Two of Trinity College Dublin’s leading scientists, Prof Luke O’Neill and Ken Wolfe, have each been successful in securing special funding from the prestigious European Research Council (ERC).
The ERC is the first pan-European funding organisation for frontier research and funds senior research leaders (‘ERC Advanced Grants’) and younger, early career top researchers (‘ERC Starting Grants’).
As well-established researchers with notable track records, O’Neill and Wolfe have been chosen as part of the ‘Advanced Grants’ programme, in which €590m in grants is being provided to 266 leading scientists around the globe to pursue innovative, ‘blue sky’ research.
Seventh Research Framework Programme
ERC is the newest component of the EU’s Seventh Research Framework Programme.
O’Neill, professor of biochemistry at the School of Biochemistry and Immunology, received an ERC grant allocation of €3.48m to assist with his pioneering research into the immune system.
Wolfe, professor of genome evolution at the Smurfit Institute of Genetics and the School of Genetics at Trinity, received €1.5m in funding under the ERC Advanced Grants programme which will go towards research on the evolution of yeast species .
Both scientists are also funded by Science Foundation Ireland.
