Joost Martens, director of the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, explains that the financial support of 300,000 euros does not go to first research: “A project proposal that has been submitted is evaluated by a scientific advisory board and at least two foreign evaluators. They determine whether the research is interesting and original and that’s certainly the case here. The link they’re trying to establish between gut bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease may lead to entirely new insights.” Professor Vandenbroucke is pleased with the support: ‘It will take many years of work before we are ready for treatment, which is why we desperately need the money from the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.’