Athena Award 2020

Athena Award (Dutch Science Foundation; NWO)

Women are underrepresented at the assistant, associate and full professorship levels in the Dutch Science domain. With the annual Athena Award, NWO aims to put the spotlight on outstanding female scientists, who perform excellent scientific research. The prize is 50.000 euros per winner.

Between 30 November and 4 December 2020 the NWO Domain Science (ENW) has announced five new Science Awards. The winners are seen by the jury as an inspiration in the fields of social impact, team science, role model, diversity and communication. The awards were created to reward researchers working in these fields, and to inspire others to do the same.

Dr Sahar El Aidy (RUG) was awarded the Athena Award for outstanding female researchers. Sahar El Aidy researches into microbiomes, in particular the activity and role of gut metabolites on mental and neurological function in humans. The jury considers Sahar El Aidy to be an excellent role model: she is a young and talented researcher, she has set up a unique and successful research group, and she has produced ground-breaking publications. She is a high-profile researcher who is very good at communicating about her research. She always succeeds in conveying her three core messages: ‘let your food be your medicine’, ‘your gut microbes can influence the efficacy of your medication’, and ‘fundamental research into health and illness is important’. https://www.nwo.nl/en/news/winners-an...

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