Past winners
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship, recent awardees
Monthly stipend of €6,350+ for postdocs (2026-2027 WP): 12-24 months in Europe (European Fellowship) or 24-36 months including a third-country secondment (Global Fellowship).
25523 funded projects indexed from OpenAlex and CORDIS
The list also includes the Marie Curie fellowships from FP6 and FP7 and the Horizon 2020 Individual Fellowships that this scheme replaced.
Awards per year
Top countries
- GB×23
- ES×15
- FR×15
- CH×9
- IT×7
Top institutions
25,523 awards recorded, 2002 to 2027, across 52 countries.
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS×790
- The Chancellor Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge×640
- Kobenhavns Universitet×619
- Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford×589
- Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas×490
- Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine×436
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Wissenschaften Ev×382
- University of London×349
2027
Development of Carbonation-Cured Alkali-Activated Aggregates from Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Ash and Phosphogypsum for Sustainable Infrastructure Development.
KAUNO TECHNOLOGIJOS UNIVERSITETAS · LT · €181,136.16
The rapid growth of population and urbanization has led to an unprecedented increase in the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW), necessitating effective and sustainable disposal strategies. Waste-to-energy plants offer a partial solution; however, they produce large volumes of municipal solid waste incineration ash (MSWIA), which is toxic and typically landfilled posing significant environmental risks. Likewise, the fertilizer industry’s dependence on phosphoric acid has resulted in the ge
A Smart Jacket for Enhanced Personal Safety
UNIVERSITA TA MALTA · MT · €205,314.24
The SOLOSAFE project aims to develop an AI-enabled smart jacket to enhance personal safety, particularly for individuals travelling alone at night or in isolated or potentially high-risk environments. The project addresses the limitations of existing personal safety devices, which often depend on manual activation and may not respond effectively during sudden or unexpected incidents. SOLOSAFE will combine intelligent textile-based sensing, wearable electronics, Internet of Things (IoT) connectiv
Curation, Integration, Modelling and Rational Design of Small Molecule Amyloid Inhibitors
VILNIAUS UNIVERSITETAS · LT · €196,976.16
Protein aggregation is a major concern in biomedical research as this mechanism is responsible for at least 40 increasingly common human disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and certain types of cancer or type II diabetes. These protein aggregates can be isolated from patients in the form of amyloid depositions. Environmental conditions, such as pH, temperature, the interaction with other proteins, lipids or nucleic ac
Fueling Justice: Combating Climate Change in Lithuanian Households by Ending Energy Poverty
VILNIAUS UNIVERSITETAS · LT · €196,976.16
Recent research has shown that energy poverty in Lithuania is becoming a multidimensional problem, which is a serious concern for the cohesion of Lithuania and the European Union. The aim of this project is to identify and measure the root causes of energy inequality in Lithuania and to propose solutions based on primary and secondary data that will support the ambitious goal of achieving a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. The literature review shows that rural and urban low-income households and
Biofuels and MOF-Biochar absorbent composite recovery from pyrolysis of wheat straw and plastic waste
KAUNO TECHNOLOGIJOS UNIVERSITETAS · LT · €196,976.16
The Baltic region is a major agricultural hub in Northern Europe, generating massive amounts of lignocellulosic-rich agricultural waste, particularly wheat straw (WS), which has limited applications and low value, requiring serious solutions. In this context, this BioMOF project aims to convert WS into biofuel and biochar using pyrolysis technique after mixing it with plastic waste (PW) to increase the hydrogen to carbon ratio and improve fuel efficiency. The surface of biochar will also be chem
DEVELOPMENT OF A NANOHYBRID SYSTEM BASED WEARABLE MICROFLUIDIC PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL SENSOR FOR THE ON-DEMAND cTnI DETECTION (NANOPEC)
KAUNO TECHNOLOGIJOS UNIVERSITETAS · LT · €196,976.16
Development of a Nanohybrid System Based Wearable Microfluidic Photoelectrochemical Sensor for the On-Demand cTnI Detection The Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) demands instant diagnosis, since the currently existing technologies remain invasive, expensive, time-consuming, and confined to clinical setups. The project NANOPEC proposed for the MSCA PF application hosts an innovative solution with the development of a wearable, biorecognition-free, microfluidic photoelectrochemical (PEC) saliva s
2026
IRREGULAR MIGRANTS IN TIMES OF HEIGHTENED PRECARITY. COMPARATIVE DYNAMICS OF LIVED EXPERIENCE AND AGENCY AMONG DOMESTIC AND FOOD SERVICE WORKERS IN MILAN AND NEW YORK CITY.
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO · IT
UNDERPRECAR analyses how deportability-induced precarity influences the lived experience and agency of irregular migrants under shifting and increasingly contrasting migration regimes. Through a comparative ethnography in Milan (Italy) and New York City (USA), it focuses on domestic work and food service—sectors marked by informality and a high reliance on migrant labour—and adopts a gender-sensitive lens. The objectives are: (1) to trace legislative, administrative, and enforcement trajectories
2025
BIOcementation with GEotextiles for Mine-tailing Stabilization (BIOGEMS)
LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY LBG · GB · €276,187.92
Concerns about the geohazards and environmental and health impacts of contaminated mine tailings (soil and rock fragments remaining after mineral extraction) drive the urgent need for their safe storage and the sustainable restoration of tailings storage sites after mining operations cease. With a projected 35% increase in size of active tailings storage facilities, stretching them beyond their original design, failures are expected to increase, exacerbated by climate change.To address these pre
Single-Photon Emitters from Engineered Defects for nanoscale quantum optics
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · ES · €194,074.56
Single-photon emitters are essential quantum light sources for secure communication, sensing, and computation. Among the most promising platforms are Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), combining strong excitonic effects, atomic thickness, and heterostructure compatibility. However, their defect-based emitters typically lack deterministic control, preventing reproducibility and scalable integration. Concomitantly, rapid advances in tip-enhanced nano-optics now allow probing and manipulating
Vital Interpretations of Trans-ecologies Animacy and Epistemologies
UNIVERZITA KARLOVA · CZ · €233,066.16
VITAE investigates how the meaning of “life” is being redefined in an era marked by ecological crisis, technological innovation, and cultural pluralism. Despite major advances in biology, astrobiology, and AI, no shared or operational definition of life exists, over 100 competing definitions, as collected in The Handbook of Astrobiology, reveal a fragmented landscape. This uncertainty has direct consequences for biodiversity governance, legal personhood, and rights-of-nature policies, affecting
Quantum Nature of Binding
KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET · DK · €247,553.28
