Amsterdam, 8 May 2014 - The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has announced the names of five exemplary young researchers who will receive Heineken Young Scientists Awards in 2014.

The Academy's juries, which earlier this month picked the winners of the Heineken Prizes, have awarded this year's Heineken Young Scientists Awards to the following laureates working in similar research fields:

Celia Berkers, researcher at the Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research (Utrecht, Netherlands).
Dr C.R. Berkers (33) is receiving the 2014 Heineken Young Scientists Award for Biochemistry and Biophysics for her research into the workings of the proteasome, a structure that breaks down proteins in biological cells.

Alexander Vlaar, researcher at the Academic Medical Centre (Amsterdam, Netherlands).
Dr A.P.J. Vlaar (32) is receiving the 2014 Heineken Young Scientists Award for Medicine for his research into acute lung injury, a serious side effect of blood transfusions in IC patients.

, researcher at the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand).
Dr R. Middag (30) is receiving the 2014 Heineken Young Scientists Award for Environmental Sciences for his highly productive research into trace metals in the world's oceans.

Irene van Renswoude, researcher at the Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands (The Hague, Netherlands).
Dr I. van Renswoude (46) is receiving the 2014 Heineken Young Scientists Award for History for her research into the freedom of expression in late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

Martin Vinck, researcher at Yale University (New Haven, USA).
Dr M. Vinck (30) is receiving the 2014 Heineken Young Scientists Award for Cognitive Science for his research into the role of electrical oscillation in cognitive processes.

Awards ceremony

The 2014 Heineken Young Scientists Awards will be presented on Thursday 2 October 2014 during a special meeting of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences at the Beurs van Berlage Building in Amsterdam. The Heineken Prizes will be presented there as well.

About the Heineken Young Scientists Awards

The Heineken Young Scientists Awards are meant as an encouragement for young and talented researchers. The Awards are presented at the same time as the Heineken Prizes. The winners are promising young researchers whose achievements set an example for other young scientists. They conduct their research in the same disciplines as the Heineken Prize winners. The Young Scientists Award consists of a piece of sculpture by Jeroen Henneman, an artist based in Amsterdam, and EUR 10,000.

About the Heineken Prizes

The prestigious Dr H.P Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics was introduced fifty years ago, in 1964. Later, it was joined by other Heineken Prizes: the Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Art (1988), Medicine (1989), Environmental Sciences (1990) and History (1990), and the C.L. de Carvalho-Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science (introduced in 2006 and formerly known as the Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science).

The Heineken Prizes were initiated by Dr Alfred H. Heineken (1923-2002) in honour of his father (Dr Henry P. Heineken, 1886-1971) and continued by his daughter, Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken (1954). Mrs De Carvalho is Chair of the Dr H.P. Heineken Foundation and the Alfred Heineken Fondsen Foundation, which fund all the Heineken Prizes.

The Heineken Prizes and the Heineken Young Scientists Awards are awarded every two years. The winners are selected by juries composed of members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The Heineken Prizes are $200,000 each. The Heineken Prize for Art is €100,000, of which €50,000 is to be spent on a publication or exhibition. The Heineken Young Scientists Awards are €10,000 each.

For the editors

The Royal Academy website has more information about the Heineken Prizes www.knaw.nl/heinekenprizes

Helena van Oers, KNAW Communication Department
T: +31 20 551 0863
E: helena.van.oers@knaw.nl

Christine van Waveren, Heineken International B.V., External Communications
T: +31 20 523 9355
E: pressoffice@heineken.com

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