VAI Folio 2023

AND IT’S HOW WE KNOW WE’RE
MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
For those affected by neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.
For people fighting cancer. For students and teachers embracing
the challenges facing our world.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
ESTABLISHING A LINK
BETWEEN THE APPENDIX &
PARKINSON’S
VAI scientists identified
the appendix as a
possible starting point
for Parkinson’s, opening
the door to potential
new therapies that aim
to head off the disease in
the gut, long before motor
symptoms occur.
BLOOD TEST FOR
PANCREATIC CANCER
VAI scientists are
developing a new
combination blood test
for pancreatic cancer that
may help catch the disease
sooner, which could lead to
earlier and more effective
medical intervention.
DEVELOPING MORE PRECISE
MEDICATIONS
VAI scientists for the first
time identified the structure
of a G protein-coupled
receptor, a major drug
target, which is a critical
step in understanding its
function and leveraging it
for treatment of disease.
VIRAL MIMICRY IMPROVES
CANCER TREATMENT
VAI scientists and
collaborators have found
that anti-cancer drugs
called demethylating
agents trick cancer cells
to behave as though they
are infected with a virus or
other pathogen. This “viral
mimicry” leads to cell death,
decreasing the number of
cancer cells and improving
the effectiveness of other
treatments, such as chemoand
immunotherapies.
EARLIEST STAGES OF LIFE
VAI scientists are studying
how DNA replicates, which
may one day contribute to
the development of better
therapies for the more
than 40 diseases related
to failures in this process.
SU2C CATALYST AWARDS
Van Andel Institute–
Stand Up To Cancer
Epigenetics Dream Team
scientists earned two of 10
prestigious Catalyst awards
from Stand Up To Cancer,
which support clinical trials
for new bladder cancer
and non-small cell lung
cancer therapies.
CREATING A CANCER ATLAS
VAI scientists played
integral roles in The Cancer
Genome Atlas, a federally
led project to molecularly
map cancer. The more
than decade-long initiative
was the most in-depth
undertaking of its kind,
spanning 10,000 tumors
across 33 cancer types.
SPREAD OF PARKINSON’S
DISEASE THROUGH THE BRAIN
VAI scientists were the first
to show that a Parkinson’s
disease-associated protein
spreads from parts of the
brain connected to the
nose to other brain regions
affected by the disease. The
discovery has implications
for finding ways to slow or
stop disease progression.
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