About the Prize
No one walks alone. Every human is enveloped by and contains trillions of microorganisms. The past decade’s research has revealed the essential nature of the relationships with these other organisms for healthy development and adult life. Research on the microbiome has blossomed thanks to technological advances in genomics and bioinformatics. Already, many surprising discoveries have been made about the fundamental role the microbiota play in inflammation, cancer, obesity and many other chronic non-communicable diseases that assail humans. The groundwork has been laid for a shift of gear from mapping microbial associations with health and disease states to working out the mechanistic details and the dynamics of the interactions between hosts and their microbiota. This growing field promises to translate fundamental discoveries and help answer questions about healthy human development, metabolism, and immunity.
The NOSTER Science Microbiome Prize has been established to reward innovative research by young investigators working on the functional attributes of the microbiota of any organism that has potential to contribute to our understanding of human or veterinary health and disease or to guide therapeutic interventions.
Grand Prize winner receives:
Each Grand Prize winner will be awarded a cash prize in the amount of US$25,000 and travel and accommodation for the prize ceremony.
The Grand Prize winner will also receive a free five (5) year digital subscription to Science, and will have their winning essay published in Science (print and online).
Runner(s) Up receives:
Each Runner up will receive an award plaque and travel and accommodation for the prize ceremony.
The Runner(s) Up will also receive a free one (1) year digital subscription to Science, and will have their winning essay published in Science online. Maximum number of Runners Up is 2.
ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, AND ANY OTHER COSTS AND EXPENSES, ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF THE PRIZE ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, as well as Science Translational Medicine; Science Signaling; a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances; Science Immunology; and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement and more.
Noster was incorporated on May 15, 2020, in Kyoto, Japan, specializing in the research and development of gut microbiome–based treatments with the vision of “connecting life and gut microbiome.” The company’s mission is to elucidate the functions of over 1,000 species of human gut microorganisms—numbering over 100 trillion—that exist symbiotically with humans, and to contribute to scientific advances in microbiotics to improve the health of people worldwide. Recent research shows that immune and digestive diseases as well as certain cancers are linked to the gut microbiome, making it an obvious target for the development of new biotherapy treatments based on manipulating the abundance and biology of gut microorganisms. To solidify its future, Noster is exploiting its deep understanding of the gut microbiome by building a unique library of intestinal microbes and their metabolites, referred to as “postbiotics.” Using this library, company scientists are working passionately to realize breakthroughs in drug discovery and to develop innovative therapeutic treatments targeting the gut microbiome. To learn more about NOSTER, click here.