Innovation Prize NRW 2022 for our colleagues in IBI-3

Jülich, May 24, 2022 – On Monday, May 23, 2022, our colleagues Dr. Gabriela Figueroa Miranda (Institute for Bioelectronics, IBI-3) was awarded the Innovation Prize of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the category "innovation2business" on behalf of her team. She received the award together with Dr. Viviana Rincón Montes in the NRW Art Collection in Düsseldorf in a ceremony with Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst and NRW Economics Minister Prof. Andreas Pinkwart.

In her doctorate, Gabriela developed the biosensor that can detect malaria using a small blood sample. The sensor not only shows whether the person tested is infected: it also reveals the amount of the pathogen and the type of malaria pathogen in the blood, which can help in early treatment of the patient. Together, Gabriela Figueroa Miranda and Viviana Rincón Montes have applied for a patent for the biosensor and are planning to spin off a start-up for the rapid diagnosis of various infectious diseases.

The Innovation Prize of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is known as the most valuable award of its kind in Germany after the “Future Prize” (“Zukunftspreis”) of the Federal President. The Innovation Prize NRW honours innovative top performances from science and industry in NRW and was awarded in four categories for the first time this year:

• for special innovative achievements,
• for an outstanding young researcher,
• as "innovation2business" for quick transfer to the economy
• and as an honorary award.

The Innovation Award is endowed with a total of 180,000 euros (incl. 30,000 EUR for “innovation2business”). The other award winners in 2022: Prof. Christoph M. Schmidt (honorary award), Prof. Antonello Monti, PhD (RWTH Aachen, Innovation), Dr. Wladick Hartmann (Münster, young researcher).