The Veni is a personal grant aimed at researchers who have recently obtained their PhD. It encourages adventurous, talented, and pioneering researchers to further develop their own research ideas over the next three years. Each researcher receives up to €320,000. In total, NWO has awarded 205 grants in this round.

The laureates (per faculty)

Amsterdam Law School

• Dr Gabriele Chlevickaite: When Seeing is No Longer Believing? AI, Digital Evidence, and International Criminal Justice 
  Digital technology is revolutionising how international crimes are proven in court. Smartphone footage and online content now provide critical evidence of war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. Yet this digital revolution creates serious complications: investigators, lawyers, and judges face massive data volumes, anonymous sources, and the threat of (AI) manipulation. This research explores how legal professionals navigate these obstacles and proposes innovative methods to ensure digital audiovisual evidence leads to fair, credible outcomes in investigations and prosecutions of international crimes.
   

• Dr Jonathan Kwik: Readiness under Algorithmic Fire: Designing Lawful and Effective Defences against Hostile Military AI
  Military powers are racing to develop artificial intelligence (AI) for warfare. In response, states are starting to invest in ‘defences against AI’: means and techniques designed to mislead or disrupt enemy AI systems, or increase civilian resilience against hostile use of AI. These measures can protect societies, but – if used irresponsibly – can also harm civilians, violate international law, and infringe rights. This project studies how international law regulates defences against hostile military AI and provides policy-makers, militaries, and civil protection organisations with workable guidance to design defensive measures against enemy AI systems that are both lawful and effective.
   

• Dr Sabine Mair: Redistributing Europe: Who Gets EU Money, Why, and How
  In recent years, the EU has been redistributing large amounts of public money - for economic recovery, energy transition, and defence. This marks a major shift from a Union that traditionally had a small budget and did not see itself as a redistributive community. This project analyses how EU public finance law structures this redistributive transformation and evaluates its constitutional significance. Thereby, the project addresses a fundamental question of a political community - who deserves what, why, and how – and provides normative guidance for Europe’s evolving system of public finance.

Economics and Business

• Dr Laura Dupin: What Are the Social and Economic Impacts of Neighbourhood Businesses in Cities?
  Many cities have neighbourhoods that thrive and others that struggle. This project studies whether local, independent shops and services help widen or reduce these gaps. Using detailed data from Amsterdam, I compare ‘necessity’ businesses (like groceries and pharmacies) with ‘discretionary’ businesses (like cafés and specialty shops) to see where they open and close, whom they hire, and whether they strengthen residents’ sense of social connection. The project aims to identify when and how neighbourhood businesses help to address unequal spatial opportunities in cities.

Faculty of Humanities

• Dr Jessie Wei-Hsuan Chen: Creating Green Worlds: Constructing Horticultural Knowledge and Expertise in the Dutch Republic (1600–1800)
  Dutch excellence in horticulture has been renowned worldwide since the seventeenth century, altering local environments to cultivate plants introduced from all over the world. Considering horticulture as an epistemic domain, this project investigates how such horticultural knowledge and expertise was constructed in the early modern Dutch Republic. It examines how the interactions of hands-on practices, formalised knowledge, and the environments formed and shaped the expertise. Though analysing horticultural texts and images and implementing digital methods as a thinking tool, this research demonstrates the various processes of horticultural knowledge production, offering a unique historical perspective into Dutch green heritage.
   

• Dr Fabian Dablander: Greener Groceries: Data-Driven Interventions for Low-Impact Diets
  The food system is a major driver of climate change and health problems, particularly in high-income countries where diets remain rich in animal-based products. This project develops a data-driven approach to support more targeted and behaviourally realistic strategies for dietary change than existing guidelines offer. By combining environmental and health data on Dutch and Danish supermarket products with purchasing data, the project maps which product substitutions deliver meaningful benefits and are feasible for different households. The results will support retailers and policymakers in implementing effective interventions including pricing measures, assortment changes, and personalised recommendations to promote healthier, lower-impact diets.
   

