Pesquisadores baseados em Portugal obtêm número recorde de bolsas do Conselho Europeu de Pesquisa

2014 is turning out to be the best year ever for Portugal in European Research Council (ERC) calls: 15 researchers have, to date, secured global funding of €26 million, in six Starting Grants and nine Consolidator Grants.

Henrique Veiga Fernandes, Bruno Silva Santos, and João Barata, all at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Cristina Silva Pereira, from the Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology, Luís Moita, at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, Vítor Cardoso at the Technical University of Lisbon, Margarida Calafate Ribeiro and Helena Machado, both at the Center for Social Studies, andIsabel Ferreira, at the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, have been awarded Consolidator Grants. These grants support top researchers who have seven to 12 years of post-PhD experience. Each researcher will receive between €1.5 million and €2.3 million for a five-year period.

Megan Carey, of the Champalimaud Foundation, Ana Carvalho and Nuno Alves, both at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Raquel Oliveira, at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, and Ana Cecília Roque and Luís Pereira, at the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, will each receive €1.5 million as part of their Starting Grants. These grants support top researchers with two to seven years’ experience post-PhD.

Researchers in Portugal have been applying for the highly competitive ERC grants since 2007, having secured 49 grants: two in 2007; one in 2008; four in 2009; seven in 2010; two in 2011; nine in 2012 and 2013; and 15 in 2014.

ERC funding recognizes the international excellence of selected projects. The growing success of researchers in Portugal reveals the increasing quality, maturity, and competitiveness of the country's research teams and centers.