibrosis. Advanced materials, 36(2), Article 2307673. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202307673

Geervliet, E. , Terstappen, L. W. M. M. , & Bansal, R. (2023). Hepatocyte survival and proliferation by fibroblast growth factor 7 attenuates liver inflammation, and fibrogenesis during acute liver injury via paracrine mechanisms. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 167, Article 115612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115612

Bansal, R., & Poelstra, K. (2023). Hepatic Stellate Cell Targeting Using Peptide-Modified Biologicals. In Hepatic Stellate Cells: Methods and Protocols (pp. 269-284). (Methods in Molecular Biology; Vol. 2669). Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3207-9_17

Booijink, R. , Terstappen, L. , & Bansal, R. (2023). Single Cell Secretome Analyses of Hepatic Stellate Cells: Aiming for Single Cell Phenomics. In R. Weiskirchen, & S. L. Friedman (Eds.), Hepatic Stellate Cells: Methods and Protocols (pp. 257-268). (Methods in Molecular Biology; Vol. 2669). Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3207-9_16

Kurniawan, D. W. , Booijink, R. S., Jajoriya, A. K., Dhawan, G., Mishra, D., Oosterhuis, D., Argemi, J. , Storm, G., Olinga, P., Bataller, R., Mohanty, S. K., Mishra, D. P. , Prakash, J. , & Bansal, R. (2022). Src kinase as a potential therapeutic target in non-alcoholic and alcoholic steatohepatitis. Clinical and translational discovery, 2(1), Article e18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ctd2.18

Dathathri, E., Isebia, K. T. , Abali, F., Lolkema, M. P., Martens, J. W. M. , Terstappen, L. W. M. M. , & Bansal, R. (2022). Liquid Biopsy Based Circulating Biomarkers in Metastatic Prostate Cancer. Frontiers in oncology, 12, Article 863472. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2022.863472

Booijink, R., Salgado-Polo, F., Jamieson, C., Perrakis, A. , & Bansal, R. (2022). A type IV Autotaxin inhibitor ameliorates acute liver injury and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in mice. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.19.492626

Booijink, R., Salgado-Polo, F., Jamieson, C., Perrakis, A. , & Bansal, R. (2022). A type IV Autotaxin inhibitor ameliorates acute liver injury and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. EMBO molecular medicine, 14(9), Article e16333. https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202216333

Isebia, K. T. , Dathathri, E., Verschoor, N. , Nanou, A., de Jong, A. C. , Coumans, F. A. W. , Terstappen, L. W. M. M., Kraan, J., Martens, J. W. M. , Bansal, R., & Lolkema, M. P. (2022). Characterizing Circulating Tumor Cells and Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Metastatic Castration-Naive and Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Patients. Cancers, 14(18), Article 4404. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14184404

Heinrich, L. , Booijink, R. S. , Khurana, A. , & Bansal, R. (2022). Lipoxygenases in chronic liver diseases: current insights and future perspectives. Trends in pharmacological sciences, 43(3), 188-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2021.12.001

Allijn, I., du Preez, N., Tasior, M. , Bansal, R. , & Stamatialis, D. (2022). One-Step Fabrication of Porous Membrane-Based Scaffolds by Air-Water Interfacial Phase Separation: Opportunities for Engineered Tissues. Membranes, 12(5), Article 453. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12050453

Kurniawan, D. W. (2022). Targeting of macrophages and hepatic stellate cells for the treatment of liver diseases. [PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT, University of Twente]. University of Twente. https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036553445

Mardhian, D. F. (2022). Designing novel therapeutic strategies against tumor stroma and fibrosis. [PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT, University of Twente]. University of Twente. https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036553179

Cioffi, F., Adam, R. H. I. , Bansal, R. , & Broersen, K. (2021). A review of oxidative stress products and related genes in early alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 83(3), 977-1001. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-210497

Mohanty, S. K., Donnelly, B., Temple, H. , Ortiz-Perez, A., Mowery, S., Lobeck, I., Dupree, P., Poling, H. M., McNeal, M., Mourya, R., Jenkins, T. , Bansal, R., Bezerra, J., & Tiao, G. (2021). High Mobility Group Box 1 Release by Cholangiocytes Governs Biliary Atresia Pathogenesis and Correlates With Increases in Afflicted Infants. Hepatology, 74(2), 864-878. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.31745

Zuchowska, A. , Bansal, R. , & le Gac, S. (2021). The presence of an ECM capsule around liver tumor models blocks the penetration of (Nano)-Drugs. In Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2021 (pp. 637-638)

Kalloor Joseph, F. , Steenbergen, W. , & Bansal, R. (2021). Ultrasound and LED-based photoacoustic system for preclinical imaging of liver fibrosis. In A. A. Oraevsky, & L. V. Wang (Eds.), Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2021 Article 116422I (Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE; Vol. 11642). SPIE. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2577720

Ojha, T., Hu, Q., Colombo, C., Wit, J., van Geijn, M., van Steenbergen, M. J., Bagheri, M., Königs-Werner, H., Buhl, E. M. , Bansal, R., Shi, Y., Hennink, W. E. , Storm, G., Rijcken, C. J. F. , & Lammers, T. (2021). Lyophilization stabilizes clinical-stage core-crosslinked polymeric micelles to overcome cold chain supply challenges. Biotechnology journal, 16(6), Article 2000212. https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.202000212

Öztürk Akcora, B., Vassilios Gabriël, A. , Ortiz-Perez, A. , & Bansal, R. (2020). Pharmacological inhibition of STAT3 pathway ameliorates acute liver injury in vivo via inactivation of inflammatory macrophages and hepatic stellate cells. FASEB BioAdvances, 2(2), 77-89. https://doi.org/10.1096/fba.2019-00070

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I have successfully completed my University teaching qualification (UTQ)/Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs (BKO) in 2017, and English proficiency assessment (C1/C2) in 2019.

Since 2015, I am an organizer, coordinator and teacher of Controlled Drug and Gene delivery Master course (5EC). Due to the excellent performance of Controlled Drug and Gene delivery master course (graded 8.3 by students). This course was included in BME NVAO accreditation in 2018 and received positive remarks. I am coordinating M1 bachelor module, and Biochemistry master course.

I also supervise capita selecta, bachelor and master students during their internships and thesis assignments. I have also served as an advisor for ATLAS students and as a master Honor’s program supervisor.

Bachelor

Master

Other

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Ongoing projects:

ATX-Liver.Evaluation of Novel Autotaxin Inhibitors for the Treatment of Liver Diseases, funded by TKI-HTSM grant.
Chemokine receptor CCR2 and CCR8 peptide antagonists as a promising treatment for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), funded by EASL.
Healing wounds with Phototherapy, funded by the Pioneers in Healthcare (PIHC) project grant.
Metabolic reprogramming of fatty liver diseases, funded by the Twente University RadBoudumc Opportunities (TURBO) grant.
Bioactive liposomes for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), funded by the Phospholipid research council grant.
Novel and Versatile Theranostics for diagnosis and therapy of liver fibrosis, funded by BOOSTER project (UT-WWU), Cross-border Collaboration UT Twente-WWU Muenster On Imaging for Diagnosis and Therapy.
MDR-Phage - Small molecules that promote bacterial killing in phagocytes, funded by the NWO-TTW NACTAR grant.
NanoNASH program, Joint Co-PI with Prof. Gert Storm, funded by NUS:
Lipoxygenases: From dissecting mechanism to targeted therapeutics for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), funded by the DAAD-PRIME.