biotic comforter
She impressed the jury with her design of a biotic comforter, which allows Caesarean section born babies to receive their first bacteria from the birth channel of their mother in a safe way. As a result, the training of the immune system of these babies will improve, possibly preventing autoimmune diseases later in life.
Initiator, Micropia professor Remco Kort hands out the cheque to Sara Botschuijver.
Microbiome Award
With the initiative of the Microbiome Award 2016 in Amsterdam, Micropia wants to inspire the general public to become interested in microbiology; the science of micro organisms, the smallest and most powerful on earth. The award will be presented annually to the person with the most original, innovative and applicable proposal that describes the use of the human microbiome. The microbiome can be applied at many levels such as lifestyle, prevention, diagnosis or nutrition.
jury
The members of the jury Ger Rijkers, professor at the University College Roosevelt, Olaf Larsen, visiting professor at the VU University Amsterdam, and Micropia professor Remco Kort, TNO Chair Holder Microbial Genomics at the VU University Amsterdam, were surprised by the many imaginative proposals. “The level of the submissions was high and diverse. The winning proposal was really innovative as well as applicable”, explains initiator Micropia professor Remco Kort. The jury informed the winner that they would be happy to contribute to a feasibility study of the idea. The Microbiome Award 2016 includes a € 1000,- cash prize. This amount will be used to realize the first steps of the application of the idea.