René Medema became director of the NKI in 2012, and brought an established research group to the institute. He has extensive experience studying the mechanisms underlying cell division, particularly the molecular checkpoints that control progression of the cell cycle. Many classic anti-cancer drugs kill cells by targeting the cell cycle, for example by damaging DNA or by perturbing assembly of the mitotic spindle, which is required for cell division.

René's group aims to gain a clearer understanding of the cellular responses to these drugs in order to better predict drug responses and experimentally test new and potentially more effective anti-cancer strategies.