ERC Consolidator grants for BRIC researchers
The European Research Council (ERC) has just disclosed the names of the recipients of the crucial ERC Consolidator Grants, which are given to outstanding scientists with projects of great promise. Two of the 10 grants given to Danish projects have been given to BRIC researchers.
Kim Jensen has received EUR 2 million for the project Foetal Intestinal Stem Cells in Biology and Health
- With the grant that I have just received from the ERC, my group will have the opportunity to answer fundamental questions related to the early development of the human intestine. During the next 5 years we will try to detect how stem cells form in our intestine during the fetal development. We will use this knowledge to generate stem cells with similar properties from primitive embryonic stem cells with the long-term aim of using these for treating patients with intestinal disorders. The prestigious grant from the ERC is recognition of the research performed in my lab, it is a pat on the shoulder for members of my team, and it shows that leading researchers from all over the world who have reviewed the project feel, like I do, that it holds great promise.
Janine Erler has received EUR 1.99 million for the project Matrix during cancer progression
- My project aims to understand how the tissue surrounding cancer cells assists their spread through the body and growth in other organs, a process called metastasis that is responsible for 90% of cancer-related deaths. Thus, my ERC funding will allow me to address one of the major questions in the field of cancer research, and has the potential to pave the way for new therapeutic strategies to combat cancer development and progression.
Read the ERC press release here
ERC Consolidator Grant
The ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to outstanding researchers of any nationality and age, with at least seven and up to 12 years of experience after PhD, and a scientific track record showing great promise. Research must be conducted in a public or private research organisation located in one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries. The funding (maximum of €2 million per grant), is provided for up to five years.
The European Research Council, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the first European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. Every year, it selects and funds the very best, creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based in Europe. The ERC also strives to attract top researchers from anywhere in the world to come to Europe. To date, the ERC has funded nearly 6,000 top researchers at various stages of their careers