erc newsletter - december edition -

8/20/2019 ERC newsletter - December edition -

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1ideas #4 - December 2015 - ERC Newsletter

ideas #4DECEMBER 2015N e w s l e t t e r o t h e E u r o p e a n R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l

ales o serendipity Studied malaria,

ound cancer treatment

Going global

ERC - open to the world

InnovatorsGrantees meet

“business angels”

Subscribe

http://erc.europa.eu/keep-updated-erchttp://erc.europa.eu/keep-updated-erc


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2 ideas #4 - December 2015 - ERC Newsletter

editorial

It is well known o course that, at its launch in Berlin, Chancellor Merkel said the ERC“could become a Champions League for research”. Just eight years later, the ERC is oneo the European Union’s biggest success stories and a household name in science.

It is my belie that, in the coming years − as people look to the world’s scientificcommunities to provide strategies and solutions to complex global problems like theeffects o climate change or public health among ageing populations − the work o ERCgrantees will become increasingly important.

Te European Commission will thereore continue to prioritise and supportundamental research, both as a way o enabling our best minds to ulfil their potentialand as an investment in finding the answers to the questions we don’t even know wehave yet.

It is thereore with great pride, that I look back on the year gone by and consider howthis new Commission has worked with speed and conviction in its first efforts tosupport European research and innovation that benefits Europe and the rest o theworld.

In just one year, we have shown that the European Union is capable o finding newways to mobilise investment in high-risk, high-reward research and innovationprojects, with 1 billion euro through the new European Fund or Strategic Investments.In just six months, we were able to establish a new Scientific Advice Mechanism,so that a diverse group o leading European experts can be called upon to inormEU policymaking with independent scientific advice. And, in a ew short months,we demonstrated that the Commission is capable o reacting swifly in a crisis,intensiying the vital research needed to tackle a global health challenge like Ebola.

At the launch o the ERC in 2007, Chancellor Merkel also said, “we [politicians] haveto accept that research needs autonomy and reedom”. It is thereore my task to ensurethat Europe leads the way when it comes to giving researchers more independence.

As 21st century science becomes more open and collaborative, I think we are doingwell. Te ERC, in particular, has brought about a string o agreements with reputablecounterparts overseas to help top talent join research teams in Europe. Agreementslike the ERC-Mexico deal I signed with the Director General o the MexicanNational Council o Science and echnology, Dr Cabero Mendoza, in November,are encouraging the most promising young researchers to temporarily participate inprojects led by European Research Council grant holders.

Tis important work is very much in line with my view that European research, science

and innovation must be Open to the World, because there are ew orces in this worldmore engaging and uniying than scientific endeavour.

Tis year the EU was granted observer status or SESAME, home to the first particleaccelerator, and to science diplomacy, in the Middle East and took the historic step oHorizon 2020 Association Agreements with Ukraine and unisia.

As 2015 draws to a close and we get ready to enter a new year, the Commission wi llkeep up the momentum, supporting European rontier research or global impact.

Carlos MoedasEuropean Commissioner or Research, Science and Innovation

@ E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n


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table of content

Going globalERC - Open to the world

Research in the spotlightSpreading science across the world

Interview withalent rom across the Atlantic

What’s new

Promoting ERC-unded discoveries

Inside look Te data behind ERC projects

Focus onAustria

ales o serendipity

Studied malaria, ound cancer treatment

Innovators

Grantees meet “business angels”

Calendar o ERC calls

Did you miss this?

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Editorial Board:Massimo Gaudina, Madeleine Drielsma, Magdalena Kurej

Noélie Auvergne, Samantha Christey, Marcin Monko

Scientific Council members: Dame Athene Donald,Martin Stokho, Isabelle Vernos

Tanks to:ERC grantees Dr Astrid Dannenberg, Dr Fernando . MaestreDr Ali Salanti, Pro. Maria Santofimia and ERC team memberPro. Kip Findley

Rosaria Carbone, Giulia Gabrielli, Dr Ylva Huber, Johanna Kainz,Neno Nenov, Edward Smith

For comments: [email protected]

European Research Council Executive Agency

16 Place Charles Rogier • BE-1210 Brussels • Belgium

ideas is a quarterly electronic newsletter published bythe European Research Council.

Editorial

Commissioner Carlos Moedas


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u u ugoing global

ERC - open to the world

op research is an intrinsically international endeavour - bright minds exchange ideas across borders and continents.It is crucial or them to collaborate reely to progress and even to reach ground-breaking discoveries. Te ERCencourages such “brain circulation” and aims to make Europe a prime location or top talent o any nationality and

rom anywhere in the world.

