Carré

prof.dr. R. Bansal (Ruchi)

Associate Professor
TNW-BET-AST
Carré
r.bansal@utwente.nl
+31534893115
Business card

I am an Adjunct professor at the University of Twente, The Netherlands. Throughout my academic journey, I have been recognized for my scholarly achievements ranking highly in secondary school (2nd rank), bachelor (3rd University rank) and master (3rd University rank) education. In 2002, I received the prestigious CSIR-NET research fellowship in India (<1% success) to pursue my PhD research on Hepatitis B at AIIMS, India. My first PhD (2002-2007) was challenging and was incomplete due to supervisory issues, but I persisted and completed a second PhD (Sep. 2007 – Jan. 2012) at the University of Groningen funded by Ubbo Emmius fellowship focusing on liver fibrosis and cancer, resulting in numerous publications (7) and patents (2). I received the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Sheila Sherlock fellowship, and The Ruth and Richard Julin’s Swedish Foundation research grant (June 2011 – Sept. 2012; <10% success) for pursuing postdoctoral research on hepatitis C induced liver fibrosis at the Karolinska University hospital, Sweden. In 2012, I joined the University of Twente as a postdoctoral researcher with a vision to establish my own research line focusing on personalized understanding, diagnosis-prognosis, and treatment of liver diseases and cancer. To realize my ambition, in 2014, I secured the VENI grant, a prestigious early career personal grant from the Dutch Research Organization, NWO (11% success rate). In 2016, I transitioned to an Assistant Professor and acquired several individual: Gastrostart 2016, Incentive fund 2017, Take-off Phase I valorization grant 2017, Phospholipid research council 2020; and collaborative grants: NWO-NACTAR project 2018, Twente-Muenster Booster Program 2019, Twente University-Radboud UMC TURBO 2019 and Pioneers in Healthcare PIHC voucher 2019) and published numerous articles (20), supervised master (8) and PhD (2) students in 2016-2020. In 2020, I moved to the Department of Medical Cell BioPhysics (MCBP) and established my independent research lab. Focus of my lab lies in understanding metabolic liver diseases and how metabolic liver disease drive liver cancer and cancer metastasis. We aim to identify diagnostic and therapeutic targets using liquid biopsies for early diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. With this, our over-arching goal is to identify at-risk patients and to develop tailored treatment. My lab's mission is to bring scientific knowledge and innovations from bench to bedside to serve science and patients.

Expertise

  • Medicine and Dentistry

    • Combination Therapy
    • Macrophage
    • Hepatic Stellate Cell
    • Liver Fibrosis
    • Liver
    • Gamma Interferon

  • Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science

    • Fibrosis
    • Liver Injury

Organisations

Focus of my lab lies in metabolic liver diseases and metabolic liver disease driven liver cancer and cancer metastasis. We aim to understand underlying disease mechanisms, identify diagnostic and therapeutic targets using liquid biopsies for early diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. With this, our over-arching goal is to identify at-risk patients and to develop tailored treatment. My lab's mission is to bring scientific knowledge and innovations from bench to bedside to serve science and patients.

Publications

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022

2025

Unlocking cellular secrets: Innovations driving research in liver disease & cancer (2025)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. University of Twente. Booijink, R. S.https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036564823

2024

Inhibition of intrahepatic monocyte recruitment by Cenicriviroc and extracellular matrix degradation by MMP1 synergistically attenuate liver inflammation and fibrogenesis in vivo (2024)Scientific reports, 14(1). Article 16897. Geervliet, E., Karkdijk, E. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67926-6Engineered SPIONs functionalized with endothelin a receptor antagonist ameliorate liver fibrosis by inhibiting hepatic stellate cell activation (2024)Bioactive Materials, 39, 406-426. ten Hove, M., Smyris, A., Booijink, R., Wachsmuth, L., Hansen, U., Alic, L., Faber, C., Hӧltke, C. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioactmat.2024.05.034Implications of innate immune sexual dimorphism for MASLD pathogenesis and treatment (2024)Trends in pharmacological sciences, 45(7), 614-627. Booijink, R., Ramachandran, P. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2024.05.004Novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of liver diseases (2024)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. University of Twente. Geervliet, E. K.https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036561372Identification of functional and diverse circulating cancer‐associated fibroblasts in metastatic castration‐naïve prostate cancer patients (2024)Molecular oncology (E-pub ahead of print/First online). Booijink, R., Terstappen, L. W. M. M., Dathathri, E., Isebia, K., Kraan, J., Martens, J. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.1002/1878-0261.13653Retraction: Interferon gamma peptidomimetic targeted to interstitial myofibroblasts attenuates renal fibrosis after unilateral ureteral obstruction in mice (2024)Oncotarget, 15, 35. 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.https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28532The Material World of 3D-Bioprinted and Microfluidic-Chip Models of Human Liver Fibrosis (2024)Advanced materials, 36(2). Article 2307673. Carvalho, A. M., Bansal, R., Barrias, C. C. & Sarmento, B.https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202307673Inertial Ballistic Microfluidics as a Platform for Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Applications (2024)In 28th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences - Micro-Total Analysis Systems (µTAS 2024). van der Ven, D. L., Cuartas Velez, C. A., Bansal, R., Bosschaart, N. & Fernández Rivas , D.

