René Bernards is a world leader in identifying drug combinations to treat cancer.

His laboratory uses genetic screens to identify particularly powerful drug combinations for the treatment of cancer, based on the concept of synthetic lethality.

This work identified the combination of a BRAF inhibitor and an EGFR inhibitor as effective for the treatment of BRAF mutant colon cancer.

This therapy is already recommended by the major US cancer centers. His laboratory also developed the first clinically used gene expression test for early breast cancer prognosis (MammaPrint), which is used globally to help assess the need for chemotherapy post surgery.