• Dr Gianamar Giovannetti Singh: The Inn of the Indian Ocean: Global Knowledge at the Early Modern Cape of Good Hope
  In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost every ship travelling between Europe and Asia stopped at the Cape of Good Hope. Yet the Cape was more than an isolated refreshment station. As a maritime hub linked to a vast southern African interior, it became a meeting point where VOC settlers, enslaved workers from across the Indian Ocean, and Indigenous Khoikhoi and San interlocutors interacted, producing new knowledge about plants, landscapes, animals, and peoples. This project shows how the Cape’s unique geopolitical setting as a port-hinterland colony generated new sciences that circulated across the Indo-Atlantic world.

Faculty of Medicine (Amsterdam UMC, location AMC)

• Dr Tirsa van Duijl: The Right Cut, at the Right Time
  In half of the patients with excessive bleeding, the biological cause remains unknown. Women are particularly affected, facing risks such as chronic anaemia due to heavy menstrual bleeding and severe postpartum haemorrhage. This project focuses on the protein-cleavage mechanisms by which blood proteins and cells communicate. When this communication is disrupted, bleeding can occur. Using a new technique, the hidden interactions will be mapped to uncover previously unknown routes that regulate blood clotting. These insights contribute to a better understanding and treatment of unexplained bleeding.
   
• Dr Mohammed Ghiboub: Why Recovery Does Not End Fatigue in Crohn’s Disease
  Many people with Crohn’s disease experience chronic fatigue even when intestinal inflammation is under control. This severely affects work, social life, and daily activities, but the biological cause is largely unknown. This project at Amsterdam UMC studies a new mechanism in which serotonin leaves a lasting “mark” on immune cell DNA. By studying patients, cells, and mice, the research aims to improve recognition of fatigue and support the development of future blood tests and treatments.
   
• Dr Chris Hoeboer: Bigdata4change
  Although treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often effective, about 40% of people continue to experience symptoms afterwards. We still do not fully understand why treatment works for some individuals but not for others. This project brings together international session data from PTSD treatments. Using advanced analytical methods, researchers will study what makes treatments effective, for whom they work, and for whom they may have negative effects. This knowledge will be used to improve treatment by strengthening the most effective elements and to identify early when someone is unlikely to benefit, allowing clinicians to adjust the approach in time.
   
• Dr Sean Jurgens: Predicting Heart Disease Using Smarter DNA Risk Scores
  Heart disease remains a leading cause of illness and death. Genetic information can help identify people at higher risk of heart disease. However, current tools capture only part of a person’s true genetic risk and work poorly for people with non-European backgrounds. In this project, researchers will use smart statistical approaches to build genetic prediction tools that are more accurate and fairer. The project aims to support better prevention and more responsible future use of genetics in healthcare.
   
• Dr Simone Saitta: Probabilistic Digital Twins for Anatomical and Functional Assessment of Coronary Arteries
  Diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease rely on X-ray angiography to visualize the coronary arteries. However, these images provide limited information about the true three-dimensional shape of the vessels and how blood flows through them, both crucial for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment planning. This project will develop digital twins of coronary arteries that allow to virtually assess anatomy and blood flow from routine X-ray images while accounting for uncertainty. By improving diagnosis and predicting treatment outcomes without additional invasive measurements, this research aims to support clinical decision-making, reduce complications, and make cardiovascular care safer and more accessible.
   
• Dr Despoina Trasanidou: Rebuilding Blood from Within: Gene Therapy for Blood Disorders
  Millions of people worldwide are affected by blood diseases caused by faulty genes. Current treatments, like transfusions or bone marrow transplants, help only some patients and can carry serious risks. This project aims to repair ‘sick’ blood stem cells directly inside the body using innovative gene-editing (CRISPR) and targeted delivery (lipid nanoparticles) technologies. As a first example, researchers are developing an in vivo gene therapy for Shwachman–Diamond Syndrome, a rare disorder that impairs blood production and often leads to blood cancer in early adulthood.
   
• Dr Margot van de Weijer: Improving (Genetic) Insight into Depression by Incorporating Women’s Biology
  Major depressive disorder affects women nearly twice as often as men during the reproductive years, and depressive symptoms are common in women experiencing periods of hormonal change (e.g., the premenstrual period). This project investigates whether differences in the reproductive hormone oestradiol and women-specific factors help explain these differences. Using advanced genetic methods, the research will improve genetic studies of oestradiol, conduct the first genome-wide study of premenstrual mood, and examine how these factors relate to depression in women and men. The project will generate new insights and tools to better study sex-specific mechanisms underlying mental health and other health conditions.
   
