Today, two European research projects involving three Portuguese researchers were awarded approximately 10 million euros each by the European Research Council (ERC). These projects are part of a larger group of 66 research teams, comprising 239 scientists, who collectively will receive 684 million euros in synergy grants aimed at supporting small groups of researchers collaborating on ambitious, high-risk, and high-reward initiatives, as stated by the ERC.
Out of 712 proposals submitted, around 10% were selected for funding. Among the chosen projects, one pertains to centromeric instability in aging, featuring Portuguese biochemist Elsa Logarinho from the Research and Innovation in Health Institute at the University of Porto, alongside two French researchers. The second project investigates moldable living platforms mediated by cells, designed to serve as efficient hybrid units for bioengineering human microtissues, and includes scientists João Mano from the University of Aveiro and Nuno Araújo from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon, along with another British researcher.
The funded projects span a diverse range of research areas, including using microbes to address genetic diseases, exploring the early moments after the Universe’s birth, developing new methods for modeling crowd behavior that merge physical and social sciences, and examining how societies and mountainous ecosystems respond to environmental and social changes.
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