(07 March 2014) – Ahead of the celebration of International Women’s Day the European Commission announces the winners of the 2014 EU Prize for Women Innovators. They are Saskia Biskup (Germany, first prize), Laura van ‘t Veer (The Netherlands, second prize) and Ana Maiques (Spain, third prize).
The competition celebrates women who have combined their scientific excellence with a head for business to set up innovative enterprises. It is open to women who have benefited from EU research and innovation programmes.
First prize winner Saskia Biskup (Germany) co-founded CeGaT GmbH in 2009. As a Human Geneticist, Research Scientist and Bioinfomatician, she positions herself at the interface of diagnostics, research and clinic. Saskia was the first to discover variations in the LRRK2 gene, a gene involved in Parkinson’s disease. Her work revolves in the development of new biomarkers to enable early prediction of neurodegenerative diseases.
Second prize winner Laura van ‘t Veer (The Netherlands) is co-founder and Chief Research Officer at Agendia NV. Van t’Veer is a world renowned Molecular Biologist and inventor of MammaPrint, a diagnostic test that foretells the risk of recurrence for breast cancer patients. The use of MammaPrint by patients diagnosed today leads to a reduction of overtreatment by chemotherapy of up to 30%.
Third prize winner Ana Maiques (Spain) is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Starlab, a leading research and innovation company focused on the space and neuroscience industries based in Barcelona. Ana Maiques has positioned Starlab as a leading research company in Spain and was nominated in 2010 as one of the most influential entrepreneurships under age 40.