In my project Quantum Nature of Binding (QBind), I will develop rigorous methods to fully capture the quantum nature of particles in the process of binding. I aim to determine precise criteria under which Schrödinger operators with critical potentials produce binding in many-particle systems.I will develop tools to treat two long-standing challenges at the interface of mathematics and physics: the formation of negatively charged ions (the Ionization Conjecture), and the Efimov effect, a striking
Precarious Migration in Global Cities
EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE · IT · €409,051.08
The growing presence of migrants with precarious legal status—defined as individuals lacking secure residency or at risk of losing it—presents operational challenges for city governments. Legal restrictions often exclude this population from essential services such as welfare, healthcare, and formal employment. These exclusions may, in turn, affect cities' ability to address broader priorities including public health, homelessness, and safety.While some municipalities comply strictly with nation
Parabolic Approach to the Classification of Complex Surfaces through the Pluriclosed Flow
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · ES · €194,074.56
One of the landmark achievements of 20th-century mathematics is the Enriques-Kodaira classification of compact complex surfaces. Yet, for odd Betti number, there is a long-standing open conjecture, known as the Global Spherical Shell (GSS) conjecture, which concerns Class VII surfaces. This remains the main open problem in low-dimensional complex geometry, with the latest advances exploiting deep techniques from algebraic geometry. Inspired by Perelman’s breakthrough use of Ricci flow in 3-manif
Grounding Adaptation Through Holistic Ecovillage Research: A participatory study of climate adaptation via land stewardship practices in Southern European ecovillages employing Photovoice
ASSOCIACAO ISCTE CONHECIMENTO E INOVACAO - CENTRO DE VALORIZACAO E TRANSFERENCIA DE TECNOLOGIAS · PT · €207,183.12
As ecological disasters intensify across Southern Europe and the urgency for transformative climate solutions grows, community-led initiatives (CLIs) are emerging as powerful agents of socio-ecological transformation. Among these, ecovillages–intentional, sustainable communities–offer a promising commons-based climate adaptation strategy. Existing research on ecovillages and climate change has prioritized organizational dimensions, neglecting a critical examination of how ecovillages may foster
Duties and Obligations in Arguing. A Kantian Approach to Argumentation
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO · IT · €396,991.08
How strongly should we defend our beliefs when arguing, and how much respect should we show for the beliefs of others, even if we disagree with them? The aim of DOA is to set out and describe epistemic duties associated with argumentation, with a focus on those that apply to the exchange of reasons in the public sphere, where disagreement concerning political, economic, and societal issues prevails. DOA addresses how we should behave when actively conveying our beliefs in arguments, and how ca
Causal investigation of Cortical Communication
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON · GB · €276,187.92
This project will reveal the causal rules that govern activity transmission across layers of the cerebral cortex by leveraging unique photonic probes that can read and write neural activity with high resolution. The evolutionary expansion of a common cortical circuit to perform diverse functions demonstrates this circuit’s computational power, yet we do not know the basic communication rules that drive this versatile computational system. Due to a lack of causal experiments, we do not know how a
Interplay between Topological Insulators and 2D Magnets from First Principles (TopMagnets)
UNIVERSITAT DE VALENCIA · ES · €209,914.56
Electric control of the magnetization is an essential prerequisite for the realization of high-performance spintronic devices. Leveraging the remarkable electronic properties of topological insulators (TIs) interacting with magnetic particles and novel two-dimensional (2D) magnets is an attractive route towards this goal, which has given promising results for the effective control of the magnetization tunable by a gate voltage. However, several challenges for their successful technological imple
Self-Assembled Microframeworks for Spatially Controlled Growth of Vascularised Brain Organoids
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · GB · €276,187.92
Brain research still relies heavily on animal models, which raise ethical concerns and often do not fully recapitulate human physiology. Brain organoids (BOs), derived from pluripotent stem cells, have recently emerged as promising in vitro models that reproduce key human-specific features of brain. However, current BO protocols offer little control over the tissue microarchitecture, which is essential for guiding tissue structure and function. Here, scaffold-based approaches show promise, but s
Mechanisms of mChr-mediated genome dynamics in the cereal blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae
MARTIN-LUTHER-UNIVERSITAT HALLE-WITTENBERG · DE · €202,125.12
Plant pathogenic fungi represent a serious threat for the productivity of agricultural systems. The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is a multi-host pathogen that infects both, cultivated and wild grass species, including important agronomic crops such as rice, wheat and barley. Despite reproducing asexually, clonal lineages of the blast fungus display remarkable genomic and phenotypic plasticity. Most strikingly, these isolates contain highly variable mini-chromosomes, which can contribute to th
Security and Privacy Hardening of Production Zero-Knowledge Systems
ETHNIKO KAI KAPODISTRIAKO PANEPISTIMIO ATHINON · GR · €197,263.68
Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) have evolved from theoretical concepts to critical infrastructure, securing substantial assets and enabling privacy-preserving identity systems, compliant private payments, misinformation-resistant provenance, and verifiable AI workflows. European initiatives, including the EU Digital Identity Wallet and AI compliance frameworks, require verifiable computation without exposing sensitive data. Central to this transition are zero-knowledge virtual machines (zkVMs), whi
Transverse Momentum Distributions: Robust Extraction and Methodology Application
COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES · FR · €226,420.56
Global fits of electron–proton and proton–proton scattering data are essential to unveil the multidimensional structure of hadrons and to describe the interplay between parton dynamics and hadronization, two manifestations of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Transverse-Momentum-Dependent (TMD) factorization provides the appropriate framework to describe processes such as semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS) and Drell–Yan, where transverse degrees of freedom play a crucial role. In this
Counting STrategies and Reactive Synthesis
UNIVERSITE DE MONS · BE · €200,400
We are surrounded by reactive systems, such as traffic-light systems, which interact continuously with the environment. A controller for reactive systems tells the system how to react to changes in the environment. A controller also needs to satisfy an objective modeling the requirements of the system. For safety-critical systems, the consequences of designing incorrect controllers can be fatal. This motivates the synthesis of provably correct controllers for reactive systems. A popular formal m
Reconstructing Emerging Pollution in Air and Assessing Inhalation Risk
UNIVERSIDAD DE NAVARRA · ES · €194,074.56
