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VENI grant for Carla Araya-Cloutier

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July 19, 2019

Carla Araya-Cloutier received the prestigious VENI-grant to kick-start her research on natural efflux pump inhibitors to combat antibiotic resistance. Her proposal, "The wisdom of plants: Blocking pathogen's emergency exit to restore antimicrobial efficiency" was awarded a grant.

Carla's project aims at investigating natural efflux pump inhibitors. Bacteria can survive antibiotics by pumping them out of their cells using efflux pumps. Stressed plants produce compounds that block these efflux pumps. To restore antibiotics’ efficiency, researchers will propose novel efflux pump blockers from stressed plants, and study their operation with the aid of innovative computer modelling tools.

The Veni grants are awarded annually by the NWO to outstanding researchers who have just finished their PhDs. They are selected on the basis of the following criteria: quality of the researcher, innovative character of their research, expected scientific impact and possibilities for knowledge validation.

A total of 1151 researchers submitted research proposals to the NWO. 166 of them were awarded a grant, including nine WUR scientists

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