Nurturing excellent researchers by letting them developtheir ideas reely is at the heart o the ERC’s mission. TeERC unding is open to scientists whether they are basedin the European Research Area (ERA) or overseas whenapplying or unding. o date, there are over 5,500 ERCgrantees o 66 different nationalities. Tis includes over400 non-European nationals, o which the biggest groupsare rom the US (185), Canada (46), Russia (36), Australia

(31), India (28) and Japan (19). Te lion’s share was alreadyworking in European universities beore their ERC grants.What’s more, ERC-unded teams, led by grantees, arehighly international; 17% are nationals o countries outsideERA.

Te ERC in particular strives to attract top talent basedabroad, which is slightly easier when it comes to Europeansabroad some o which are looking or ways to return toEurope. More challenging is to entice non-European talentto move to ERA. o spread the word about its undingopportunities, the ERC has travelled to some 15 countries

around the globe, rom Argentina to China, rom SouthArica to India and the US. It also has a dedicated WorkingGroup to monitor the international aspects closely, andthis global mind-set also translates into its peer reviewsystem, which is one o most international on this scale inthe world.

Brain circulationWhilst the main goal is to inspire bright minds worldwideto come to and stay in Europe through flexible andattractive grants, the ERC goes urther. It also wants toencourage its grantees to engage even more with ellowscientist in the global research community and motivateinternational young talent to take part in ERC-undedprojects. In 2012, the ERC launched an initiative with the

US National Science Foundation (NSF) to make it easieror early-career NSF scientists to join ERC-unded teamsor a period o six to twelve months. By now, agenciesin seven countries on our continents have signed suchagreements (see below). And there are more countries l inedup. Te ERC has recently asked its grantees i they wouldlike to host such temporary team members. Te number opositive responses was heartening; 535 grant holders saidthey wished to take part in the initiative.

ERC President Pro. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon praisedthese deals: “I am sure that such collaborations give rise

to lasting ties and to win-win situations. Contributing tobrain circulation is a clear ambition of the ERC ”. o pushthe rontiers o knowledge, scientists need to collaborateacross borders. Global scientific exchange helps broadenhorizons and can lead to synergies that can urther ourunderstanding.

• United States, 2012: NationalScience Foundation (agreement)

• South Korea, 2013: Ministry o Science, IC and Future Planning

(agreement)

• Argentina, 2015: Ministry o Science, echnology and ProductiveInnovation (agreement)

• Japan, 2015: Society or thePromotion o Science (agreement)

• China, 2015: National NaturalScience Foundation (agreement)

• South Arica, 2015: National

Research Foundation (agreement)

• Mexico, 2015: National Council o Science and echnology (agreement)

https://ec.europa.eu/research/era/index_en.htmhttps://erc.europa.eu/implementing-arrangementshttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_EC_NSF.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_MSIP_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_MINCYT_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_EC_JSPS.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_NSFC_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_NRF_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_CONACYT_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_CONACYT_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_NRF_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_NSFC_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_EC_JSPS.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_MINCYT_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_ERC_MSIP_en.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agreement_EC_NSF.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/implementing-arrangementshttps://ec.europa.eu/research/era/index_en.htm


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u u uinterview with

Talent from across the Atlantic

What encouraged you to join Pro. Santofimia’s ERCunded research team?I have to say that it was a series o ortunate circumstances!I received an email rom the NSF inorming me o thepossibility o visiting a research team based in Europe ora short period. Almost at the same time I was contactedby Pro. Santofimia as my research topic, mechanicalmetallurgy, is complementary to her field o investigation.We started discussing the possibility o collaboratingand, since my university granted me a sabbatical period

o hal a year, I agreed to join her team under the ERC-NSF implementing arrangement. For me, this is a reallygood opportunity to work with other scientists who haveexpertise that fits well with mine.

Please tell us about your experience.I like working here; the Delf University o echnology (UDelf) has a good reputation and is well-equipped. WithPro. Santofimia and her post-doc researcher, Dr JavierHidalgo Garcia, we are ocussing on the microstructureand properties o an advanced high strength steel. Tistopic has huge potential and has attracted the interesto the metallurgic industry worldwide. I think that we

will continue to collaborate, also afer the end o my stayhere. We have already identified some questions that weintend to pursue in the uture. Here in Europe, I also hadthe opportunity to establish contacts with other researchgroups and to visit companies interested in investing inthe technologies we are developing.

What is your take on international scientific collaboration?

Such opportunities are critical or developing long distancecollaborations, which are ofen good opportunities orscientists working in similar areas. We would not havehad the same level o success in this project i we were

to collaborate rom a distance. Face-to-ace contact isessential and, in my case, without this joint initiative, Icould not have afforded to come to Europe. n

Why did you decide to take part in this initiative?Te Colorado School o Mines is well known or steelresearch, which is also my scientific field. When I heard aboutthe agreement with the NSF, I enquired whether someoneworking there was interested in joining my team. A colleagueput me in contact with Pro. Findley. He and I share a commonresearch base, since I investigate thermodynamics, while heocuses on the mechanical properties o a very particularorm o high-strength steel.

