On September 4 Silvère van der Maarel of Leiden University was awarded €1 million from the Princess Beatrix Fund for his pioneering work in FSHD research. Every 2-3 years this prize is awarded to a very promising researcher in the neuromuscular field, particularly to stimulate the scientist to accelerate his/her work toward a breakthrough insight, leading to a therapy. The prize is to be devoted to further research in the same area. The award was presented to Silvère during a special Princess Beatrix Fund event called "Freedom to Move," in the presence of Princess Beatrix, many, many of Silvère's colleagues, and some 1000 paying guests. After being presented with the check, Silvère thanked the Beatrix Fund and recognized the work of George Padberg and Rune Frantz, praising their groundbreaking work, without which he would not have been able to progress the understanding of the causes of FSHD.
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