Groundbreaking research project AMIBM starts in fourth package NWO Open Competition - XS

Maastricht University researcher, Jordy Saya, working at Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) is one of the 24 lucky ones whose research project 'Learning from Nature to Synthesize Peptides and Proteins' was honored by NWO.

The board of the NWO domain Exact and Natural Sciences has definitively honored 24 applications in the Open Competition ENW - XS. Each project could apply for a maximum funding of 50.000 euros. NWO received 284 applications for this package. The budget for this package has been increased once to € 1.200.000.

At ENW - XS it is explicitly about curiosity driven, adventurous research and being able to quickly explore a promising idea. As a pilot, applicants are also assessors in the assessment process of ENW - XS.

Jordy Saya

Jordy Saya

About the project

Dr. Jordy Saya explains: "Peptides and proteins are large complex molecules made from just a handful of building blocks called amino acids.

These essential molecules for life form the basis for many areas of research and in order to study them properly it is important that scientists have access to large quantities. The synthetic approach of nature makes it seem so simple, but the synthetic alternative developed by chemists is far from the same level of elegance and efficiency.

That is why we propose an alternative peptide and protein synthesis strategy, inspired by nature, which develops the field in a more sustainable way."

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