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TI Pharma researcher Piet Gros receives NWO-Spinoza Prize

Piet Gros, Professor of Biomacromolecular Crystallography at the University of Utrecht, has been awarded the 2010 Spinoza Prize. This prize is awarded annually to pioneers in research and is considered to be the most prestigious Dutch award in science. Gros received the award for his research on a protein structure which has laid the groundwork for treatments for rheumatism and cardiovascular diseases. He also receives an accompanying amount of 2.5 million euros for his own research.

Piet Gros is involved in the TI Pharma project “Exploitation of toll-like receptors in drugs discovery”. Toll-like receptors are the sentinels of the innate immune system and play a crucial role in host defense against infection. They also play an important role in diseases where the immune system is deregulated.