Portugal sets record for projects in ERC Advanced Grants Call

The European Research Council (ERC) announced today, March 30, the results of Call Grants 2022, in which four projects by researchers from Portuguese institutions and one project by a Portuguese researcher working abroad were selected. The four Portuguese projects together received a total of €11.5 million in European funding, representing 2.1% of the total funding allocated to the 218 projects selected in this Call.

Advanced Grants are Studentships aimed at researchers who, over the last 10 years, have a proven track record in both scientific production and mentoring young researchers. The result of this 2022 edition represents a new record for Portugal, with four projects in a single Call . In comparative terms, during the entire H2020, the previous R&I Framework Program for the period 2014-2020, Portugal had achieved eight projects approved in Calls seven Calls . In Calls two Calls Europe Calls held so far, Portugal has already achieved seven projects approved.

The FCT congratulates not only the selected researchers, but also those whose applications were evaluated as being of high quality but did not receive funding. Through its ERC-Portugal program, FCT also seeks to recognize the merit of these applications by providing specific support to enable the proposed research project to be started, thereby improving the conditions for a future ERC application. The ERC-Portugal program is open to applications on a continuous basis.

Researchers and projects awarded Advanced Grants in Call 2022 Call :

Henrique Veiga Fernandes, from the Champalimaud Foundation, proposes to study how the nervous system and the immune system coordinate their response to infection and inflammation processes. This interaction between the nervous system and the immune system is very important in detecting and responding to external threats. However, the mechanism and details of these interactions are not yet sufficiently understood. A better understanding could potentially lead to the development of new treatments.

Isabel Gordo, from the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, will study how populations of microorganisms living in the intestines of mammals evolve. The diversity of bacteria in the intestines plays an important role in maintaining health and disease. However, the mechanisms of natural selection that act to give rise to these microbial populations in the intestines are still poorly understood. The team will seek to better elucidate these mechanisms, as well as the role of bacterial diversity in the health status of the host.

Maria Manuel Mota, from the João Lobo Antunes Institute of Molecular Medicine, will study how the malaria parasite replicates in the liver. Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted by mosquitoes. The parasite has a high replication rate in liver cells, subsequently infecting blood cells, which causes the disease. The researcher proposes to study the causes of the parasite's high replication rate in the liver, as well as its genetic diversity, and the role of these two factors in the severity of the disease. This knowledge may enable the identification of new targets and tools for combating malaria.

Mariana Pinho, from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, proposes to study the cell cycle of bacteria, namely how they divide and multiply, with a view to developing new types of antibiotics. Through a process of evolution, bacterial populations are capable of developing resistance to antibiotics, particularly in cases where these antibiotics have only one target. The proposed research aims to understand some still poorly understood components of the bacterial cell cycle, with a view to identifying new targets for new antibiotics that can interfere with this cycle and prevent bacterial replication.

Gonçalo Castelo-Branco, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, proposes to study genetic factors associated with the risk of multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease characterized by the immune system attacking a type of cell in the central nervous system (oligodendrocytes) and, in particular, the myelin layer that surrounds them. The research team will study the genetic variations of these central nervous system cells and their role in the development of the disease, with a view to the future development of new therapeutic strategies.

With this latest result in Call , research carried out in Portugal has raised the total funding obtained under the ERC and in all types of Calls Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, Synergy, Proof of Concept – to around €65 million since the start of Horizon Europe (2021-2027). This funding is distributed across 42 projects led by Portugal in the three scientific domains of the ERC: Life Sciences, Exact Sciences and Engineering, and Social Sciences and Humanities.