The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded funding to 134 researchers as part of the final round of its 2024 Proof of Concept (PoC) grant competition.
The PoC grants, which are worth €150,000 each, intend to help the researchers “bridge the gap” between their scientific results and the early phases of commercialisation.
According to the ERC, this latest round brings the total number of grants awarded under the 2024 programme to 245, worth a combined total of €36.75m. A total of 698 proposals were evaluated for the grants.
To be eligible for the PoC grants, which are awarded under Horizon Europe, researchers must have already been awarded an ERC frontier research grant.
While congratulating the awardees – who are based in 20 countries across Europe – European commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva said: “Europe’s global standing depends on us championing scientific excellence and building a thriving community of researchers, innovators and industry leaders. The ERC’s Proof of Concept grants play an important role in these efforts.”
Included in the final cohort of grantees were three Ireland-based researchers: Trinity College Dublin’s Prof Matthew Campbell and Prof Valeria Nicolosi, and Prof Fergal O’Brien from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Campbell’s project, titled ‘Retina-Seal’, aims to develop a novel gene therapy for the common form of blindness known as age-related macular degeneration.
Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, Campbell said: “The work funded by this project has real potential to lead to a completely novel form of therapy for a really common form of blindness that affects the aged population. This new funding from ERC will allow my group to generate the necessary data to move our ideas closer to real and meaningful therapies in the future.”
Nicolosi’s research project ‘E-Wood’ is looking at transforming wood waste into sustainable electromagnetic interference shielding materials, while O’Brien’s project ‘DeepStim’ is focused on developing a digitally enabled electroconductive patient-specific stimulation implant for spinal cord injuries.
O’Brien explained to SiliconRepublic.com that his project aims to “further develop our electroconductive neuromodulatory device for spinal cord injury treatment”, building on key 3D printing outputs from his team’s previous ERC grant for the ReCaP project, as well as work from postdoc researcher and project member Ian Woods.
Both Nicolosi and O’Brien are researchers at Amber, the Research Ireland Centre for Advanced Materials and Bio-Engineering, bringing the total number of ERC grants awarded to the centre since its establishment to 34.
Coincidentally, both of their projects are utilising MXene, an emerging 2D material with a rare combination of properties like electric and metallic conductivity, hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and flexibility, just to name a few.
Speaking about the ERC grant, Nicolosi said: “Securing funding for this project is a significant milestone, not just for advancing the science of electromagnetic interference shielding, but for taking meaningful steps toward a more sustainable future.
“I’m excited to explore the potential of wood waste and MXenes as innovative, eco-friendly solutions to a growing environmental challenge. This research has the power to not only protect sensitive electronics but also contribute to reducing electronic waste and promoting a circular economy.”
This time last year Trinity’s Prof Conor Buckley was included in the final PoC cohort for the 2023 competition, for his research focusing on the exploration of topics such as biomaterials and cell-based strategies for tissue regeneration.
Colin Ryan
This article originally appeared on www.siliconrepublic.com and can be found here
The PoC grants, which are worth €150,000 each, intend to help the researchers “bridge the gap” between their scientific results and the early phases of commercialisation.
According to the ERC, this latest round brings the total number of grants awarded under the 2024 programme to 245, worth a combined total of €36.75m. A total of 698 proposals were evaluated for the grants.
To be eligible for the PoC grants, which are awarded under Horizon Europe, researchers must have already been awarded an ERC frontier research grant.
While congratulating the awardees – who are based in 20 countries across Europe – European commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva said: “Europe’s global standing depends on us championing scientific excellence and building a thriving community of researchers, innovators and industry leaders. The ERC’s Proof of Concept grants play an important role in these efforts.”
Included in the final cohort of grantees were three Ireland-based researchers: Trinity College Dublin’s Prof Matthew Campbell and Prof Valeria Nicolosi, and Prof Fergal O’Brien from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Campbell’s project, titled ‘Retina-Seal’, aims to develop a novel gene therapy for the common form of blindness known as age-related macular degeneration.
Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, Campbell said: “The work funded by this project has real potential to lead to a completely novel form of therapy for a really common form of blindness that affects the aged population. This new funding from ERC will allow my group to generate the necessary data to move our ideas closer to real and meaningful therapies in the future.”
Nicolosi’s research project ‘E-Wood’ is looking at transforming wood waste into sustainable electromagnetic interference shielding materials, while O’Brien’s project ‘DeepStim’ is focused on developing a digitally enabled electroconductive patient-specific stimulation implant for spinal cord injuries.
O’Brien explained to SiliconRepublic.com that his project aims to “further develop our electroconductive neuromodulatory device for spinal cord injury treatment”, building on key 3D printing outputs from his team’s previous ERC grant for the ReCaP project, as well as work from postdoc researcher and project member Ian Woods.
Both Nicolosi and O’Brien are researchers at Amber, the Research Ireland Centre for Advanced Materials and Bio-Engineering, bringing the total number of ERC grants awarded to the centre since its establishment to 34.
Coincidentally, both of their projects are utilising MXene, an emerging 2D material with a rare combination of properties like electric and metallic conductivity, hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and flexibility, just to name a few.
Speaking about the ERC grant, Nicolosi said: “Securing funding for this project is a significant milestone, not just for advancing the science of electromagnetic interference shielding, but for taking meaningful steps toward a more sustainable future.
“I’m excited to explore the potential of wood waste and MXenes as innovative, eco-friendly solutions to a growing environmental challenge. This research has the power to not only protect sensitive electronics but also contribute to reducing electronic waste and promoting a circular economy.”
This time last year Trinity’s Prof Conor Buckley was included in the final PoC cohort for the 2023 competition, for his research focusing on the exploration of topics such as biomaterials and cell-based strategies for tissue regeneration.
Colin Ryan
This article originally appeared on www.siliconrepublic.com and can be found here
