THE KOLFF PRIZEFor a person who has conducted groundbreaking research or made a revolutionary invention that directly leads or has led to improvements in human health and well-being. The prize is named after Willem Johan Kolff and has been international since 2003. The Kolff Prize was first awarded in 1998 to Mrs. Ineke Wever for her graduation thesis "Intensive home care under the microscope. For seven years, the Kolff Prize was awarded annually. In the years up to 2024, the prize was awarded only four times: in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2018 - partly because of the Covid-19 epidemic that put many activities and public ceremonies on hold or came to a complete halt. The Kolff Prize was awarded in 2024 to Mr. Robin Koops. During the international symposium “Past, Present and Future of Kidney Replacement Therapy” - organized by the Willem Kolff Foundation on June 24 - the winner of the 2025 Willem Kolff Prize will be announced. |
KOLFF PRIZE 2024The winner of the 2024 Kolff Prize is Robin Koops, medical engineer, designer and inventor of an artificial pancreas. Robin Koops, a diabetic himself, began the development of an artificial pancreas in his barn. After 15 years of research and experimentation, he had developed a device no bigger than a hefty smartphone. His groundbreaking work was featured in The Lancet in 2024 and garnered much publicity. Listen here to Robin Koops who told University of Twente (Netherlands) students about his path to creating an artificial pancreas, first for his own body, now for everyone who is suffering from diabetes. Anno 2024/2025 INREDA DIABETIC B.V. , the medical device manufacturing company that Robin Koops and his wife founded in 2003, has more than 50 employees. The Chairman of the Willem Kolff Foundation, Derk Meulman, presented Robin Koops with the Willem Kolff Prize at the congress of the European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO) September 8, 2024 for his exceptional merits, with honorary mention of his wife Irene Koops and the Inreda team. 'Mr. Koops received this award for his exceptional achievement,' said Fokko Wieringa, board member of the Willem Kolff Foundation. 'The realization of this portable medical device is in itself highly remarkable, but this is even more so because he himself is both a type 1 diabetes patient, inventor and leader of the team that realized this device. Robin Koops shows the same determination and practical approach as Dr. Kolff himself.' Robin Koops thanking the Willem Kolff Foundation for awarding the prestigious Kolff Prize to him and his team, 'It is quite an honor to have received this award. It is a reward for all the work and effort of the past years. Together with my colleagues I still work every day to improve the quality of life for people with diabetes'. KOLFF PRIZE 2018The Kolff Prize 2018 went to Prof. Dr. Gerhard Rakhorst (1946) and Dr. Arjan van der Plaats (1973), Groningen pioneers of perfusion systems for improving donor organs. The official award ceremony took place at CORPUS in Leiden, the Netherlands, on October 12, 2018. Adrie Burnett-Kolff, daughter of Willem Johan Kolff (1911-2009) came over from England for the occasion. It was the first time that the prize was awarded to a duo. |
Winners of the Kolff Prize 1998 - present:
|
