Vidi grant for Dr. Schmidt: enzyms that can make chemical reactions less polluting

Dr. Sandy Schmidt of the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy (GRIP) has received a Vidi grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). Schmidt’s research aims to make enzymes (nature’s catalysts) that can make the chemical reactions used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry, less polluting. With the Vidi grant, worth EUR 800,000, she can develop her own innovative line of research and expand her research group in the coming five years.

Starting April 2020, Dr. Schmidt has been Assistant Professor and Rosalind Franklin Fellow at the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy (Faculty of Science and Engineering, UG).

Teaching enzymes new tricks

The pharmaceutical and chemical industries are highly polluting industries. The use of nature’s catalysts (enzymes) can play a major role in solving this problem. Yet, several traditional chemical reactions cannot be performed by existing enzymes. Schmidt’s research aims to expand the catalogue of enzymes and teach them new tricks to manufacture pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and cosmetics of our everyday life in a sustainable way.

NWO Talent programme

Vidi is aimed at experienced researchers who have carried out successful research for a number of years after obtaining a PhD. Together with Veni and Vici, Vidi is part of the NWO Talent Scheme. Researchers in the NWO Talent Scheme are free to submit their own subject for funding. NWO thus encourages curiosity-driven, innovative research. Researchers are selected on the basis of the quality of the researcher him/herself, the innovative nature of the research, the expected scientific impact of the research proposal and the potential use of the knowledge gleaned.

In total, seven researchers at the University of Groningen receive the Vidi. Read more