Spring, TX—The Global Prebiotic Association (GPA) announced the winners of its 2022 Young Researcher grants. This year, the awards were given for both fundamental and applied research advancing the science or impact of prebiotics, which GPA defines as "a product or ingredient that is utilized in the microbiota producing a health or performance benefit."

The 2022 Fundamental Research Grant winner is Thaisa M. Cantu-Jungles, of the Department of Food Sciences at Purdue University. Cantu-Jungles is being recognized for her paper titled Dietary Fiber Hierarchical Specificity: the Missing Link for Predictable and Strong Shifts in Gut Bacterial Communities.

The 2022 Applied Research grant winner is Martin Beukema, of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Groningen. Beukema is being recognized for his paper titled Pectins that Structurally Differ in the Distribution of Methyl-Esters Attenuate Citrobacter rodentium-Induced Colitis.

“The 2022 winners stood out for their well-constructed research, and we’re excited to see the growing body of evidence supporting prebiotics,” said GPA Executive Director Len Monheit. “Prebiotics power the microbiome and we’re hoping these grants drive others to research this exciting category.”

About the awards: Each winner received a $2,000 USD grant and a one-year GPA Professional Membership. Topics for the grants, which were open to postdoctoral fellows or Ph.D. students younger than 36 years of age at the application deadline of January 15, 2022, could cover any aspect of prebiotic research. Research must have been original and published in a peer-reviewed journal. Applications were judged by a panel of expert scientists from the prebiotic field, including GPA members and other researchers from around the world.

The 2023 grant application period will open in November 2022. Learn more at PrebioticAssociation.org.