What came out o your cooperation to date?Tus ar, it is going very well. Pro. Findley is currentlycarrying out experimental research with one o the post-doc researchers in my team. We have already started twopapers and this is a great result considering that we havebeen working together only or three months. Since he ison sabbatical leave and he does not have other academicresponsibilities, such as teaching, he can ocus more on ourresearch. Tis opportunity has enabled us to cooperate moreefficiently and quickly as well as to learn rom each other.Furthermore, it has led to out-o-the-box ideas opening thedoor to uture collaborations!

Originally rom Spain, working in the Netherlands; whatare your views on international scientific collaboration? I really believe international mobility is essential. Workingin different countries and institutes broadens your viewsand provides you with new challenges. It also makes youmore open-minded and shows you that research can bedone in many different ways. But I have to say that movingaround is easier at the beginning o your career. Aferwards,proessional and amily commitments make things morecomplicated.n

Pro. Kip Findley, NSF awardee andAssociate Proessor in Metallurgical

and Materials Engineering at theColorado School o Mines (US),

joined Pro. Maria Santofimia’s teamlast August or a our-month visit.

Maria Santofimia, AssociateProessor at the U Delf, aimsto create novel nanostructuredsteel materials with her ERCStarting Grant project.

Since this summer, Pro. Kip Findley is part o the research team o ERC grantee Pro. Maria Santofimia at U Delf(Netherlands), thanks to the joint initiative o the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the ERC. Tey sharetheir experience o this research visit to Europe that will soon come to an end.


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u u u research in the spotlight

With all eyes turned towards the COP21 conerence inParis and its outcomes, climate change has been high onthe world’s agenda or the end o 2015. Te conerencewas one o the largest diplomatic efforts o the last 25

years to tackle this global challenge, and has achieved ahistoric agreement. Pro. Astrid Dannenberg investigatesthe nature o large-scale human cooperation to develop

effective strategies or the preservation o the globalenvironment. When she received an ERC grant in 2014,she moved back to Europe rom the US, maintainingcollaborations with her colleagues at the universities oPrinceton and Columbia. Tis has been crucial or herwork.

It is not ar-etched to say that progress o civilisationhas been possible because o human cooperation. Teimportance o collective action to address commonchallenges can be traced back to the pre-historic timeswhen the survival o an individual depended on the tribe’s

collective ability to hunt big mammals. oday, cooperationis crucial in order to handle global issues such as climatechange.

Tere is no world government that can enorce theprotection o the global commons, so one has to rely on voluntary cooperation by sovereign actors to define andagree on measures to be taken.

ERC Starting grantee Pro. Astrid Dannenberg and herteam at the University o Kassel in Germany analyse themotivation triggering large-scale human cooperation.Te results might bring insights into how to successully

encourage the global community to protect theenvironment.

Te available scientific literature about humancollaboration has primarily ocused on its local andregional orms, which cannot always be applied at theglobal level. Pro. Dannenberg aims to show differencesbetween the various levels o collaboration, not only interms o group size, but also in the way institutions andnorms are ormed, and in the strategies they adopt, takinginto account the psychology o the group members.

Her research will also draw upon studies conducted by hercolleagues in Sweden and the US, where she worked in thepast. “We are supported by three well-established expertsin the field: Prof. Scott Barrett from Columbia University,

Prof. Simon Levin from Princeton University, and Dr MajaSchlüter from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, who is alsoan ERC grantee. Tey have all been working on cooperation problems for years, and importantly, they use differentmethodological approaches.”, says Pro. Dannenberg.

Tis interdisciplinary research combines theoretical,

experimental, evolutionary and empirical methods, whichcomplement each other in order to grasp the complex natureo human behaviour and decision-making. Te projectalso includes case studies o international cooperation orlack thereo, the analysis o incentives behind exampleso successul projects and the assessment o how thisknowledge can be related to combatting climate change.

“In the project, we are planning to work with experts acrossdisciplines to advance,” Pro. Dannenberg explains. “Teirresearch involving multiple methodological approachesenriches our own studies.” Understanding the cause o

the problem and which solutions have a better chance towork in practice will be an invaluable piece o inormationthat policy makers and the civil society may need to designactions that can successully protect our environment.

Climate change: what triggers human cooperation?

Meet two passionate ERC grantees, whose ideas are contributing to global scientific exchange.

