GROW was officially established in 1999 by amalgamating a number of active research lines. This was a joint effort of the Faculty of Medicine and the University Hospital Maastricht.

GROW aims to carry out high quality scientific research in the field of early human development (normal and abnormal growth and differentiation) and in the field of oncology (abnormal growth and differentiation). An important aim within these research activities is the training of PhD-students in this field of modern medicine. The research program also serves to help these PhD-students to become independent researchers. Recent developments in molecular biology, genomics and proteomics offer new insights into the pathophysiologic and therapeutic aspects of normal and abnormal growth. Since these developments need a close cooperation between basic and clinical scientists, one of the key characteristics of GROW is the interaction between basic science and clinical practice. Therefore the choice for the research lines is, in a large part, determined by hypotheses originating from clinical medicine.

GROW started originally in 1999 with three divisions: Perinatal Medicine, Developmental Biology and Oncology. In 2004 two divisions (Perinatal Medicine and Developmental Biology) were merged in a new division Developmental Biology for which a new research program was outlined.

Following an external review in 2000, GROW expanded rapidly both in terms of scientific production and in external funding. Also during this time, the training of PhD students was structured and formalized.

Since June 2006 GROW is recognized officially as a Research School on normal and abnormal growth by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). This recognition extends until 2012. Thereafter a new application is obligatory.

The University Hospital, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Health Sciences decided in 2004 to establish a University Medical Center (MUMC+). Within this center, teaching, research and patient care will be organized into a limited number of multi-disciplinairy chains in which prevention, cure, and care in all three aspects (teaching, research and patient care) go hand in hand. Two of these care chains are important for GROW: 'Oncology' and 'Mother, child and heredity' (Developmental Biology). Due to the connection between basic research, clinical research and research groups in public health and Epidemiology it offers ample opportunities for training in translational research. In January 2007 the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Health Sciences merged into the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences.
One year later, since January 2008, the Maastricht UMC+ was officially established.

The University Hospital and the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences cooperate with several local institutes. Several of these, although independent, are more or less part of the current organisation of GROW and have close cooperations with the research institute. This holds for:

MAASTRO
Maastricht Radiation Oncology, the successor of the former Radio Therapeutical Institute Limburg (RTIL), is an organisation encompassing all radiation oncology activities in Maastricht. These include patient treatment at Maastro clinic, as well as research activities in the department of Radiotherapy of the University Hospital Maastricht and the department of Radiotherapy within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences.

TUL
The Transnational University Limburg is a cooperation between Maastricht University and the University of Hasselt (Belgium). It is a single university that is based in two countries and serves as an example of the internationalization of higher education within Europe. GROW participates in the Faculty of Molecular Life Sciences and particularly in the Master of Clinical Molecular Sciences.

BMT
The faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Technical University Eindhoven. The activities and responsibilities of the department of Biomedical Technology is shared amongst the University Hospital Maastricht, the Technical University Eindhoven and Maastricht University. The department offers a permanent platform for the development, introduction and application of biomedical technology in the University Hospital Maastricht.
Various departments of the Maastricht University participate in and contribute to the education of (bio)medical engineers in Medicine.

UCM
The University College Maastricht offers a three year Bachelor program in science. Students are free to choose from a wide variety of courses and thus can create their own individual curriculum. GROW participates in the Life Science course.

This mission statement originates from the strong parallelisms between the processes of normal and abnormal growth. Tissue growth is mainly the result of a balance between cell proliferation and cell loss. These processes are key features of normal (embryologic) development as well as abnormal (oncologic) growth. As a consequence research lines in early human development and oncology are closely interrelated in their basic concepts as well as in the application of research techniques. Processes like apoptosis, angiogenesis, cellular oxygen supply and genetic programming are all key features in normal and abnormal growth. Due to the strong developments in molecular biology, leading to new science areas and corresponding new techniques like genomics and proteomics, growth can be further analysed and defined on a molecular basis. Since growth (normal and abnormal) is extremely important in medicine, the possibilities to influence normal and abnormal growth are of utmost clinical relevance.

The research activities within GROW are organized in two divisions:

Division I Developmental Biology

Division II Oncology

Two senior researchers head each division: one clinical investigator and one mainly involved in basic research. This structure supports the interaction between the two fields enabling the establishment of translational research questions. Within each division a number of research lines is executed, in which several research groups can participate.

Within the institute, a close cooperation is established between basic disciplines like molecular biology, genetics and cell biology and clinical disciplines like obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics, general medicine, pathology, surgery, radiation oncology, neurology, and dermatology. This cooperation facilitates the exchange of knowledge of the process of normal and abnormal cell growth en cell division, and also leads to a better understanding of the origin of congenital malformations and growth disturbances.

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