Crowdfunding against Corona

The corona COVID-19 virus is new and little is known about it, but the answers are near. Knowledge institutions in the Northern Netherlands want to do more to control COVID-19 and ensure that viruses have less impact on our lives now and in the future. The University of Groningen (UG), the UMCG, the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health (AJSPH), Lifelines and the NDC media group are calling on help from all over the Netherlands. The University of Groningen has set up the Ubbo Emmius Fund especially for its fundraising, named after the university's first rector magnificus. This fund is the initiator of the action "Crowdfunding against Corona".

Why do some people get sick of corona and others feel no effects? How do we build antibodies and immunity? What are the long-term consequences of the virus? The researchers of the project 'Crowdfunding against Corona' are looking for answers to these and other questions in order to get the current coronavirus under control and be more prepared for new viruses in the future. Thanks to all the data in biobank Lifelines we know quite a bit about 10% of the Northerners in our country about their health, well-being and lifestyle. We will connect these data with new data we collect to find out how the distribution of the coronavirus is proceeding in the Northern Netherlands and what the long-term physical and mental consequences are. By doing this, we will gain insight into the risk factors and the possible connection with other diseases, lifestyle or genetic predisposition. With that knowledge, we can look for solutions here and elsewhere in the world to control the coronavirus and similar pandemics in the future.

Every euro helps

Jochen Mierau is Scientific Director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health: "Thanks to Lifelines participants, we have the opportunity to get a uniquely detailed picture of how this virus affects people and society. That wealth of data contains answers to questions about, for example, which groups are at an increased risk of serious disease progression or why some young people do become very ill. This can have to do with all kinds of factors, hereditary, the immune system, environmental characteristics, lifestyle, socio-economic position. Collecting and processing all that information costs a lot of time, manpower, and money. We get that from our own ranks, but we also want to call on everyone in the Northern Netherlands and beyond to help us. Support our research! Because together we get corona out of the world. Every euro helps! '

Cooperation in the Northern Netherlands

The 'Crowdfunding against Corona' project was set up by the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health and is a collaborative project between the University of Groningen, the UMCG, Lifelines, and the NDC Mediagroep, supported by the Ubbo Emmius Fund. You can donate via www.rugsteunt.nl. This site also contains more information about the action "Crowdfunding against Corona".

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