Spreading science across the world


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u u uresearch in the spotlight

Destination World: travelling the continents to understanddryland ecosystems

When we talk about climate change, ofen the mind wonderstowards orests such as the Amazon, the “green lung” oour planet. However, other ecosystems also have a major

part to play. Drylands, parts o the world characterised bya lack o water, are a good example. Tese are the objecto study o ERC grantee Dr Fernando . Maestre, romthe Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Móstoles (Spain).

Dr Maestre has travelled across all continents to paint a picture o global drylands and climate change.

Drylands cover about 40% o the Earth’s land surace andsupport 38% o the human population, making them one othe largest and least understood opportunities or climatechange mitigation. Dr Maestre has conducted field work inall continents but Antarctica to investigate how biodiversityand ecosystem unctions differ in these varied landscapes,and how these ecosystems eatures impact the provisioningo services that affect the planet’s ability to react to ongoingglobal environmental change.

Maestre reports that drylands conduct several unctionssimultaneously, such as carbon storage, water infiltrationand nitrogen cycling. Tese determine the ability o theecosystem to provide undamental services such as oodproduction, water purification, climate regulation and soildevelopment. Tese unctions can help, or instance, tocontrol soil erosion or to regulate CO

2 exchanges between

the soil and the atmosphere, all important eatures orecosystem resilience to climate change and other humandisturbances.

However, this multiunctionality greatly depends on

abiotic actors, such as climate, and biotic actors, such asbiodiversity. Maestre has undergone several studies, allaround the world, to assess how different actors associatedwith climate change and biodiversity could impact the

attributes and multiunctionality o drylands. With his team,he has studied 224 dryland ecosystems rom 17 countriesacross continents, in stark contrast with previous similarresearch, mostly conducted under controlled greenhouseconditions or small-scale field experiments.

Results have highlighted how a change in aridity caused

by climate change could impact the way nutrients travelthrough the system, greatly decreasing dryland biodiversityand multiunctionality. Te global survey conducted revealsthat drylands, which host many endemic plants and animalspecies, and include about 20% o the major centres o globalplant diversity and over 30% o the endemic bird areasworldwide, will be very susceptible to climate change.

Te research also indicates that in drylands worldwide,multiunctionality is enhanced by an increased number oplant species and is reduced by a rise in the average annualtemperature, both actors impacted by global climate change.

In addition Dr Maestre has highlighted that growing aridityreduces abundance and diversity o microbial communitieswhich carry out key ecosystem services such as nutrientcycling, climate regulation and the build-up o soil ertility.Since predictions indicate a growth in dryland ecosystemso 11-23% by the year 2100, there is considerable needto understand how drying landscapes impact losses inbiodiversity and ecosystem services which we now consider vital.

Fernando . Maestre concludes that “ Although it is difficultto agree on how and when to limit the emission of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, we can contribute to

minimize its negative consequences for terrestrial ecosystemsif we take clear actions to both preserve and restore theirbiodiversity. Tis can only be done with an open, global viewof the problem.”

© J u a n C a r l o s P e r e z G i l

Dr Maestre at one o his field sites


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The data behind ERC projects

In two reports – ERC unding activities 2007-2013: Key acts, patterns and trends and Science behind the projects- the ERC presented on the one hand detailed statisticso all its calls during the EU 7th Framework Programme(2007-2013) and, on the other, a first analysis o thescientific content o ERC projects unded during the same

period.

Te first publication covers overall statistics. For exampleyou can read that the highest number o applications wassubmitted by researchers in Italy (15%), Germany (12%)and the UK (10.6%). A majority o candidates, over 70%,were early-career scientists applying or Starting andConsolidator Grants. Te most successul countries interms o number o grants hosted were the UK, Germany,France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, which in totalhosted over 22% o ERC grantees. On average, the grantsize was €1.48 million or Starting grants, €1.92 million orConsolidator Grants and €2.4 million or Advanced Grants.Te publication provides inormation at various levels ogeographic resolution (country, region, city, institution).

Te second publication ocuses on the 4,352 projectsselected in thirteen Starting, Consolidator and AdvancedGrant competitions launched between 2007 and 2013, a

period during which the ERC spent €7.5 billion as part othe 7th Framework Programme. Almost 42,000 proposalswere assessed in this period, o which around 10.4% weresuccessul and received the unding. Te analysis presentsan overview o the research landscape o the projectsunded by the ERC in FP7 in the domains o lie sciences,physical sciences and engineering, and social sciences andhumanities. It also provides evidence on how bottom-up research unded by the ERC contributes to particularEuropean thematic policy priorities — the examples givenare nanotechnology, energy, health and migration.

