About us

The Institute for Chemical Immunology (ICI) is a collaboration between a number of internationally-renowned Dutch research groups specialising in immunology, chemical biology, structural biology, proteomics (protein research) and drug development. The ICI works on a unique research program combining chemistry and immunology to diagnose and treat diseases related to immune system failure via new, targeted chemical compounds. Besides research, education is a core activity of the ICI. PhD students and postdocs working on ICI projects are given interdisciplinary training to provide them with a greater range of approaches connecting chemistry and immunology.

Core financial backing has come from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), which in 2014 awarded the ICI a subsidy of €27.6 million euro from its ‘Gravitation' programme. These resources will be divided through open application rounds among the partners within the ICI, based on international peer review of research proposals. Core criteria for funding are scientific excellence and opportunities for translation of research to clinical applications. The ICI explicitly focuses on using research results to develop new possibilities for diagnosis and therapy.