2023

Hepatocyte survival and proliferation by fibroblast growth factor 7 attenuates liver inflammation, and fibrogenesis during acute liver injury via paracrine mechanisms (2023)Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 167. Article 115612. Geervliet, E., Terstappen, L. W. M. M. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115612Hepatic Stellate Cell Targeting Using Peptide-Modified Biologicals (2023)In Hepatic Stellate Cells: Methods and Protocols (pp. 269-284) (Methods in Molecular Biology; Vol. 2669). Humana Press. Bansal, R. & Poelstra, K.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3207-9_17Single Cell Secretome Analyses of Hepatic Stellate Cells: Aiming for Single Cell Phenomics (2023)In Hepatic Stellate Cells: Methods and Protocols (pp. 257-268) (Methods in Molecular Biology; Vol. 2669). Humana Press. Booijink, R., Terstappen, L. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3207-9_16

2022

Characterizing Circulating Tumor Cells and Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Metastatic Castration-Naive and Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Patients (2022)Cancers, 14(18). Article 4404. 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.https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14184404A type IV Autotaxin inhibitor ameliorates acute liver injury and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (2022)EMBO molecular medicine, 14(9). Article e16333. Booijink, R., Salgado-Polo, F., Jamieson, C., Perrakis, A. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202216333Liquid Biopsy Based Circulating Biomarkers in Metastatic Prostate Cancer (2022)Frontiers in oncology, 12. Article 863472. Dathathri, E., Isebia, K. T., Abali, F., Lolkema, M. P., Martens, J. W. M., Terstappen, L. W. M. M. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2022.863472A type IV Autotaxin inhibitor ameliorates acute liver injury and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in mice (2022)[Working paper › Preprint]. bioRxiv. Booijink, R., Salgado-Polo, F., Jamieson, C., Perrakis, A. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.19.492626Targeting of macrophages and hepatic stellate cells for the treatment of liver diseases (2022)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. University of Twente. Kurniawan, D. W.https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036553445One-Step Fabrication of Porous Membrane-Based Scaffolds by Air-Water Interfacial Phase Separation: Opportunities for Engineered Tissues (2022)Membranes, 12(5). Article 453. Allijn, I., du Preez, N., Tasior, M., Bansal, R. & Stamatialis, D.https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12050453Designing novel therapeutic strategies against tumor stroma and fibrosis (2022)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. University of Twente. Mardhian, D. F.https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036553179Lipoxygenases in chronic liver diseases: current insights and future perspectives (2022)Trends in pharmacological sciences, 43(3), 188-205. Heinrich, L., Booijink, R. S., Khurana, A. & Bansal, R.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2021.12.001

Research profiles

University Teaching Qualification:

  • University teaching qualification successfully completed in 2017.
  • English proficiency assessment (C1/C2) successfully completed in 2019

Educational activities:

  • Coordinator and teacher, Advanced Anatomy and Physiology Course (designed a new course in 2023).
  • Coordinator and teacher, Biochemistry master course (Course redesigned in 2023).
  • Coordinator, BMT-M1 bachelor module (2021-2024).
  • Coordinator and teacher, Controlled Drug and Gene Delivery master course (merged with Advanced Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine since 2022).
  • Supervisor of Capita Selecta’s, ATLAS bachelor students and international master internships.

Affiliated study programs

Courses academic year 2025/2026

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.

Courses academic year 2024/2025

Courses academic year 2023/2024

Ongoing Grants

  • 2025-2030    NWO-OTP – Tissue Spatial Secretomics using Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging (TissueSPRi) (€1,022,428; Main PI)
  • 2024-2025    KWF-PoC – MagNeedle for CTC isolation (€147,933; Main PI)
  • 2024-2025    KWF-PoC – Utilization of FETCH Technology (€155,157; Main PI)
  • 2025-2026    NWO-Take-Off Phase I – FETCH Technology (39,987; Main PI)
  • 2024-2028    KWF-PPS - Engineering Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies for the Treatment of Liver Cancer (€1,369,070; Main PI)
  • 2023-2027    KWF-PPS - Unlocking the potential of autotaxin inhibition for the treatment of liver cancer
  • project grant (€829,400; Main PI)
  • 2020-2025    KWF-NWO (PICTURES) project grant (€919,218; Co-PI)

Grants/fellowships (completed)

  • 2023-2024    Twente University RadBoudumc Opportunities (TURBO) program grant (€80,000): Main PI
  • 2020-2024    TKI-HTSM (ATX-NASH) project grant (€306,000; Main PI)
  • 2019-2020    Pioneers in Healthcare (PIHC) project grant (€60,000): Main PI
  • 2019-2020    Twente University RadBoudumc Opportunities (TURBO) program grant (€80,000): Main PI
  • 2019-2022    Phospholipid research council grant (€120,000): Main PI
  • 2019-2020    BOOSTER project (UT-WWU): Cross-border Collaboration UT Twente-WWU Muenster On Imaging for Diagnosis and Therapy (€35,000): Main PI
  • 2018-2021    NWO-TTW NACTAR collaborative grant (€800,000): Co-PI
  • 2017-2019   Take-off Phase-I valorization grant (€40,000) from TTW, NWO: Main PI
  • 2017-2018   UT incentive Fund (€4000) from University of Twente, The Netherlands: Main PI
  • 2016-2017   Gastrostart Grant (€7500) from Netherlands Society of Gastroenterology (NVGE): Main PI
  • 2014-2017    VENI Innovation grant (€250,000) from ZonMw, NWO: Main PI
  • 2012-2013    The Ruth and Richard Julin’s Foundation Swedish research grant (€ 5000): Main PI
  • 2011-2012    Sheila Sherlock Research Fellowship (€50,000), EASL Switzerland: Main PI
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