Lie SciencesAround 14,000 proposals were submitted in the field o LieSciences (LS). Amongst nine panels in the domain, the onesthat received the largest number o submissions were the“Neuroscience and Neural Disorders” and the “Diagnosticools, Terapies and Public Health” panels. Each o themattracted around 15% o the LS applicants overall. In total,1,573 projects, that is 11.2% o all submitted proposals, wereunded with a total budget o €2.9 billion. Around 21% oresearchers selected or the grant were women.

Social Sciences and HumanitiesIn this domain, over 8,600 proposals were submitted and

814 were unded with €1.2 billion (success rate 9.4%). Tismeans that around 9 candidates out o 100 received ERCbacking. Te panels that received the most proposals were

“Institutions, Values, Belies and Behaviour” and “TeHuman Mind and Its Complexity”, each receiving around22% o applications. Out o the unded projects, 31% wereled by emale grantees.

Physical Sciences and Engineering

Almost 19,000 proposals were competing or unding inPhysical Sciences and Engineering, o which 1,965 weresuccessul (10.5% success rate). Te selected projects, undedwith a total o €3.3 billion, were assessed by independentexperts in ten panels. Te panels “Condensed MaterialPhysics” and “Computer Science and Inormatics” receivedthe highest number o applications, each o them evaluatingroughly 12% o projects. Around 15% o grant winners werewomen, which is aligned with the share o emale applicantsin the domain.

For more statistics, such as demography o ERC applicants,their host institutions, host countries and ERC panelstructures, read the ERC unding activities 2007-2013 report (which also includes statistics o Proo o Concept andSynergy Grant schemes).

For those interested in the scope o research unded by theERC panels, the Science behind the projects report will shed

more light on which proposals were successul.

Short descriptions o all ERC-unded projects are alsoavailable or browsing on a dedicated ERC page, where visitors can search or either specific call, unding scheme,domain, country o host institution, or can simply look upusing key words. Additionally, an ERC page about statistics shows number o candidates, grantees and success rates inindividual calls and schemes.

Te ERC will also soon introduce a new search engine onthe ERC stories page, with comprehensible summaries

o a variety o ERC-unded projects, o which many haveobtained ground-breaking research results.

Enjoy the browsing!

https://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publication/files/ERC_funding_activities_2007_2013.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publication/files/ERC_Science_behind_the_projects_FP7-2007-2013.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/projects-and-results/erc-funded-projectshttps://erc.europa.eu/projects-and-results/statisticshttps://erc.europa.eu/projects-and-results/erc-storieshttps://erc.europa.eu/projects-and-results/erc-storieshttps://erc.europa.eu/projects-and-results/statisticshttps://erc.europa.eu/projects-and-results/erc-funded-projectshttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publication/files/ERC_Science_behind_the_projects_FP7-2007-2013.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publication/files/ERC_funding_activities_2007_2013.pdf


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Austria, a country at the heart o Europe, has a historyo scientific excellence and hosting internationaltalent. Its research model ranks amongst the mostprosperous and innovative in the EU. It invests 2.8%o its GDP in research, well above the EU average.Austria’s perormance is confirmed also by itscompetitiveness in ERC calls: some 140 ERC grantshave been awarded there so ar.

In 2013, Austria spent €3.6 billion in public undson research and development. At the same time, thecountry’s private sector contributed with more than

€3.9 billion. As the industry covers the lion’s share oresearch costs, it has developed an efficient system tostimulate innovation through research. Customisedinnovation unding programmes, highly qualifiedspecialised staff and more than 50 industry clustersensure optimal networking between business andscience.

Austria’s main ambition is now to switch rombeing an “innovation ollower”, i.e. developingthe ideas o others, to becoming an “innovationleader”, i.e. introducing own cutting-edge solutions.For this purpose, in recent years the country has

shifed its investment rom structural R&D towardslarger, thematic research programmes. But to leadinnovation, the country also puts effort into attractingoreign talent.

Its geographic location makes Austria a first port ocall or researchers rom the neighbouring countries,but it also hosts scientists rom outside Europe. Forexample, two thirds o all ERC grantees based in thecountry are o non-Austrian nationality. Amongstthem, there are researchers rom six neighbouringcountries, including the Czech Republic, Germany,Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Switzerland. Fromoverseas, researchers rom Argentina, Australia,China, India, Japan and US are based in Austria. Intotal, 24 nationalities are represented amongst theAustria-based ERC grantees.

Austria has also other links with the ERC: Pro.Helga Nowotny, one o the most renowned Austriansociologists, is a ounding member o the ERCScientific Council and served as ERC Presidentrom 2010 to 2013. She is currently Chair o the ERACouncil Forum Austria amongst other things.

Austria


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focus on

How would you describe the research landscape inAustria?

