A feather in your cap: the feather is a prize passed on from one UAntwerp colleague to another in recognition of their efforts or achievements. This time, Caroline Masquillier (departments of Sociology and Primary Care) passes the feather on to Sarah Lebeer (Department of Bioscience Engineering).
Dear Sarah
It is with immense pleasure that I pass ‘the Feather’ to you.
A few years ago, we got to know each other when I produced the science communication magazine Fieldnotes, published as a supplement to ‘De Standaard’. A creative magazine that used words and images to capture the exciting Citizen Science research at our university. Your ‘Ferme Pekes’ (‘Clever Carrots’, Citizen Science project) were certainly not to be missed here. Not only did you give readers an insight into your scientific work, but you also shared a recipe to make fermented carrot juice at home.
At the end of this article, we briefly referred to your Isala project that was in the works at that time. During this project, we met more often and I learnt more about your pioneering research. Not only in terms of research and science communication, but also in terms of approach – you and your team are pushing boundaries. Besides enthusing and involving thousands of women in your research, you are also breaking taboos. Time and again, I find it inspiring and heart-warming to see how you build bridges between different faculties, between different disciplines. Together with your team, you foster real collaborative relationships within our university, which – in my eyes – happens too little today. I am convinced that this must be truly enriching not only professionally, but certainly also personally. That’s where you make an important contribution!
Thank you, Sarah, for being an example to us all of how we can engage people outside the walls of our university in cutting-edge research. And also how we can collaborate outside the walls of our own research group, department and faculty.
Warmly
Caroline