ERC Consolidator Grants for four Utrecht University researchers
This year, four Utrecht researchers will receive an ERC Consolidator Grant of approximately 2 million euros each. With these grants from the European Union, they can further consolidate their independent research teams and pursue their most promising scientific ideas.
The Utrecht researchers who will receive a grant for their research are: Robert de Vries (faculty of Science), Lennart de Groot (faculty of Geosciences), Riccardo Levato (faculty of Veterinary Medicine and UMC Utrecht) and Borja Martinovic (faculty of Social Sciences).
Projects and laureates
SPARK – Nanomagnetic Tomography: unlocking the Vortex Realm for Paleomagnetism and Rock-magnetism
With this grant I can develop a nano-magnetic technique that will allow us to measure the magnetic memory of the smallest particles in rocks for the first time
Magnetic signals in rocks play an important role in earth sciences. Knowledge about magnetic signals in the past can teach us more about tectonic processes, planetary dynamics and the behaviour of the geomagnetic field. However, we are often unable to measure these signals because they are stored in very small minerals. With SPARK, De Groot will develop an innovative nano-magnetic technique that will make this hidden information about the Earth’s magnetic field accessible.
Biological functions made printable: smart bioprinting with agency and control over cell fate and human tissue development
We aim to develop a roadmap for the creation of vascularised tissues, of any type. Including a 3D printer that guides cells as they grow and develop
Associate Professor Riccardo Levato will develop a lab-grown human pancreas that secretes hormones like a real one. In doing so, he will build on an innovative 3D bioprinter that his team at Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht developed. This printer not only prints tissues but also observes and co-designs them using artificial intelligence. This technology allows researchers to monitor how cells grow, organize, and interact, and make precise adjustments, such as forming networks of blood vessels, bringing lab-grown tissues closer to natural function.
Through the SMART-AGENT project, Levato’s team aims to advance this approach in three ways: enabling the printer to map and identify different cell types, controlling cell behaviour using light-based synthetic biology and optogenetics, and creating a vascularized human pancreas model. This functional model will serve as a platform for studying pancreatic biology and testing diabetes treatments. But the goal of the project is broader. “We aim to develop a roadmap for the creation of vascularised tissues, of any type. Including a 3D printer that guides cells as they grow and develop.”
INTER-MIN: INTER-MINority relations in Western Europe
Specific objectives are to map inter-minority relations across ethnic groups in Western Europe
21st century Western Europe is clearly a region of immigration. Scholars of social cohesion have extensively examined relations between ethnic majorities and immigrant-origin ethnic minorities. However, as minorities in Western Europe are getting larger, more diverse, and more established, it is of crucial importance to understand their attitudes and behaviours toward each other. Yet, research on such inter-minority relations is surprisingly scarce. This is worrisome in the light of tensions between some minorities in Western Europe, such as Turks and Kurds, Indians and Pakistanis, and Jews and Arabs.
The overarching goal of INTER-MIN, a research project led by Borja Martinović, is to take a broader perspective on social cohesion in Europe and offer a first systematic investigation of inter-minority relations. Martinović: “Specific objectives are to map inter-minority relations across ethnic groups in Western Europe. Also we would like to identify the profile of individuals who are susceptible to inter-minority tensions and reveal the underlying social-psychological mechanisms that explain inter-minority relations. Finally we hope to provide tools for improving inter-minority relations.”
Martinović and her colleagues will administer surveys and vignette experiments among large minority samples in the Netherlands, UK, and Germany–countries with diverse minority populations–and conduct follow-up focus groups for deeper insights on relations between minorities. “Our findings will pave avenues for creating a more cohesive ethnically diverse Europe.”
Sugar-Viro: Cracking the Host Sugar Code: Insights into H5Nx Influenza A Virus Adaptation and Pathogenesis
I am super excited to consolidate my lab efforts into understanding influenza A virus receptor interactions
In the project Sugar-Viro, Robert de Vries aims to answer critical questions about the biology of H5Nx influenza A viruses (IAV), the pathogens behind avian influenza or “bird flu”. These viruses have recently begun spreading to a wider range of bird and mammal species and are considered a pandemic risk. The project’s findings will help improve virus surveillance and support the development of new antiviral treatments.
To infect a new host, influenza viruses need to interact with complex sugar molecules, known as glycans, on the lining of the respiratory tract. These glycans are highly varied and complex, and it is still not fully understood how the H5Nx influenza A viruses interact with them.
De Vries will study how H5Nx influenza A viruses engage with glycans present in the respiratory system across multiple species and tissue types. He will begin by mapping which glycans are found in different organs of the respiratory tract of various avian and mammalian hosts. Using this information, he will then synthesize complex glycans, using methods that go beyond the current state of the art.
Influenza A viruses are able to adapt to new hosts through mutations in the genes coding for hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, two proteins on the surface of these viruses. De Vries will study in detail how these proteins bind to the newly synthesized complex glycans.