With “distinctive peaks” in a number o research areas,

including quantum physics, molecular biology or materialsscience, Austria has a diverse research landscape. Teacademic sector, comprising 22 public and 12 privateuniversities, and 21 universities o applied sciences, as wellas research organisations, including the Austrian Academy o Sciences, the Austrian Institute o echnology and theInstitute o Science and echnology Austria, togethercreate a strong base or undamental research. Austria hasalso a long-standing tradition in applied research thanksto a versatile and innovative private sector, which includesapproximately 3,300 companies perorming research, themajority o which are small or medium-sized enterprises.

Tis provides a avourable setting or ostering cooperationbetween the academic and the private sector, as exemplifiedby the “COME Competence Centres or Excellent echnologies” or the “Christian Doppler Laboratories”. Inthe past 10 to 15 years, several structural changes in theAustrian research system have taken place, including asimplification o the research unding landscape and the newuniversity law, giving Austrian universities more autonomy.Te Austrian RI Strategy was adopted in 2011 to helpestablish Austria as one o the leaders in innovation. Testrategy aims to strengthen the national research structureswith a ocus on excellence, oster innovation in companies,set thematic priorities, increase governance efficiency, andlink research, technology and innovation to the educationsystem.

Almost 70% o ERC grantees based in Austria comerom outside the country. What are the benefits ohosting these oreign researchers in the country?Apart rom coming up with new perspectives andapproaches stimulating the research community, scientistsrom abroad enrich their environment with their personalnetworks that can help initiate new research cooperation.While most o the international ERC grantees basedin Austria come rom one country, Germany, there are

currently more than 20 nationalities represented in thisgroup. We also find it very helpul to discuss with thesegrantees their experiences in other research environmentsto improve our own support to applicants. We transer

this inormation to Austrian universities and researchorganisations (“ERA-dialogues”) to urther developservices offered to ERC applicants and grantees in Austria.

As the NCP, how do you encourage researchers who arealready based in Austria to apply or ERC grants?In the Austrian research community there is generallyhigh awareness and strong interest in the ERC. Butresearchers consider careully the best possible “timing”or submitting their proposals as they also know therestrictions around ERC applications. Te analysis oCVs and track record, as well as advice based on “lessonslearnt” rom ERC evaluation comments are thus animportant element in our coaching services. In addition,I think that the interaction with ERC grantees, ideally

rom a similar research area, is particularly important orpotential applicants. For this reason we include discussionand networking possibilities with ERC grantees in ourtraining or applicants and interviewees, and we continueto explore other “networking ormats”.

Three questions to:

Dr Ylva Huber

Austrian National Contact Point (NCP) © Y v l a H u b e r

http://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/austrian-academy-of-sciences/http://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/austrian-academy-of-sciences/http://www.ait.ac.at/https://ist.ac.at/http://portal.tugraz.at/portal/page/portal/TU_Graz/Forschung/Kompetenzzentrenhttp://portal.tugraz.at/portal/page/portal/TU_Graz/Forschung/Kompetenzzentrenhttp://portal.tugraz.at/portal/page/portal/TU_Graz/Forschung/CD_Laborshttp://era.gv.at/directory/158http://era.gv.at/directory/158http://portal.tugraz.at/portal/page/portal/TU_Graz/Forschung/CD_Laborshttp://portal.tugraz.at/portal/page/portal/TU_Graz/Forschung/Kompetenzzentrenhttp://portal.tugraz.at/portal/page/portal/TU_Graz/Forschung/Kompetenzzentrenhttps://ist.ac.at/http://www.ait.ac.at/http://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/austrian-academy-of-sciences/http://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/austrian-academy-of-sciences/


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u u u tales of serendipity

Malaria has always been the centre o attention or Dr Ali Salanti’s, a molecular parasitologist and an ERC

grantee. With his studies, he hoped to bring new insightinto pregnancy-associated malaria, to save the lives owomen and their babies in areas affected by the disease.

Now, Dr Salanti’s research has shifed to battling againstanother deadly disease: cancer. Tis comes afer anunexpected discovery yielded ground-breaking results

or the diagnosis and treatment o this illness. Tis is thekind o curiosity-driven research that can lead to ground-breaking serendipitous outcomes.

Te host-parasite relationship has always ascinatedparasitologists and evolutionary biologists. Tanks tosimple mechanisms developed over millions o years, the

two are intimately competing in an arms race or the mosteffective measures and counter-measures. Tis relationshipis sophisticated and precise, but it can also prove deadly.Malaria parasites make no exception, having adapted to findways to enter the human body despite its immune system.