Airborne microplastics (MPs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have recently emerged as contaminants of concern due to their persistence, toxicity, and potential health impacts. Yet, almost nothing is known about their historical occurrence in the atmosphere, their co-occurrence in particulate matter, or their long-term role in human exposure.The REPAIR project (Reconstructing Emerging Pollution in Air and Assessing Inhalation Risk) will be the first to reconstruct atmospheric MPs a
Multi-Scale Monitoring of Fluid Flow in Deformed Porous Rocks Using Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing and 4D Synchrotron X-ray Tomography
UNIVERSITETET I OSLO · NO · €267,418.56
The EU is advancing energy transition and environmental sustainability through the development of geothermal energy, geological storage of CO2, hydrogen, and compressed gas, as well as deep wastewater reinjection. Quantitative, multiscale characterisation and scalable monitoring of fluid flow in underground reservoirs are crucial for managing risks including induced seismicity, subsidence, and fluid or gas leakage. Yet, subsurface reservoirs often act as a black box, limiting our ability to obta
A Sight for sore Eyes: BRidging PeOple and PollinaTors ThrOugh PolliNator monItoriNg
UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI · SI · €198,557.52
The unprecedented loss of biodiversity is one of today’s greatest environmental challenges, with pollinators at its core. Recognising this crisis, the EU launched the New Deal for Pollinators (2023) and, through the Nature Restoration Regulation (2024), made pollinator monitoring legally binding for Member States. Citizen science is central to these efforts, offering cost-effective data collection while reconnecting people with nature, particularly in cities where direct contact with biodiversit
Physiological and Behavioral Responses of Amphibians to Thermal and Salinity Stress
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · ES · €194,074.56
Climate change and human-driven habitat alteration are critical threats to global biodiversity, with amphibians among the most vulnerable groups due to their permeable skin, complex life cycles, and reliance on aquatic habitats. Rising temperatures and salinization, two intensifying global stressors, often occur together in freshwater ecosystems, yet their combined effects remain poorly understood. Addressing this knowledge gap is essential for predicting species persistence and designing effect
Ottoman Decision and Information Networks in the Russo-Ottoman War of 1768-1774
IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS · GR · €197,263.68
How do governments make decisions when faced with uncertainty, conflicting reports, and unreliable information? Ottoman Decision and Information Networks (ODIN) addresses this enduring question by examining the Russo-Ottoman War of 1768–1774, a conflict that reshaped international politics across Europe and Eurasia. The project shows how one of the world’s great empires coped with rumor, credibility, and limited knowledge at a time when choices could mean survival or collapse.Unlike European riv
Graph Profiles via Invariants, Sums-of-squares and Moment methods
UNIVERSITETET I TROMSOE - NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET · NO · €251,578.56
Many questions in extremal graph theory boil down to simple trade-offs: if a graph has this many edges, how many triangles must it contain? Such trade-offs are captured by graph profiles, which describe which combinations of small patterns can occur in the same, much larger graph. Today, only a few profiles are known exactly, and the proofs rely on case-by-case tricks that do not generalize.Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, PRISM will develop new ways to certify profile
Multifunctional Electromagnetic Injectable Hydrogel for Treating Osteochondral Defect Via Neurostimulated Bone Regeneration
THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE · GB · €454,103.40
The deep osteochondral defects affect millions of people worldwide and remain a challenge for orthopaedic surgeons. It causes a major impact on quality of life, affecting mobility, and poses a major economic burden on the healthcare system. The increasing demand for knee grafts is reflected in the growing market size. The available clinical strategies include surgical methods such as knee grafts, scaffolds of stem cells, and growth factors. However, these suffer from challenges of rejection, hig
Mechanically tunable nanophotonic cavities for scalable quantum network nodes
OESTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN · AT · €214,344.72
This project aims to establish a novel nanophotonic platform that enables scalable quantum network nodes based on mechanically tunable photonic crystal (PhC) cavities coupled to trapped cold atoms. Future quantum computers will require modular architectures, where multiple atomic processors are linked via photonic channels at telecom wavelengths. PhC cavities are promising atom–photon interfaces, yet fabrication-induced disorder prevents large-scale deterministic resonance with atomic transition
FLAMED: Fire modeLling And Mismatch mapping: integrating Ecology and human practices to Drive adaptive management
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DEVELOPPEMENT · FR · €226,420.56
Fire has shaped ecosystems, landscapes, and human societies for millennia. Recent shifts in climate, vegetation, and land use have altered underlying fire regimes, which refer to the repeated patterns of fire frequency, size, and intensity at a given location. Nowhere is this more evident than in the European Union, where recent extreme wildfires have caused loss of life, threatened public health, and damaged economies. To respond effectively to such risks, first we must understand where and how
Fourier Ptychography Phenotypic Screening
JULIUS-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAT WURZBURG · DE · €217,965.12
The primary objective of this project is to overcome a critical bottleneck in drug discovery by developing an ultra-fast microscopy platform capable of imaging an entire well plate at sub-micron resolution in under one minute. This will accelerate AI-based phenotypic screening by over 1,000-fold, enabling the analysis of vast chemical libraries to find new medicines for major health threats like antimicrobial resistance (AMR).This goal will be achieved by innovating Fourier Ptychographic Microsc
Rewriting Cold War Women’s Histories: Iranian Feminist–Socialist Entanglements in Global Decolonial Struggles
FONDATION POUR L INSTITUT DE HAUTES ETUDES INTERNATIONALES ET DU DEVELOPPEMENT · CH · €307,958.88
This project reconfigures Cold War women’s history by examining a neglected dimension in dominant historiographies: the rivalries, conflicts, and contested visions that shaped women’s movements across geopolitical blocs. While recent scholarship has moved beyond Cold War liberal framings to recognize the agency of socialist and Global South women, it has largely emphasized solidarities, overlooking how fractures also generated new feminist discourses and practices. The Iranian case brings this d
The Biopolitics of Citizenship and Reproductive Law
EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE · IT · €329,983.08
Based on the pillars of traditional nuclear families and unassisted human reproduction, ius sanguinis as the oldest mode of citizenship transmission, has been devised to ensure the intergenerational continuity of political communities. As such, it is the most dominant mode of citizenship acquisition around the globe. Yet, what happens to citizenship transmission when reproductive law becomes a site of contestation? How does the regulation of reproductive rights shape the composition of the body
Universal History beyond Empire: Rethinking History-Writing, Identity and Temporality in the High Middle Ages, ca. 1070–1228.
