ERC allocates an additional 15 million euros to Portuguese research

The European Research Council (ERC) announced today (17 March) the projects selected for the Consolidator Grants , the Studentships for researchers with 7 to 12 years of experience, including 5 projects for researchers developing their activity in Portugal. Each will be financed with around 2 million euros, making a total of 10 million euros. The ERC also announced the allocation of funding to 3 other Portuguese projects, which were on the reserve list for the Starting Grants, which will receive 4.9 million euros in total.

Of the Portuguese projects selected in the Consolidator Grants, four are in the area of social sciences and humanities and one in the area of exact sciences and engineering. The first group includes the projects: “Food circuits: hidden links between migrants and societies”, by Frederico Fiuza, from the Instituto Superior Técnico Association for Research and Development; “Food Circuits: Hidden Links between Migrants and Societies”, by Seth Holmes, from the Institute of Social Sciences (University of Lisbon); “Queer Citizenship over Time: Aging, Ageism and Age-Related LGBTI+ Policies in Europe”, by Ana Cristina Santos, from the Center for Social Studies (University of Coimbra); and “Architecture of fishing: the ecological continuum between buildings and fish species”, by André Tavares, from the University of Porto. The project in the area of exact sciences is led by João Cascalheira, from the University of Algarve, and is entitled “Population trajectories and cultural dynamics of late Neanderthals in the extreme west of Eurasia”.

In January, the ERC announced the results of the Starting Grants, the Studentships for scientists at the beginning of their careers, including 5 projects in Portuguese, to which the other 3 projects on the reserve list have now been added. Of these new projects, two focus on the area of evolutionary and developmental biology, more specifically the one led by Inês Fragata, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, with the project “Feedback between population dynamics and the evolution of interactions in a tritrophic system”, and the one led by Waldan Kwong, from the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, with the project “Genetic factors that allow microbiome symbiosis: bees as a natural model system”. The third project, led by Alex Armand from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, is entitled “The global impact of coastal water contamination on economic development”. Portugal therefore has a total of around 13 million euros in funding under Starting Grants, and marks a record of 8 projects selected for this type of grant. Studentship , in one Call .

In February, the ERC had also distinguished 4 Portuguese projects in the Proof of Concept Grants, Studentships intended for projects previously funded by the ERC that aim to explore the commercial and social potential of research beyond research, funded to a total value of 600 thousand euros.

To date, Portuguese research has already raised around 24 million euros in Calls from the European Research Council (ERC), since the beginning of the year, funding under Horizon Europe (2021-2027), the European research and innovation funding framework programme that succeeds Horizon 2020.

Summaries of selected projects

Consolidator Grants

Frederico Fiuza
Association of the Higher Technical Institute of Research and Development
“Extreme particle acceleration in collisions: from the laboratory to astrophysics”

In Space, shock waves occurring between supersonic plasmas create the most powerful particle accelerators in the Universe. Recent astronomical observations have revealed the nature and importance of phenomena associated with shock waves in plasmas in the Universe, such as the acceleration of cosmic rays in supernova remnants, the light emitted by colliding neutron stars, and the jets fired by massive black holes. However, until now it has not been possible to understand the physical principles that govern the acceleration of particles during astrophysical collisions. This project aims to explore and understand the scientific issues related to this topic, using computational simulations and machine learning techniques, and subsequent laboratory experiments.

Seth Holmes
Institute of Social Sciences (University of Lisbon)
“Food circuits: hidden links between migrants and societies”

Most fruits and vegetables would not be available in European markets without the work done by migrant workers. However, the contribution of migrants to food systems is often hidden from those who buy and consume food. This project considers the cases of asparagus from Germany, oranges from Spain and strawberries from California to study the connections between migrants and societies, as well as the ways in which these connections become invisible.

Ana Cristina Santos
Center for Social Studies (University of Coimbra)
“Queer Citizenship over Time: Aging, Ageism and Age-Related LGBTI+ Policies in Europe”

Sexual and gender diversity are constitutive elements of democratic societies that have been targeted by far-right populism and other anti-democratic forces. Taking queer citizenship as a set of criteria by which democracies can be assessed, this project explores the extent to which the EU has influenced local policy and socio-legal advances in LGBTI+ rights, narratives and experiences over time.

Andre Tavares
University of Porto
“Fishing architecture: the ecological continuum between buildings and fish species”

To what extent can fish produce architecture? This project proposes to trace a socio-ecological history of North Atlantic architecture related to fishing, elucidating the relationships between marine environments and terrestrial landscapes, assessing the ecological impact of fishing constructions and the natural resources on which they depend.

John Gravel
University of Algarve
“Population trajectories and cultural dynamics of late Neanderthals in far western Eurasia”

The Iberian Peninsula, due to its geographical position and the role of its southern regions as one of the last refuges of Neanderthals, represents an ideal natural setting for testing models of cultural and demographic trajectories leading to the definitive disappearance of these populations. This project seeks to expand this framework by implementing a new approach to archaeological and paleoenvironmental records associated with late Neanderthals in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula.

Starting Grants

Waldan Kwong
Gulbenkian Institute of Science
“Genetic factors enabling microbiome symbioses: honeybees as a natural model system”

The gut microbiome is essential to the well-being of many animals, including humans and bees. However, the genetic factors that give rise to stable, healthy microbiomes are still poorly understood. Because of the complexity of most gut microbiomes, previous work in this field has been limited to rather simplified in vitro studies. In contrast, the central objective of this project is a systematic analysis of microbial interaction mechanisms at the molecular and ecological levels. Unlike other systems, we can cultivate all members of the bee gut microbiome, and we have also recently developed genetic tools for their manipulation. The work aims to contribute to the identification of general principles of microbiome composition and function, which has broad implications in fields where microbiomes play important roles, including agriculture, medicine and biotechnology.

Agnes Fragata Almeida
Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon
“Feedback between population dynamics and evolution of interactions in a tritrophic system”

This project proposes an in-depth analysis of the eco-evolutionary process, combining experimental studies of evolution and theoretical modeling of a tritrophic system composed of plants (Arabidopsis thaliana), herbivores (Tetranychus urticae) and predators (Amblyseius swirskii). The long-term goal of is to develop statistical and theoretical tools to generate predictions about how a wide range of ecosystems persist in a rapidly changing world.

Alex Armand
New University of Lisbon
“The global impact of coastal water pollution on economic development”

Worldwide, the ocean supports the livelihoods of more than 3 billion people, the vast majority of whom live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Recent evidence shows that human contamination of coastal waters is having a significant impact on marine life. The project will identify, in all these countries, the exogenous variation in coastal water contamination, determined by pollutant discharges into rivers and climate change over the last five decades, by gathering a wide range of micro-data, from household surveys to satellite imagery, and applying advanced microeconometric techniques.