Dr Ali Salanti, rom the University o Copenhagen, wasoriginally studying one o these adaptation mechanisms: aprotein, VAR2CSA, which allows the parasite to adhere tothe placenta. Tis is a mechanism that has evolved to avoidcirculation within the blood stream, which eventuallywould result in the destruction o the parasite by the

immune system. VAR2CSA expressed by the malariaparasite allows it to bind specific carbohydrate receptorsthat are only ound in the placenta and nowhere else in thehuman body.

It came as a surprise to Dr Salanti to find that thecarbohydrate receptor in the placenta that binds the malaria

protein is also present in cancer cells, where it is involved inestablishing tumours in healthy tissues. Te biological roleo this molecule, exclusively present in these types o tissue,is apparently to mediate rapid cell growth and cellularmigration, key eatures or both the development o a newlie and the success o the tumour.

Now, taking advantage o his discovery, Dr Salanti is usinghis ERC grant to develop a new treatment or cancer. Hehas engineered a drug containing the protein, which targetsmalignant cells, and a toxin that is able to destroy them.Tis prototype medicine has already showed very positiveresults in preliminary tests on mice and culture cells. Te

drug appears to affect around 90% o tumours, includingcommon types such as brain cancer, metastatic bone cancer,breast cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and prostatecancer.

However, questions remain about the treatment withregard to humans and its applications, which may includediagnostic tools. Will it work on different types o cancer,other than those used in tests so ar? Te project’s next stepwill be the clinical trials on humans, and Dr Salanti andhis team are hard at work to prepare or this importantmilestone. Te biggest issue they will ace is the dosage o

the new drug: will it prove too invasive or human patients?Nevertheless, because the drug does not affect healthytissues, and is identical in humans and animals, the teamremains optimistic about what the uture holds.

Studied malaria, found cancer treatment

© A l i S a l a n t i


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u u uinnovators

Grantees meet “business angels”

A stone’s through away rom the Copenhagen waterront,the 14th European Business Angels Network ( EBAN )Winter University took place rom 16 to 18 November,

gathering hundreds o entrepreneurs, researches andbusiness angels rom Europe and urther afield. TeERC and nine o its Proo o Concept (PoC) projects

participated in this major global summit on venture finance and innovation in science, space, technologyand the creative industries, with HRH Prince Joachim oDenmark in attendance.

With their “elevator pitches”, some 30 European start-ups,including those ERC-unded, had a ew minutes each toconvince the investors o the commercial potential o theirideas. Te ERC researchers and partners were recognised

or the quality o their science-based companies and pitches.

wo EBAN prizes went to ERC-unded projects.Biotechnology start-up “StemCell2MAX”, operating in thefield o regenerative medicine, won the “most investablecompany” award. Tis start-up has sprung rom an ERCPoC project led by Pro. Jose Henrique Veiga Fernandes atthe University o Lisbon. ERC grantee Pro. Daniel Cremerspresented “Fabliec”, a U Munich spin-off ocused on state-o-the-art technology or 3D scanning, which received theprize or “technology to watch”. Te company has developedcustomised solutions or the consumer market and or the

medical domain (orthopaedics and plastic surgery). What’smore, the ERC was honoured with the EBAN prize or“innovation in science venture finance”, as recognition o itsefforts to bring rontier research closer to the market.

In his keynote speech, ERC Vice President Pro. SierdCloetingh described the ERC grantees as “the stars ofEuropean blue-sky research” to underline the excellenceo their work. He also drew attention to the work othe PoC grantees who he sees as the “rising stars ininnovation”. Te PoC unding helps them overcome theinamous “valley o death” by bridging the unding gapbetween research and innovation. As much as around40% o Proo o Concept grants already led to spin-outs(or spin-outs in the making), which can be considered a very satisying result, according to Pro. Cloetingh.

Scientific Council member Pro. Klaus Bock was a speakerin a session on “Redefining public-private partnershipsin unding innovation in science”, in which he stressed

the need to support young minds with an innovativespirit. Pro. Jens Rostrup-Nielsen, ormer ERC ScientificCouncil member and “ather o the ERC PoC scheme”,also attended the event. He spoke in a session on “highstakes or business angels: science based high risk/highgain projects”, alongside Pro. Deniz Kirik. Tis PoCgrantee created a start-up company joining orces withSkåne Regional Council in southern Sweden to build aspecialised hospital and a state-o-the-art gene therapycentre.

Tis event is likely to lead to ruitul collaborations

between ERC grantees and investors rom the privatesector, and thereore bring even more blue-sky researchto the market.

