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Mireille Sthijns wins 2018-2019 Impact Course prize

UM researcher Mireille Sthijns has won the 2018-2019 Impact Course competition for her research into the treatment of type I diabetes. The prize carries a cash award of € 1000. During the final, the MERLN scientist included the jury in her research, showing them how it will create impact. The Impact Course has been set up to teach researchers how they can give their research findings concrete economic or social value.

Sthijns’ research

Mireille Sthijns works at the Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine (MERLN), focusing on ways to improve a specific treatment for people with type 1 diabetes. As part of this treatment, pancreatic islets known as islets of Langerhans are extracted from donor flesh glands and injected into the patient's liver. During this process, however, these islets are not connected to blood vessels, causing them to lose oxygen and nutrients. Sthijns is trying to develop techniques to help the islets cope with this "stress" and increase their chances of survival.

About the Impact Course

The Impact Course is to create awareness among Maastricht researchers about the social impact of research and the opportunities of knowledge utilisation. The course consists of six modules that are both theoretical and practical. It teaches participants about intellectual property, collaboration and entrepreneurship, but also about the use of science communication and the development of a vision on how to apply their research.

Twenty-two UM researchers and two researchers from Zuyd Hogeschool participated in this edition of the Impact Course. The jury consisted of John Marugg, senior business developer at Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus, Bouwien Janssen, director Development & Alumni Relations and director Universiteits Fonds Limburg (SWOL) and Margot Krijnen, Maastricht University press officer.

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