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CATANIA · IT · €193,643.28
This project offers a transformative reassessment of universal history-writing in High Medieval Europe, exploring its critical, but underexamined, role in shaping identities, political memory, and temporality beyond empires. Universal history has long been recognized as the dominant form of historical thought in the Middle Ages. Traditionally, it has been seen as a coherent ideological project to convey the providential history of universalising institutions such as empires. However, its broader
Paid Leave Effects and Dynamics
UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA · ES · €194,074.56
This project investigates the long-term and distributional effects of paid leave (PL) policies—maternity leave (ML) and paternity leave (PTL)—on child development and family behavior. Motivated by Europe’s persistent fertility decline and widening early-life inequalities, the project develops a structural framework (PLED) to evaluate how PL reforms affect fertility, labor supply, and parental investment decisions over the life cycle, and how these effects vary across socio-economic groups.The fi
UNderstanding and improving the efficiency of InGaN Red LEDs for micro-Display applications
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · FR · €242,260.56
Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) semiconductors have emerged as a highly promising material platform for the realization of high-performance red–green–blue (RGB) micro-light-emitting diode (μLED) displays within a single material family. However, there remains a disparity in performance, with blue InGaN LEDs demonstrating higher efficiency than their red counterparts. The problem arises from the high indium (In) content, which leads to lattice strain, defect generation, and quantum-confined Stark
Decoding plant RNA localization sequences and structural signals (D-POLARIS)
JOHN INNES CENTRE · GB · €276,187.92
Cellular RNA localization determines transcript fate by controlling its distribution between chromatin, nucleus and cytoplasm. Studies in animal cells have identified a limited number of sequence motifs linked to compartmentalization, but these motifs are often broadly defined and not readily generalizable across species, cell types or conditions. RNA molecules can adopt diverse spatial structures that are involved in various aspects of RNA metabolism. RNA structure has therefore been proposed
Magnetic-exchange and Aromaticity Guidance for Pi-system spin Interaction Engineering
THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER · GB · €276,187.92
Exploiting quantum phenomena unlocks new possibilities for ultra-fast computing, secure communication, and high-precision measurement tools, such as those used in medical diagnostics, driving progress towards sustainable development that aligns with multiple goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Significant experimental advances have recently expanded the library of molecular systems that display spin-based quantum effects, creating an urgent need for equally robust theoretical and computatio
Deciphering Inflammatory and Placental Mechanisms of Pre-eclampsia in Sickle Cell Disease
IMAGINE INSTITUT DES MALADIES GENETIQUES NECKER ENFANTS MALADES FONDATION · FR · €242,260.56
In this project, I will investigate the inflammatory and placental mechanisms underlying the high risk of pre-eclampsia in sickle cell disease (SCD), the most common inherited hemoglobinopathy worldwide and a major global health problem. I will employ immunological, vascular, and transcriptomic approaches to characterize how chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and angiogenic imbalance contribute to pre-eclampsia in SCD pregnancies. Using plasma, PBMCs, and placental samples, I will define im
Translating the West: Reception of Ideas and Language Tools in the Palaiologan Period
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MESSINA · IT · €193,643.28
TRAWL investigates Latin-to-Greek translations in Palaiologan Byzantium (1261-1453) as a lens for exploring processes of linguistic adaptation and cultural transfer between the Latin West and the Greek East. Focusing on philosophical and theological writings translated between the late 13th and 15th centuries by prominent Byzantine intellectuals, the project offers a new perspective on the Eastern reception of Western thought during a period of intensifying cross-cultural exchange. The source co
Translating spatial maps into goal-directed actions in the hippocampal-accumbens circuit
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON · GB · €260,347.92
Our ability to navigate flexibly needs more than a map of where we are. The brain must also decide where to go next. The hippocampus encodes where we are, yet how these signals turn into goal-directed choices is still unclear. Theoretical models suggest that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) combines hippocampal maps with rewards to build spatial value maps that guide movement, yet this has never been tested experimentally. I propose this system guides navigation by continuously sampling from the spat
Real-time Adhesion Trajectories & Inverse Design via Physics-Enhanced Machine Learning
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT BERLIN · DE · €236,128.88
Viscoelastic adhesive interfaces with tunable properties are central to emerging technologies in robotics, biomedicine, and smart materials. However, their design and control are severely constrained by the slow computational cost of classical contact mechanics and empirical models, which cannot deliver real-time predictions across complex, viscoelastic, and non-smooth surfaces. This project introduces a Physics-Enhanced Machine Learning (PEML) framework for the real-time design, prediction, and
Dynamic Photoactivity in Flexible Titanium-based Metal–Organic Frameworks
UNIVERSITAT DE VALENCIA · ES · €209,914.56
Metal–organic frameworks are porous materials with diverse applications. However, while more than 50,000 MOFs have been reported in the literature, the synthesis of Ti-based MOFs remains a challenge due to the high reactivity of Ti(IV) precursors. At the same time, the versatility of titanium-oxo species can lead to unique MOFs not obtainable with any other metal in the periodic table.The DYNAPHOTO project will investigate structure–property relationships in new flexible Ti-MOFs, specifically ho
Unravelling the mechanisms underlying the evolution of multicellular life
LUNDS UNIVERSITET · SE · €236,340
The transition from unicellular to multicellular life has fuelled biological diversity and complexity. Multicellularity has evolved repeatedly across the tree of life and within clades, such as the green algae, multicellularity has arisen independently numerous times. Why has multicellularity evolved so many times in some lineages, but not others? An untested idea is that multicellularity readily evolves from unicellular organisms that prolong their replicative (multicellular) life-stages under
Unifying Neural Relational Inference
UNIVERSITETET I TROMSOE - NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET · NO · €251,578.56
Our world, from the human brain to the global economy, is built on complex networks. Understanding the structure of these networks is a cornerstone of modern science and technology, yet these connections are often difficult to spot. Typically, we only observe a system's dynamic activity over time, such as the fluctuating signals from brain regions or the daily prices of stocks. This gives rise to a critical scientific question: can we create an accurate map of a system's hidden and evolving conn
Tracing Adaptation through Tribology and Ethnoarchaeology: Temporal-Resource Allocation and Changes in Pleistocene Bone Tools
UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO/ EUSKAL HERRIKO UNIBERTSITATEA · ES · €209,914.56
Pleistocene bone tools provide crucial evidence for understanding hominin adaptive strategies. While research has traditionally focused on formal bone tools, growing evidence points to a two-million-year tradition of expedient bone tools, often unmodified or minimally modified. Although their importance has been demonstrated, current approaches remain limited to static functional snapshots and lack reliable methods for estimating use duration or integrating social and cultural contexts. TRACE ad
Not Free: A Comparison of the Evolution of Anglophone and Dutch Arguments about Slavery, c.1775-1860
UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER · GB · €260,347.92
As European governments are increasingly struggling with their colonial past, and with modern slavery, we urgently need to improve our understanding of the debates about slavery which took place between the late eighteenth century and c.1860, when the last major western colonial empires abolished slavery. Existing accounts of these debates tend to be based on an unduly restricted analysis of what it means for slaves to lack personal liberty. As a result, these accounts underestimate the extent t
Transforming adolescent e-cigarette use prevention in Switzerland: Advancing understanding and delivering a co-designed, AI-enhanced digital school-based intervention
STIFTUNG FUR SUCHT UND GESUNDHEITSFORSCHUNG · CH · €292,118.88
Tobacco industry efforts to reassert their influence via e-cigarettes (or ‘vaping’) and other nicotine products are jeopardising years of tobacco control success, with young people (aged 10-24 years) extremely vulnerable to becoming part of a new wave of nicotine-dependent users. While global rates of e-cigarette use among young people have rapidly increased, Switzerland reports dramatically higher rates with approximately 40% of 15-year-olds having ever used an e-cigarette. Effective prevention
Flat-Band Quantum Engineering in Twisted 2D Materials with Magneto-optical Exceptional-Surface Cavities
AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR · FI · €226,276.80
This project develops a transformative platform for stabilizing and controlling strongly correlated quantum phases in twisted two-dimensional (2D) materials through flat-band engineering with magneto-optical exceptional-surface (ES) cavities. Flat-band engineering combined with time-reversal-symmetry (TRS) breaking is essential for achieving stable and accessible exotic phases such as superconductivity, correlated insulators, and topological states. By integrating non-Hermitian photonics, cavity
FACEOFF: Role of intra- and inter-kingdom mixed infections as major determinants of plant virus emergence through short- and long-term modifications of seed transmission rate.
UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID · ES · €194,074.56
Plant pests are a main limiting factor for agricultural production, and developing effective control measures is a major requirement to meet the rising food demand of a growing human population. Among pests, viruses account for more than half of emerging plant diseases. A major contributing factor to their emergence is the great capacity of plant viruses to spread rapidly and cause devastating epidemics. Thus, current management methods focus on interfering with their horizontal transmission (HT
Novel modeling methodology for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances and their precursors transport and fate in dune filtration systems
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT · NL · €217,076.16
Sea spray aerosols (SSA) have been identified as a secondary emission source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), overturning the long-held belief that the ocean serves as a final sink for these persistent, EU-regulated “forever chemicals” through dilution. PFAS and precursors deposit with SSA on the dune surface and are transported with infiltrating (rain)water into the groundwater. In the subsurface, PFAS precursors may degrade into persistent PFAS, thereby contributing to long-term
Advanced User-centric, Trustworthy and Privacy-preserving AI-powered Search Engine
IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE · GB · €260,347.92
The European Green Deal aims to build a resource-efficient, competitive EU economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, clean energy and sustainable industries. Achieving this requires quick and reliable access to information on climate change, energy production, and technological developments. AI-powered search engines (AIPSEs) like Perplexity, can automatically retrieve information from multiple sources and deliver synthesized answers to users—saving them time browsing various websites. How
Harmonising forest structural metrics from LiDAR and passive optical instruments across scales
UNIVERSITEIT GENT · BE · €216,240
The structure of forests changes in response to environmental factors and human intervention (Calders et al 2020). It also determines the productivity capability of the forest, with corresponding impacts on the mass, momentum, and gas exchanges with the atmosphere (Béland et al., 2019). As such, it is key that measurements of forest structure are accurate and fit-for-purpose to enable understanding of forest structural changes and their underlying causes, as well as provide critical input into p
Coarse-grained modelling of RNA phase transitions in multicomponent biomolecular condensates
UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID · ES · €209,914.56
Biomolecular condensates of proteins and nucleic acids are crucial for cellular organization, enabling adaptable compartmentalization without a membrane. Liquid-like condensates allow dynamic molecular exchange, whereas pathological solidification disrupts their function, leading to kinetically trapped states linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Although protein condensation has been extensively studied, how RNA sequence, structure, and concentration govern condensate stability and drive pathol
A scalable and efficient fibre power source for bio-electronics application
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE · CH · €307,958.88
Bio-integrated devices rely on power sources for their operation. Biocompatible, flexible, and self-sustained power sources are desirable, but still challenging. To cater to the power demands across diverse bio-application scenarios, an ideal power source should enable both miniaturization and scalable production. However, power sources that combine the required capabilities have not yet been produced. One approach is to use fibre power sources, which can bridge the gap between microdevices and
Catalytic Cross-Coupling/Elimination for Alkene-to-Allene Conversion
UNIVERSITE DE STRASBOURG · FR · €242,260.56
Allenes are important to investigations in method development, drug discovery, and design of functional materials. While allenes are generated from alkynes, a method that makes it possible to convert alkenes, which are more abundant and less costly than alkyne, to allenes would be of considerable value. However, such methods are rare and those available require relatively forcing conditions and are not catalytic, limiting the applicability in complex molecule synthesis. Inspired by an unexpected
The genetic paths that cross over from terrestrial to subterranean and aquatic realms
UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI · SI · €198,557.52
Understanding evolutionary change driven by ecological factors is of the utmost importance for conserving and managing wild populations in a changing world. In particular, it is not clear whether evolutionary changes are facilitated or decelerated when organisms encounter a series of subsequent ecological changes. Parallel colonisation of novel environments can be considered a natural experiment providing an answer to these questions. I will assess the association between multiple environmental
The impact of amplification on the practice and aesthetics of the oud between the Arab World and the West
UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD · GB · €260,347.92
The oud, or Arab lute, is an instrument whose practices are full of paradoxes. It is both the emblematic instrument of ‘Arab music’ and its avant-garde. It disappeared from Arab orchestras in the mid-20th century, the instrument no longer being audible in the face of the growing number of strings. Yet, many of the most adventurous musicians in the Arab world are oud players, who have succeeded in bringing this instrument back to the forefront of local and international stages.The objectives of m
AI Usage Strategies: Policy, Institutions and Consequences in Europe
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA · IT · €209,483.28
AUSPICE investigates why some countries are more inclined to implement artificial intelligence (AI) to complement workers, while others tend to automate tasks. It also examines how these choices influence jobs, inequality, and public support for AI. Moving beyond simple AI adoption rates, it measures “AI usage strategies” and their impacts, focusing on a key European priority: aligning technological progress with social inclusion through education and lifelong learning. The project has three obj
Leveraging nitrogen isotopes to constrain nitrogen budgets and internal cycling using a global ocean biogeochemistry model under present and future climates
UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM · NL · €232,916.16
Nitrogen (N) is essential for all life on Earth, including phytoplankton living in the surface ocean. As such, the availability of N limits primary productivity across much of the global ocean, exerting a control on the biological carbon pump and climate. Yet, uncertainties in estimates of global N sinks and sources affect our understanding of ocean fertility. Since the N cycle is uniquely mediated by biological processes, an incomplete understanding of ecosystem dynamics limit our ability to qu
Confined Electrochemical Cells for Activity Improvement of Nickel in the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES · BE · €200,400
Electrocatalytic water splitting via the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has emerged as a promising route for green hydrogen production. While platinum remains the benchmark catalyst for HER, its scarcity and high cost hinder large-scale deployment. Earth-abundant nickel offers a pragmatic alternative, yet it lags behind platinum by tens of millivolts in overpotential and suffers from bubble accumulation, limiting its overall activity. Some studies report that the spatial confinement of cataly
Addressing Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Labor Markets
TILBURG UNIVERSITY- UNIVERSITEIT VAN TILBURG · NL · €232,916.16
Persistent disparities in hiring and wages remain a defining feature of European labor markets, particularly for women and immigrants. These gaps reduce equity and undermine efficiency by causing a misallocation of talent. FAIRWORK investigates two key drivers of inequality and tests scalable interventions to address them: (1) ethnic discrimination at different stages of recruitment and (2) gender differences in job search linked to women’s preferences for jobs providing higher work-life balance
From retina to cortex: modeling the impact of eye movements on visual coding
SORBONNE UNIVERSITE · FR · €437,139.72
The project aims to build the first biologically grounded model of visual cortical responses that incorporates both the nonlinear processing of the retina and the effects that eye movements have on cortical activity during natural vision. These movements engage complex biophysical mechanisms in the retina and thalamus that strongly shape cortical responses. Yet, current models of cortical activity largely ignore their impact due to technical difficulties. This limits both mechanistic insight and
Writing History in Lists, Enumerations, and Successions. How Short Thirteenth-century French Chronicles Shaped the Historical Culture of Late Medieval Elites.