© E B A N & C r e a t i v e B u s i n e s s C u p

ERC spin-off company receives recognition rom HRH Prince Joachim o Denmark

http://www.eban.org/http://eban.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8f90dd396bad20a5c6540194d&id=31495fb017&e=10448389ffhttp://www.fablitec.com/http://www.fablitec.com/http://eban.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8f90dd396bad20a5c6540194d&id=31495fb017&e=10448389ffhttp://www.eban.org/


14/16


u u u did you miss this

Changing of the guard

I

In December, the ERC Scientific Council elected Pro.Klaus Bock as new ERC Vice President, alongside thecurrent two Vice Presidents, Proessors Mart Saarma

and Núria Sebastián Gallés. Klaus Bock will take overon 1 January 2016, when the term o office o current Vice-President Proessor Sierd Cloetingh ends. Pro. Bock will bein charge o the domain Physical Sciences and Engineering.He is currently a member o the Scientific Council, ERC’sgoverning body.

Read the press release.

Tunisia joins the family

Ao 1 December, unisia is officially associatedto the EU Horizon 2020 programme and canully participate in its unding schemes. Forexample, scientists can now apply or ERC

unding to conduct their research at unisian universitiesand research institutes. Te agreement was signed inBrussels by Commissioner Carlos Moedas and unisianMinister or High Education and Scientific Research,Chiheb Bouden.

291 Starting Grants awarded

he ERC has unded 291 promising early-careerresearchers with €429 million. Te grants willhelp them build their own research teams to carry

out pioneering scientific projects. Tey will, orexample, look or new ways to combat tropical diseases, studyloess samples to learn about climate change and analyse theimpact o social media on quiet diplomacy. Around 10% ocandidates were successul in obtaining unding in this call.Te number o grantees based in countries covered by theERC initiative to widen participation, mainly in Central andEastern Europe, increased compared with the past ew years.

Read the press release.

ERC at key events in Berlin

On 6 November, ERC President Jean-PierreBourguignon, together with the Chair othe ERC Scientific Council Working Groupon Gender Balance, Isabelle Vernos, as

well as ERC grantees spoke at the Gender Summit inBerlin. Tis was an opportunity to present the ERC’sstrategy to improve the balance between male andemale candidates in ERC calls, and to discuss possibleurther action to narrow the overall gender gap inscience. From 8 to 10 November, the ERC President

took part in another scientific event in the Germancapital, the Falling Walls conerence, which bringstogether the most renowned scientists to discuss theuture o research.

© K a y H e r l s c h e l m a n n

https://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/press_release/files/ERC_New_Vice_President.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/press_release/files/erc_press_release_stg2015_results.pdfhttps://gender-summit.com/gs7-abouthttp://www.falling-walls.com/http://www.falling-walls.com/https://gender-summit.com/gs7-abouthttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/press_release/files/erc_press_release_stg2015_results.pdfhttps://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/press_release/files/ERC_New_Vice_President.pdf


15/16


calendar of calls u u u

Calendar of ERC callsGrants open to researchers from anywhere in the world

**Researchers who wish to apply to one o the ERC calls can do so through the Participant Portal.**Call open to ERC grantees only.

Read the new rules or re-submission o proposals in the ERC Work Programme 2016 (pp. 18 – 20).

For more inormation regarding ERC Proo o Concept grants, please see the ERC Work Programme 2016 (pp. 35 – 41).

Candidates should apply with a host institution in an EU Member State or a Horizon 2020 Associated country.See urther inormation on the Participant Portal.

Stay inormed on the ERC website and the Participant Portal.

Inormation on the ongoing selection:

• In the 2015 ERC Consolidator Grant call, 2051 applications were submitted.• In the 2015 ERC Advanced Grant call, 1951 applications were submitted.• In the 2015 Proo o Concept call: > 97 applications were submitted in the first round > 107 application were submitted in the second round > 136 application were submitted in the second round

• In the 2016 ERC Starting Grant call, 2935 applications were submitted.

Call or proposals* Publication date Deadline Budget Funding

ERC 2016 Consolidator Grant 15 October 2015 2 February 2016 EUR 605 millionUp to EUR 2 millionper grant

ERC 2016 Advanced Grant 24 May 2016 1 September 2016 EUR 540 millionUp to EUR 2.5 millionper grant

ERC 2016 Proof of ConceptGrant**

22 October 2015

16 February 201626 May 20164 October 2016

EUR 20 millionUp to EUR 150,000per grant

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.htmlhttp://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/ERC_Work_Programme_2016.pdfhttp://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/ERC_Work_Programme_2016.pdfhttp://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.htmlhttp://erc.europa.eu/http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.htmlhttp://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.htmlhttp://erc.europa.eu/http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.htmlhttp://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/ERC_Work_Programme_2016.pdfhttp://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/ERC_Work_Programme_2016.pdfhttp://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.html


16/16

Season’s GreetingsThe European Research Council wishes you

a Happy New Year!

Te newsletter is available in English. Subscription is ree.You can subscribe online.

Next issue: March 2016

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