• Dr Leah Wilk: Shaping Light, Saving Lives: Multiscale Digital Twins for Cancer Phototherapy
  Some tumours cannot be treated because of their location or shape. A promising way to treat such tumours uses a drug that becomes active when light shines on it, but doctors cannot always predict if enough light reaches the drug to destroy the tumour. This project will create a computer model of individual patients’ tumours and calculate how much light reaches and activates the drug and, using a tiny light probe, update the calculations during treatment. This lets doctors adjust the treatment immediately. The goal is to create treatment options for patients with tumours that currently cannot be treated.       

Faculty of Science

• Dr Milena Crnogorcevic: Two Be or Not Two Be? Multimessenger Probes of Two-Component Dark Matter
  Dark matter makes up most of the universe – yet what it is remains a mystery. Two leading candidates are exotic particles called WIMPs, or black holes formed in the early universe. Theory suggests they cannot easily coexist – if both were present, they would create detectable signals we could observe. This makes the scenario testable. However, details depend on uncertain factors, such as how these structures form and evolve. To resolve this, researchers will combine three cosmic probes – gamma rays, neutrinos, and gravitational waves – into a single analysis to reveal which dark matter scenarios remain viable and which are ruled out.
   
• Dr Damian van de Heisteeg: Quantum Gravity at Strong Coupling: Unveiling the Spectrum and Vacuum Structure
  Modern physics still lacks a clear understanding of how gravity behaves when quantum effects become strong, and how this limits the kinds of universes that can exist. Most current theories only work in simplified, weakly interacting settings, even though realistic models of our universe likely rely on strong interactions. In this project the researcher will develop new mathematical tools to study these unexplored regimes. By doing so, the researcher aims to uncover the basic building blocks of quantum gravity and determine whether they can naturally explain key mysteries, such as the origin of dark energy in our universe.
   
• Dr Ana Lucic: Mechanistic Interpretability for Graph Machine Learning
  Machine learning models can now forecast weather patterns, predict molecular properties, and propose new materials by representing these systems as networks of connected parts, or graphs. While these models can make accurate predictions, scientists often cannot tell how exactly these models make predictions. A model might give the right result while using the wrong reasoning. This project develops tools to open these ‘black boxes’ by following the exact computational steps inside graph-based machine learning models. This will allow scientists to check whether the models follow real physical laws and can be trusted in scientific research.
   
• Dr Fee Smulders: Invaders or Allies? The Role of Exotic Seagrass in Carbon Storage
  Exotic plants are rapidly transforming coastal ecosystems that are already under pressure from environmental change. Scientists do not fully understand how local grazers, such as sea turtles and fish, respond to these newcomers, how their feeding interacts with plant-associated microbes, and how these combined interactions affect ecosystem stability and carbon storage. This project dives into the world of seagrass meadows, combining large-scale underwater mapping, grazing experiments,  and fine-scale microbial analysis. By comparing regions with different invasion histories, the research will reveal how marine communities respond to invasion and provide practical insights for managing exotic species and protecting natural carbon stores.
   
• Dr Reshma Anna-Thomas: Finding Dead Stars Using Long-Period Transients
  When stars reach the end of their lives, they leave behind dense remnants such as white dwarfs and neutron stars. Our Galaxy contains many more of these objects than have been observed so far. This project studies rare cosmic radio flashes, called long-period transients, which briefly appear and disappear over minutes to hours. Their origin remains unknown, but they are thought to be linked to stellar remnants. By using the LOFAR radio telescope to monitor the sky in real time, this research aims to uncover what produces these flashes and whether they can reveal previously hidden stellar remnants.

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

• Dr Milan Babic: How Geopolitical Tensions Are Reshaping Energy Transitions in a Deglobalising World
  The world is becoming less globalised, while rising geopolitical tensions are reshaping international politics. These changes also affect the urgent task of decarbonizing the global economy by mid-century. Geopolitical pressures can have very different effects: some countries and companies are accelerating their green transitions, while others are scaling down their commitments or shifting resources toward security and resilience. This project uses large-scale, fine-grained data to understand when and why states and corporations speed up or stall their decarbonization efforts, and what these dynamics mean for designing effective climate policies in an era of geopolitical competition.
   
