TOP NWO grant for Prof. Slotboom

Prof. Dirk Slotboom received a TOP grant of € 780,000 from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The grant is designated for Slotboom's research into the functioning of transport proteins. Slotboom has been studying transport proteins since he started his PhD project at the UG in 1995.

This grant will allow him to continue his research into the functioning of membrane proteins. The membrane of a cell forms the boundary of life itself. This thin, fatty mantle is the sleeve that keeps the contents of a cell firmly inside. Transport proteins within the membrane are vital for effecting contact and exchange with the outside world. The absorption of nutrients such as vitamins and the excretion of waste products by cells requires special proteins that enable two-way transport, i.e., from the outside in or vice versa.

For his research, Slotboom will be using newly developed technology which may shed light on the physical and chemical basis of this biological process. In addition, he will also design new chemicals that may kill pathogenic bacteria by attaching themselves to transport proteins.

Slotboom is very pleased with the grant: ‘Technical possibilities are often a limiting factor in this type of fundamental research. So every technical breakthrough opens up a brand-new world.’ Over the past two decades, he has seen huge advances in the possibilities of studying the structure of transport proteins.