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NUTRIM researchers win Bio Art & Design Award 2018

NUTRIM researchers Prof. dr. Patrick Schrauwen and Dr Vera Schrauwen-Hinderling have won the Bio Art & Design Award 2018 (BAD Award) together with artist Yiyun Chen. Earlier this year, the two scientists from the NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism were invited by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research to attend a matchmaking event, where they were introduced to artist Yiyun Chen. Together they developed a project titled 'Horizontal living - Long life in bed' which came out on top as the winning proposal on 25 May.

Millions of people spend the whole day in bed
'Horizontal living - Long life in bed' is the title of the project, developed in collaboration with Chinese artist Yiyun Chen. It refers to what has become a reality for many people, particularly in Asia: millions of people working at home and spending a large part of the day in bed. With their project, Chen and NUTRIM want to make people more aware of the potentially adverse health effects of this physical inactivity. They stress that cold exposure, physical activity, diet, light, and sleep and other factors can help prevent or limit any negative consequences.

In horizontal position for a month
Yiyun Chen will rebuild a room and optimise it for ‘horizontal living’. It will be equipped with devices that are part of strategies to promote metabolic health. Chen will then spend a month in horizontal position in this room. She will wear wearables and collect health data. These will be analysed by Prof. dr. Patrick Schrauwen and Dr Vera Schrauwen, who will also collected health data before and after this month. The NUTRIM researchers see the project is a good opportunity to bring their research to the attention of a wider audience. The information they will collect, will be used at an exhibition, where the room will be rebuilt.

Jury verdict
The jury was most impressed by how thoughtfully the issue is approached in the proposal and for its achieving something quite unusual: rather than making the microscopic or otherwise literally invisible realm visible, as much bioart does, this project brings illumination onto the figuratively invisible: the chronically ill, the recovering, and the shut-in.

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