• Dr Priska Breves: Algorithmic Beauty Ideal: How AI-generated Influencers Affect Young Adults’ Body Image
  AI-generated influencers are virtual characters who look like flawless human models but are created by algorithms. They are becoming increasingly common on social media and reach many users. This project examines how these “perfect” AI-generated appearances influence young adults’ social comparison and health. Importantly, it also tests whether clearly labelling influencers as AI-generated and providing additional interventions can reduce negative comparison and health effects. Using laboratory experiments and longitudinal smartphone studies that mimic real social media use, the researcher tracks the impacts of AI-generated influencers. Ultimately, the project aims to help protect young adults in an increasingly AI-shaped media environment.
   
• Dr Saurabh Khanna: Invisible Conflicts: Addressing the Gap Between Human Loss and Global Media Attention
  Ethiopia's civil war saw more lives lost than the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, yet received far less news coverage. Such ‘invisible conflicts’ receive less humanitarian aid and political attention, with life-or-death consequences. The researcher will analyse ten years of conflict data and global news coverage across 86 languages to understand why some wars remain hidden: Are they too remote for journalists to reach, have less geopolitical influence, are too complex to narrate, or are overshadowed by competing crises? The project delivers an online public tool that helps humanitarian organizations and journalists identify invisible conflicts in real time.
   
• Dr Ed Kiely: Fractious Transitions: Geographies of transgender healthcare in Europe
  Transgender people (those whose gender expression differs from that assigned at birth) require specialist healthcare. These treatments are harder to access in some European countries than in others and researchers don’t really know why – even though this harms transgender health. This project investigates the causes of these differences in access, such as the role of anti-transgender activism. It also examines the distinctive methods that transgender people use to overcome these barriers, like travelling overseas or using online clinics. Many people across Europe struggle to access healthcare – could the methods developed by transgender people help to tackle these problems?
   
• Dr Felicia Loecherbach: Seeing Politics Clearly: Valid Measurement of Visual Social Media Data
  Social media platforms like TikTok shape what millions of people see, believe, and vote on, but scientists still struggle to measure how this influence works. This project builds the first systematic evidence base for how research choices – such as which videos, images, or sounds to analyse –affect conclusions about political influence online. By combining automated analysis with studies of how real users interpret what they see, it develops reliable, efficient methods to study visual politics and strengthen the evidence that underpins democratic oversight of social media.
   
• Dr Mannan Luo: In the Loop: Decoding Familial Transmission of Cannabis Use and Psychosis
  Over 50% of children of parents with mental disorders will develop a disorder themselves, yet we still struggle to explain why. Neither genes nor environment alone explain the full picture. Crucially, familial transmission does not only flow from parents to children; children also shape their parents, and siblings affect each other. Focusing on cannabis use and psychosis, this project reconceptualizes transmission as a multidirectional feedback loop. Using novel family-based genomic methods, it will reveal, for the first time, how genetic predispositions operate through family environments in parent-to-child, child-to-parent, and sibling-to-sibling, informing where prevention might break the intergenerational cycle.
   
• Dr Eri Sasaki: Towards a Global Understanding of Sacrifice in Romantic Relationships
  Couples regularly make sacrifices by giving up personal preferences to accommodate their partner. Sacrifice affects our relationships and well-being, but most research studies Western couples, who make up a minority of the world’s population. This is problematic because strategies that help Western couples may not work elsewhere, as sacrifice can carry different meanings across cultures. This project builds a global understanding of sacrifice in two ways: by examining sacrifice experiences across 15 countries, and by exploring how intercultural couples navigate sacrifices related to their cultural differences. The findings will inform interventions to support relationships in multicultural societies like the Netherlands.
   
• Dr Dragana Stojmenovska: Gender Task Segregation and Inequality at Work
  Researchers have traditionally explained gender inequality at work by focusing on the causes and consequences of women having different types of jobs than men (e.g., service and caregiving jobs). However, contemporary inequality is increasingly found within – rather than between – occupations, and progress toward gender equality has stalled, despite women and men increasingly having similar jobs. Using job tasks data and large-scale survey and administrative data on earnings and job quality, this project studies the consequences of women and men performing different job tasks within the same jobs and provides evidence-based guidance for interventions to reduce gender inequality.