Once again, researchers of the University of Trento have demonstrated that they can compete with their colleagues all over Europe for funding from the European Research Council.
The European Research Council announced the award of the last grants of the 2021 call to support projects of excellence presented by academic and research institutions, awarding two grants to UniTrento.
The two grants are part of the 30 grants that have been awarded to Italy out of 313 Erc Consolidator grants that the European Research Council has given to scientists who are consolidating their position as independence researchers, for a total amount of 632 million euro. The ERC had received 2,652 proposals, and only 12% of them were eligible for funding.
The University of Trento was awarded funding for the projects submitted by Elena Franchi (Department of Humanities) on Federalism and Border Management in Greek Antiquity (FeBo), and Nicola Segata (Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology), for a study on the Transmission of the human microbiome and its impact on health (microTOUCH).
The two new grants are an addition to the 31 that UniTrento has obtained so far, since the European Research Council started to award grants in 2007. Grants are awarded based on a competitive selection process, in which the only selection criterion is the scientific excellence of the project and of the researcher presenting it.
Francesca Demichelis, Vice Rector for research, expresses her satisfaction: "An important international recognition for two professors of our University, Elena Franchi and Nicola Segata. It is striking that their research interests are at the heart of topical issues, such as health and federalism. These two grants from the European Research Council make us all proud of the excellent work of the University of Trento, that continues to cultivate talent in many areas of research".
Participation in international funding programs is one of the strengths of the research policy of UniTrento, which supports scientists in all phases of the complex procedures for accessing and managing funds.
FeBo: Federalism and Border Management in Greek Antiquity
The purpose of the project "FeBo: Federalism and Border Management in Greek Antiquity" is to investigate the factors that can foster internal and external peaceful coexistence, in ancient times and in the contemporary world. With regard to ancient Greece (and perhaps not only), the question is focused on borders: how have the Greek federal states dealt with the problem of internal (intra-federal) as well as external borders? The project aims to demonstrate that Greek federal states had implemented precise border management policies; that the goal of these policies was not much the definitive resolution of conflicts, but rather maintaining stability and a balance between competition and conflict; that, in order to be successful, these strategies had to take into account economic, ethnic, cultural and religious networks that went beyond political borders. In other words, there had to be a multilevel border management policy.
microTOUCH - Transmission of the human microbiome and its impact on health
The microbiome is a key component of human biology and has important biomedical applications. While its composition has been studied in depth and linked to several factors (such as environment, lifestyle, diet, diseases), scientists have not yet learned much about its acquisition, development and transmission. Preliminary studies suggest that the microbiome is largely transmitted from person to person, that the transmission changes according to the person's interaction networks and that some non-communicable diseases are in part communicable. The project "microTOUCH - Transmission of the human microbiome and its impact on health" aims to develop the methods necessary to model transmission in human populations with metagenomic sequencing; reveal the characteristics of microbial transmissibility; describe in detail the connections of the microbiome with health conditions and risk factors.
Erc grants at UniTrento
Since 2007, UniTrento has received funding for 33 ERC projects, of which 2 in Horizon Europe, 15 in Horizon 2020 and 16 in the 7th Framework Program, for approximately 44 million euro. Funding was awarded to the University by the European Research Council at the end of a highly competitive evaluation process.
The European Research Council - ERC
The European Research Council is an independent agency, established in 2007, that aims to support frontier research in Europe across all fields, from mathematical, physical and natural sciences to engineering and the humanities, and researchers of all nationalities. ERC Grants are awarded to multi-year research projects conducted by internationally renowned researchers, selected on the basis of scientific excellence.
Erc starting grants are designed to support researchers who are starting to develop an independent career. Other types of grants, on the other hand, are designed for scientists who are consolidating their position as independent researchers ("Erc Consolidator Grants") or are already well-established and outstanding researchers in their sector at an international level ("Erc Advanced Grants"). Finally, the Proof of Concept funding scheme is made available to researchers who already have an ERC award to obtain further financial support to facilitate the transition from research to the market.
To apply for funding, researchers much go through the open calls for proposals published on the website of the ERC, and submit a research project to be carried out in a public or private university or research center, in one of the 27 EU member states or in one of the 10 associated countries participating in the European project for research and innovation. To obtain ERC funding, a proposal must be approved by a group of experts in the subject discipline, typically composed of seven to nine scientists.