• Dissecting the mechanisms through which the BM microenvironment can be molded by tumor cells, and the subsequent influence on tumor progression and therapy resistance 
• Overcoming Multiple Myeloma (MM) induced bone disease through osteogenic induction. 
• Efficacy evaluation of novel pharmacological and cellular combination therapy for hematological malignancies, by using in vitro and in vivo bioluminescent imaging-based models. 

Background 

Dr. Groen studied Pharmacochemistry at VU University Amsterdam. After pursuing a PhD in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Pals at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, where he investigated the microenvironmental regulation of multiple myeloma (MM). He continued his studies on myeloma at the University Medical Center Utrecht (Dr. Martens and Prof. Dr. Lokhorst) and through an individual Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Constantine Mitsiades at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During this period, he developed the "humanized" bone marrow-like scaffold model, which has proven to be suitable to study not only patient-derived MM cells but also other hematologic malignancies as well as to simulate bone metastatic lesions of solid tumors. An achievement that resulted in the acceptance to the prestigious Translational Research Training in Hematology (TRTH), a joint effort of the European Hematology Association (EHA) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH). In 2015, Dr. Groen joined the MM program of VU University Medical Center (headed by Prof. Dr. Zweegman) as Assistant Professor, where he is leading his independent research group focused on the investigation of the bidirectional interaction of tumor cells and the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment.