Willem de Vos receives Spinoza Prize 2008
Beintema, Nienke
On June 2nd, microbiologist prof. dr. Willem de Vos received the Spinoza Prize 2008. The prize is the most prestigious Dutch award in science, often dubbed ‘the Dutch Nobel Prize’. De Vos received his Spinoza Prize for his groundbreaking research into the contribution of microorganisms to human food and health.
The Spinoza Prize is an award of the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Four scientists are awarded each year. Each receives 1.5 million euros for his or her research. It is the first time that a microbiologist is among the laureates. "This is an important recognition of the significance of microbiology in general," De Vos reacts by telephone, "and of my line of research in particular. I feel honoured and very pleasantly surprised."
New impulse
De Vos, head of the Microbiology Laboratory of Wageningen University, is generally considered to be a leading expert in microbiology. One of his accomplishments is the discovery that lactic acid bacteria communicate with each other by means of special peptides, and that by producing these peptides they affect the growth of other microorganisms. He has also developed methods to influence the metabolism of lactic acid bacteria, thereby contributing to the improvement of flavours, vitamins and sweeteners.(foto:NWO/Arie Wapenaar)
Another of his specialisations is the microbial diversity of the human intestinal tract – that's the reason why he acts as an important advisor for Gut flora Foundation. "I am particularly interested in the relationship between our gut microbiota and certain diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD," says De Vos. "If we know more about this relationship, we can start to develop treatments that specifically target this microbiota." To facilitate this research, De Vos has developed a special micro-petri dish: a microchip with millions of tiny compartments for the culture and high-throughput screening of microorganisms. This invention makes it possible to isolate new species, as well as species not previously cultured.
The considerable prize money will allow De Vos to further develop his line of research. "This is no time for me to retire," he laughs. "On the contrary: the prize is a new impulse for my work. There are still many questions to be answered, and this prize will allow me to tackle some of these." These questions do not only lie in the relationship between gut microbiota and health, but also more generally in the vast microbial diversity within and around us. "This diversity is still largely unknown," De Vos underlines. "Most microbial species simply haven’t been discovered yet. Some of them might hold interesting potential for food and health applications."
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