About Center

The Vilnius–Utrecht Center for Advanced Disease Modeling (CADM) is an international research center bringing together the expertise and capabilities of the Vilnius and Utrecht biomedical ecosystems.

The Center is based at the Medical Science Center of the Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, and is being developed in collaboration with Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, Utrecht University, and University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht). This partnership brings together applied research, advanced biomedical technologies, clinical expertise, and internationally recognized competence in disease modeling within a single collaborative environment.

The Center’s primary objective is to develop advanced models of human disease, validate them, and apply them to address relevant biomedical and clinical questions. Models based on human cells and tissues, organoids, organs-on-chips, as well as digital and computational models, enable more accurate investigation of disease mechanisms, identification of novel therapeutic targets, assessment of potential drug effects, and development of personalized medicine solutions. Such models are already being extensively developed and applied across the Utrecht ecosystem to investigate disease mechanisms, test therapeutic candidates, and advance personalized medicine approaches.

CADM places a strong emphasis on translational research – bridging the gap between biological discovery and solutions that can be applied in practice. Close collaboration with clinical partners and industry is therefore a key element of the Center’s activities. CADM aims to become an open platform for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, and medical technology companies, for which advanced disease models can support the development and testing of new medicines, diagnostic methods, biomarkers, and other health technology solutions.

The Center’s ambition is to bring together scientists, clinicians, and industry partners to ensure that high-level scientific knowledge is translated into solutions that create tangible value for patients and society – from identifying unmet clinical needs and developing and testing new technologies to their implementation in clinical and healthcare practice.

One of the Center’s key areas of activity is the development and application of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). These are advanced in vitro, ex vivo, and in silico approaches that more accurately reflect human biology and can complement traditional experimental models while progressively reducing reliance on animal-based research. This direction is aligned with the broader EU life science stratgy, which seeks to accelerate the development, validation, and uptake of NAMs in biomedical research and in the development and testing of medicines and medical devices.