ECOLE NATIONALE DES CHARTES · FR · €226,420.56
WHiLES examines how short historical texts written in French before the end of the 13th century shaped the historical culture of medieval francophone and francophile elites in late medieval Europe. Unpublished and often dismissed as unworthy of attention by historians and literary scholars, short French chronicles were in fact a crucial medium for transmitting knowledge and promoting ideologically driven representations of the past. For the most part, these texts were translated from Latin and c
Remodeling of the periodic actin-spectrin scaffold supports axonal development and branching
UNIVERSITE D'AIX MARSEILLE · FR · €242,260.56
The morphology of neurons is critical for circuit formation in the nervous system, with neuronal arborization requiring precise cytoskeletal and membrane remodeling. The axonal membrane-associated skeleton (MPS) is a scaffold made of actin and spectrin that plays a key role in maintaining axonal integrity. While some of its functions have been characterized, its dynamics during axonal branching remain unknown. The established role of actin, microtubules and mitochondria in regulating branching m
Multiscale, High-Throughput Cardiac Fibrosis-on-Chip Platform with Integrated Sensing for Disease Modelling and AI-Enabled Drug Screening
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · GB · €260,347.92
FIBROC aims to develop a multiscale, human-relevant cardiac fibrosis-on-chip platform with integrated sensing and AI-enabled analytics for mechanistic studies and high-throughput drug screening. Cardiac fibrosis stiffens the heart as scar-forming cells lay down excess extracellular matrix (ECM), yet no approved therapy directly targets this process, and prevailing animal/2D models miss human multicellular and mechanical complexity and lack screening throughput. The platform will integrate stiffn
Integrated WiFi Sensing and Communication for Sustainable and Robust Digital Health Monitoring
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT · NL · €217,076.16
Global population aging is driving healthcare costs to unsustainable levels, which underscores the urgent need for scalable and affordable digital health monitoring. Within this paradigm, WiFi sensing stands out for accessible WiFi infrastructure and non-intrusive nature. However, current WiFi sensing methods are fundamentally limited by conflicts between sensing and communication traffic, reliance on raw channel state information (CSI), and fragility under non-stationary environmental dynamics.
MaxSAT-Based Misbehaviour Verification and Localisation Framework for Python
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · ES · €194,074.56
Debugging remains one of the most costly and time-consuming phases of software development. Formula-based fault localisation (FBFL), which leverages bounded model checking and logical reasoning through Maximum Satisfiability (MaxSAT), to identify faulty program statements, has shown strong potential for languages such as C, but remains under-explored for Python, which is the dominant language in artificial intelligence, data science, and education. The aim of this project is to design and implem
Scolecophidian Morphological Adaptation to Little Life: Morphological evolution of the world’s smallest snakes
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM · GB · €260,347.92
Reduction in body size poses significant constraints on morphological diversity within animals. Understanding the ways in which morphology is influenced by size is critical for evolutionary studies. In SMALL I will use scolecophidian snakes (Typhlopoidea, Leptotyphlopidae, and Anomalepididae) as a study system to examine how size drives morphology. Scolecophidia are highly specialised, miniaturised, obligately fossorial snakes. These snakes (approximately 500 extant species) lie outside the line
Multi-Omic study of transcription factor Dose-Induced cell Fate
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE · CH · €292,118.88
MODIFy (Multi-Omic study of transcription factor Dose-Induced cell Fate) is a multimodal experimental and computational project aimed at dissecting the interplay between human genetic variability and transcription factor (TF) dose in the context of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) differentiation. Transcription factors (TFs) establish a cell’s gene expression profile, and their overexpression can induce cell state and even cell identity changes such as reprogramming of human somatic c
Chronic toxicogenomic and epigenetic evaluation of endocrine disruption in animal-derived reproductive and hypothalamic organoids co-exposed to plastic-associated toxicants (Nonylphenol and PFOS)
THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST · GB · €276,187.92
The Mechanism4EPT project investigates the chronic endocrine and neurodevelopmental effects of co-exposure to plastic-associated toxicants Nonylphenol (NP) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), using advanced 3D organoid models derived from albino rat reproductive and hypothalamic tissues. These models better replicate in vivo tissue complexity compared to traditional 2D cultures, enabling realistic simulation of chronic co-exposure scenarios. The project aims to: (i) delineate dose- and time-de
Unveiling the power of tidal disruption event light curves
ASTRONOMICKY USTAV AV CR · CZ · €191,918.16
The fate of a star travelling close enough to a massive compact object can cause its disruption due to strong tidal forces overcoming the stellar self-gravity. This event generates a bright, characteristic electromagnetic signature known as a tidal disruption event (TDE). TDEs have the potential of serving as tools to weigh and measure spins of dormant super-massive black holes at the centre of galaxies which otherwise could not be easily constrained. Currently, their usage is limited due to our
Liminal legality and the construction of belonging in the context of refugee bodies
ERASMUS UNIVERSITEIT ROTTERDAM · NL · €217,076.16
The LIMBO project investigates how refugees construct belonging in host countries despite legal exclusion and rights deprivation. While dominant scholarship emphasizes state-centric politics of belonging, this research demonstrates that belonging operates as ‘a dynamic practice’ independent of formal legal recognition. Through innovative multi-sited ethnographic methodology across India and Bangladesh, LIMBO will analysis how Rohingya refugees in South Asia navigate exclusion through, what I con
Cognitive foundations of legitimate authority
FONDATION JEAN JACQUES LAFFONT,TOULOUSE SCIENCES ECONOMIQUES · FR · €413,379.72
When do people perceive authority as morally legitimate? Surprisingly little research in cognitive science has examined how the mind makes moral judgments about authority. Instead, most research in moral cognition has focused on non-hierarchical domains, such as when it is permissible to harm, or which distributions of resources are fair. This is a major gap in the literature, since moral obligations across human societies are structured by hierarchical relationships (e.g. parent-child, leader-f
Domestic Labour and the Rise of Household Cleaning Companies
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL · GB · €309,223.02
This project investigates the marketisation of household cleaning through private agencies Australia and the United Kingdom, examining how domestic labour is reorganised, standardised, and transformed into a profit-oriented service sector. Once performed unpaid within families or informally between individuals, cleaning is increasingly delivered through businesses that hire workers, set standards, and sell these services for profit. The research asks how agency-mediated cleaning reshapes labour
Predictive Language Processing in Dyslexia: Protective and Compensatory Mechanisms in Pre-Readers and Adults with Dyslexia.
KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN · BE · €200,400
Reading comprehension relies heavily on the ability to predict upcoming words using high-level linguistic cues, such as semantics and syntax. For instance, when reading, It was a windy day, the boy went outside to fly his…, one might intuitively predict a flying object such as a kite or an airplane. However, the efficiency of these predictive processes in people with reading disorders such as dyslexia remains unclear. Although research has shown that adults with dyslexia, particularly university
COMPrehensive framework for dAta-driven chemical teSting Solutions
TAMPEREEN KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR · FI · €242,116.80
Chemical safety assessment is moving away from animal testing, but the regulatory uptake of non-animal methods (NAMs) is slowed by the lack of frameworks that connect mechanistic data to decision-making. COMPASS responds to this challenge by establishing a comprehensive, data-driven framework that connects mechanistic evidence from NAMs with Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs), creating a foundation for predictive, human-relevant, and cross-species safety assessment. A central aim is to enable the t
Social Presence Effects Across Cultures through the lens of Executive Function
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL · GB · €418,267.56
Executive function (EF) develops within social and cultural contexts, yet the impact of others’ presence on children’s EF remains largely unexplored, particularly across cultures. The SPACE project challenges the widespread assumption that children’s EF performance reflects intrinsic capacity independent of immediate social context. Specifically, it examines how experimenter presence influences core EF components (inhibition, working memory, shifting), and whether such effects stem from physical
GentleGait: Multiplanar Exoskeleton for Enhanced Elderly Stability
VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL · BE · €200,400
Falls are a major public health and economic challenge, particularly among the elderly. Existing robotic exoskeletons provide some balance support but mainly target sagittal (forward/backward) motion, neglecting mediolateral (sideways) instability, which are a critical predictor of hip fractures. Project GentleGait addresses this gap by developing a novel, fully actuated 2-DoF ankle exoskeleton that integrates sagittal and mediolateral assistance. The research pursues three objectives:1.Mechanic
Understanding the involvement of an Endogenous timing system in saLps as a driVer of vertical mIgration and its implications for carbon fluxeS
ALFRED-WEGENER-INSTITUT HELMHOLTZ-ZENTRUM FUR POLAR- UND MEERESFORSCHUNG · DE · €322,164
While gelatinous zooplankton such as salps are becoming more abundant globally, little is known about their biology, phenology and behavior — knowledge that is essential for understanding the ecological roles of salps. By producing rapidly sinking fecal pellets and by migrating vertically in the water column, salps can significantly alter the carbon export efficiency. However, our limited understanding of salp behavior and the underlying mechanisms hinders our understanding of the impact of chan
Spatial Coherence and Neural Integration in Full-Body Ownership: Behavioral and Neuroimaging Investigations
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET · SE · €236,340
Bodily self-consciousness, a core aspect of self-awareness, critically depends on body ownership, the sense that one’s body belongs to oneself. While part-based ownership has been widely studied, the role of spatial coherence among body parts in generating a unified bodily self remains unclear. SCINOBO addresses this gap by developing a novel full-body illusion paradigm that systematically manipulates spatial configurations of body parts using virtual reality. Here, my first objective is to meas
Exosome-Based Smart Coatings for Improved Bone Healing in Orthopaedic Implants
UNIVERSITEIT GENT · BE · €424,129.44
Every year millions of Europeans receive orthopaedic implants such as hip and knee prostheses. While these restore mobility, up to 20% fail within 10 years mainly because of chronic inflammation. Each revision surgery costs an average of €45,000, causing suffering for patients and creating an annual burden of more than €2 billion on EU healthcare. The key reason for implant failure is uncontrolled inflammation in the immediate postoperative period (48–72hours). During this short period immune ce
Controlling Quantum Vacuum Radiation: Transient Amplification and Squeezing in the Dynamical Casimir Effect
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN · AT · €214,344.72
Quantum vacuum fluctuations can give rise to real particles, with the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) being a paradigmatic example. When the boundary conditions or the material properties of a cavity vary rapidly in time, vacuum fluctuations are converted into photons. The photons are emitted as entangled pairs and form a two-mode squeezed state, making the emitted radiation a valuable resource for quantum communication and quantum metrology.The proposed project aims to analyse and control the ph
Signs of the Times. Intermedial Imaginaries, Countercultures, and Gendered Representations in French and Italian Comics Magazines, 1968-1989
UNIVERSITE PARIS NANTERRE · FR · €226,420.56
This project investigates French and Italian comics magazines for adult audiences published between 1968 and 1989, a pivotal period of cultural upheaval, political ferment, and new media ecologies. Still understudied, magazines offer gateways to re-examine the cultural history of their times, working as cultural ecosystems blending comics with editorials, advertising, and borrowings from music, cinema, and literature. In particular, these magazines nurtured the sub- and countercultures that info
Framing the risks: Assessing the impact of MAGNetic fIelds from offshore wind farms on migratory FISH
HAVFORSKNINGSINSTITUTTET · NO · €251,578.56
Europe is at the forefront of the renewable energy transition, with the expansion of offshore wind farms, but the deployment of power subsea cables introduces a ubiquitous yet poorly understood anthropogenic stressor: magnetic fields (MFs). These MFs exceed Earth’s natural geomagnetic field and induce behavioural and physiological changes in marine species, suggesting a stress response. One of the knowledge gaps in this field is the neuroendocrine signaling system that controls behavioural and p
Automata with Stochastic Resolvers for Verification
UNIVERSITE D'AIX MARSEILLE · FR · €226,420.56
In automata theory, nondeterminism is a fundamental paradigm that can offer succinctness and expressivity, often at the cost of computational complexity. While determinisation offers a standard route to solving many common verification problems such as reactive synthesis and runtime verification, it often becomes a computational bottleneck. AuRora will study and build the theoretical foundation for automata with a limited degree of nondeterminism that can be resolved stochastically. This resolut
Deciphering Signaling Networks Regulating Stomatal Movement during Plant Rehydration
EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH · CH · €292,118.88
In terrestrial plants, small openings on the leaf surface, called stomata, allow CO2 to diffuse in for photosynthesis but also lead to water loss. Each pore is flanked by a pair of guard cells (GC). Regulation of stomatal aperture is key for optimization of plant water usage and productivity. During drought, the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) induces stomatal closure to minimize water loss. Instead, starch breakdown in GC enables rapid stomatal opening in response to light. ABA regulates enzy
Perfusable 3D-Bioprinted Human Liver-on-a-Chip with Silk–dECM Bioink for Biopharmaceutics
FRIEDRICH-SCHILLER-UNIVERSITÄT JENA · DE · €217,965.12
