Photo Guy Ackermans Bram Kok didn’t necessarily want to be the first. Nevertheless, he is. After successfully defending his research, he became WUR’s first Engineering Doctorate (EngD). Wageningen is the last of the four technical universities to launch a programme (Design for Agrifood and Ecological Systems) for technical design.
Bram Kok designed an internal sensor that measures substances in fish’s bloodstreams. In this particular case, the substance is interleukin-6 (IL-6), an immune system marker that indicates whether a fish is sick or not. Kok designed a sensor with antibodies that capture IL-6 in the bloodstream. A laser beam is then used to determine the IL-6 concentration.
The fish sensor is yet to be built. Kok designed the basis and proved its viability. The next step is to integrate the various parts (laser lamp, IL-6 catcher, detector) into a sensor and implant the sensor in fish to take readings. The EngD programme is a two-year programme, the first of which is educational. Wageningen currently has fifteen EngDs. There is room for 10 to 20 new EngDs per year.
