Seven young Irish scientists were this week awarded European Research Council (ERC) starting grants.

The grants, worth about €1.5m each over a period of five years, aim to help researchers at the beginning of their careers to launch their own projects, form their teams and pursue their most promising ideas. They cover a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physics to social sciences and humanities.

The seven Irish scientists are based in: Trinity College Dublin (2), University College Dublin (2), the Royal College of Surgeons (1), University College Cork (1) and University College Galway (1). 

In total, the ERC announced the award of 494 starting grants to young scientists and scholars across Europe. The funding – totalling nearly €780m – supports cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physics to social sciences and humanities. It will help researchers at the beginning of their careers to launch their own projects, form their teams and pursue their most promising ideas. 

Iliana Ivanova, innovation commissioner, said: "The European Commission is proud to support the curiosity and passion of our early-career talent under our Horizon Europe programme. The new ERC Starting Grants winners aim to deepen our understanding of the world. Their creativity is vital to finding solutions to some of the most pressing societal challenges. In this call, I am happy to see one of the highest shares of female grantees to date, a trend that I hope will continue. Congratulations to all!'" 

President of the European Research Council, Professor Maria Leptin, said: "Empowering researchers early on in their careers is at the heart of the mission of the ERC. I am particularly pleased to welcome UK researchers back to the ERC. They have been sorely missed over the past years. With fifty grants awarded to researchers based in the UK, this influx is good for the research community overall."

Projects selected for funding 

The new ERC grants will support cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physical sciences to social sciences and humanities. The funding is part of the EU Horizon Europe programme.

A social scientist in the Czech Republic analyses the crucial role of public opinion in military alliances; a biochemist in the UK delves into how viruses change to infect cells; a researcher in Germany explores how robots can learn to perform human-like tasks in the real world; another scientist based in Spain examines whether advanced laser techniques can help us prevent fires; and a psychologist in the Netherlands investigates (dis)information reaching teenagers.

This is just some of the research that will be conducted by the new grantees. Read more. 

This competition attracted 3,474 proposals, which were evaluated by peer review panels of internationally renowned researchers. Overall, 14.2% of the proposals were selected for funding.

A total of 44% of these starting grants were awarded to female researchers, compared with 43% in 2023 and 39% in 2022. The starting grants calls have attracted nearly 62,000 submissions since 2007. During this time, the number of proposals submitted by women has increased from around 30% to about 40%.

Starting grants amount to €1.5m per grant for a period of five years. However, additional funds can be made available to cover costs related to moving from a country outside the EU or associated countries, the purchase of major equipment, access to large facilities or major experimental and fieldwork-related costs.

The grants are estimated to create 3 160 jobs within the teams of new grantees.