Millions in EU funding — Prof. Stephan Grill and Prof. Anton Wallner receive ERC Advanced Grants

The European Research Council (ERC) supports the cream of the crop across all scientific fields in Europe. The Advanced Grants program is specifically aimed at established, pioneering researchers with an outstanding track record who are itching to break new ground with their work. This grant is therefore one of the most prestigious research awards the European Union has to offer. The award is endowed with funding of up to EUR 2.5M for each recipient over a five-year period.

As part of the ERC’s most recent selection round, two researchers affiliated with TUD Dresden University of Technology  also succeeded in drawing attention to their projects:  Prof. Stephan Grill of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden and Prof. Anton Wallner of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. “The ERC Advanced Grants for Prof. Stephan Grill and Prof. Anton Wallner are a tremendous recognition of their achievements — achievements that Prof. Grill has been contributing to over many years, such as the Physics of Life Cluster of Excellence, and to which Prof. Wallner has contributed significantly with accelerator mass spectrometry and isotope research. As Vice-Rector Research and Technology Transfer at TU Drersden, I would like to congratulate them on this success,” says Prof. Angela Rösen-Wolff.
Saxony’s Minister of Science Sebastian Gemkow also lauded the two esteemed scientists: “I would like to extend my congratulations to the award recipients on their tremendous success! Securing one of the EU’s most competitive research grants is a phenomenal feat. The awards are not only a milestone in their individual, scientific careers, but rather they constitute a significant gain for Saxony as a research hub.

About the projects:

• Prof. Stephan Grill from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics will receive funding for his research as part of the ERC project “DNA Sequence-Dependent Structure Formation in the Cell Nucleus.” This project unites biology and physics, as well as theory and experimentation, and aims to develop a physical theory of the organization of genomes across various scales. This will provide insights into how DNA sequences control structure-forming processes in the cell nucleus, which has far-reaching implications when looking at the development and onset of various diseases.
• Prof. Anton Wallner and his team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf are working on the SUPREME project (Supernova and r-process radionuclides engraved on million-years-old archives from Earth and the Moon), which involves an investigation into how heavy elements are formed during cosmic explosions—such as supernovae or neutron star collisions—and whether such events have had an impact on Earth’s climate and biosphere. Using a novel variant of accelerator mass spectrometry, the HZDR is detecting individual atoms in NASA lunar samples, deep-sea floor samples, and ice cores that originate from these interstellar events that took place over the past 500 million years.

Background:
The European Research Council (ERC) is part of the "scientific excellence" endeavor of the EU’s Horizon Europe Framework Program for Research and Innovation. Its goal is to bolster individual researchers and their groundbreaking ideas.  To this end, the ERC offers various means of funding for different career stages — ranging from starting grants for early-career researchers, to "Advanced Grants" for experienced, scientific pioneers. In addition, the ERC supports outstanding junior research groups and initiatives aimed at incorporating innovations from ERC project ideas.

https://www.eubuero.de/de/nks-erc-advanced-grants-2450.html
 

Media contact:
Max Planck Institute of
Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Katrin Boes
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Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
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