Tuesday the 13th of September Mihai Netea received the NWO Spinoza Prize from the State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, Sander Dekker and NWO chairman Jos Engelen.
The award ceremony was held at the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague. The Spinoza Prize is the highest award in Dutch science. During the awards ceremony Mihai Netea presented his plans for using the research prize worth 2.5 million euros.
With the NWO Spinoza Prize Mihai Netea can do groundbreaking research. NWO chair Jos Engelen: “It is fantastic to award a prize that enables the best researchers in our country to explore new boundaries and to contribute to answering important questions about disease and health or sustainable energy generation”. Mihai Netea will use the Spinoza Prize to do research into the immune system: “With my work I strive to have an impact on patients’ lives.”
At the end of the afternoon the four laureates received the bronze statuette of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677). The statuette is the symbol of the prize.