LiverAid aims to develop a next-generation bioengineered human liver-on-chip platform to improve the predictability of drug toxicity testing and disease modeling. This system integrates advanced 3D bioprinting with smart hydrogels, patient-derived liver cells, and perfusable microfluidics to more accurately replicate the human liver microenvironment. By combining biofabrication with embedded sensors and real-time readouts, LiverAid will allow continuous monitoring of key physiological and bioche
Indigenous Knowledge and Pluriversal Foresight for Global Sustainability Governance
UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA · ES · €209,914.56
PLURIVISION explores how Indigenous knowledge and futures thinking can contribute to more just and inclusive sustainability governance. The project develops the concept of Pluriversal Foresight, which places Indigenous visions of the future at the centre of global debates on biodiversity and climate resilience. It has three main objectives. First, it will assess the state of the art on Indigenous futures and identify how they are currently overlooked in foresight and governance frameworks. Secon
From photoreceptor signalling to organ morphogenesis: How light regulates leaf shape
UNIVERSITE DE LAUSANNE · CH · €292,118.88
Leaves are one of the defining features of plants and are essential for their survival because they perform key functions such photosynthesis. Like for many plant organs, the growth of leaves is tremendously sensitive to the surrounding environment, including to the presence of light, which is necessary for photosynthesis. Light perception by plant photoreceptors can cause changes in leaf shape that help the plant adapt to its environment. Despite the agricultural importance of leaves, the mecha
Schur multipliers, rigidity and noncommutative Harmonic Analysis
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · FR · €226,420.56
The proposal Schur-Rigidity NCHA (Schur multipliers, rigidity and noncommutative Harmonic Analysis) deals with questions in pure mathematics at the intersection of harmonic analysis, operator algebras and group theory. Its aim is provide the applicant Eduardo Tablate with the perfect environment to make a significant impact in these latter two fields, which are well-represented in Lyon, using his recognized expertise in classical harmonic analysis. The objectives involve more precisely investiga
Quantum Dots for Optical Wireless Communication
THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS · GB · €276,187.92
Optical wireless communication (OWC) is a promising technology anticipated to play a key role in the next generation of networks, especially as a complementary technology to traditional radio-frequency (RF) communications. LiFi, a WiFi-compatible version of OWC, was standardized in 2023 (IEEE 802.11bb) with operation in near-infrared (800-1000 nm), highlighting OWC's real-world applications.Light sources play a critical role in OWC platforms. Most current OWC development efforts in the UK and wo
Adaptive Graded-Stiffening Metamaterials for Wearable Fall-Prevention in Older Adults
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · GB · €276,187.92
ADAMETA (ADAptive assistive device based on mechanical METAmaterials) will develop the first entirely passive fall-prevention device by integrating shear-thickening (non-Newtonian) fluids into architected metamaterials. This project targets knee buckling—a primary cause of falls in older adults—by creating a wearable that autonomously stiffens at dangerous flexion rates through embodied intelligence, providing critical biomechanical support without motors or electronics. ADAMETA addresses a glob
Archiving Otherwise: Queer Memory and Resistance in Turkey’s Digital Margins
UNIVERSITY OF YORK · GB · €260,347.92
Digital media have become central to how marginalized communities document resistance and preserve collective memory. In Turkey, where LGBTI+ organizing is constrained, digital archiving has emerged as a vital strategy against erasure and censorship. Scholarship on queer digital archives largely focuses on existing and institutional archives in the Global North, with limited attention to emerging participatory practices under oppression. This project addresses that gap by co-creating two queer d
Multi-Dimensional Collaborative Deployment Mechanism of MoE-based Edge LLMs for 6G Ubiquitous Intelligence
KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN · SE · €252,180
Edge deployment of Large Language Models (LLMs) plays a vital role in ensuring low latency, reducing communication overhead, and enhancing privacy, bridging the gap unaddressed by cloud and on-device LLMs. However, edge LLMs face daunting challenges due to resource constraints and highly dynamic, heterogeneous environments. Notably, the Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture, as seen in models like DeepSeek, has emerged as a promising solution for edge deployment. MoE enables sparse activation, d
Electrochemical CO2 Capture using Porous Carbon-based Supercapacitors
THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE · GB · €260,347.92
Conventional CO2 capture methods replying on temperature or pressure swings are energy-intensive and costly. This project, eCapCO2, aims to develop an energy-efficient, fully electricity-driven CO2 capture system based on supercapacitive swing adsorption effect and to establish design principles for next-generation carbon capture technologies that can contribute directly to limiting global temperature rise to below 1.5 °C.Over 24 months, the project will firstly center on the rational synthesis
Above and belowground wood formation thermal limits
EIDGENOSSISCHE FORSCHUNGSANSTALT WSL · CH · €292,118.88
The timing and duration of the growing season of plants determine biomass production and strongly influence the global carbon and water cycles. However, predicting growing season start and end in woody species remains challenging due to limited knowledge of the fundamental factors controlling wood formation throughout the season, particularly belowground. Earlier research shows different thermal thresholds for trees and shrubs. The central hypothesis of the project is that the thermal limit of r
Capabilities-based Assessment of Disaster Displacement Risk and Pathways to Equitable Community Recovery
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON · GB · €276,187.92
Population displacement following disasters is a critical challenge in disaster risk reduction. On average, over 25 million people are displaced annually by sudden-onset disasters. While this figure includes short-term, life-saving evacuations, many households remain displaced for extended periods, undermining well-being, livelihoods, and community cohesion. Despite its scale and impacts, disaster displacement is still commonly treated as a one-off outcome of housing damage, overlooking its dyna
Ultra-pure, high-strength, electroformed Cu-based alloys for next generation rare-event searches
UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG · DE · €272,456.40
PureCuAlloys will advance our understanding of the Cosmos by enabling novel, extremely sensitive, experimental searches for dark matter and neutrinoless double-β decay. Discovery potential of next-generation detectors is limited by contaminants introduced during manufacturing. Electroformed copper is extremely radiopure, but it is highly ductile and of low strength. PureCuAlloys addresses this challenge by designing radiopure CuCr and CuCrTi alloys with enhanced mechanical properties. The multi-
Multi-Year Droughts: Robust Understanding and Information Generated by Enhanced Process Determination
UNIVERSITAET GRAZ · AT · €214,344.72
Droughts easily enter the realm of personal experience. Their socio-economic and ecologic impacts aggravate with longer event duration and cascade into multiple sectors. Recent events, as 2018-2020 in Europe, remind us of droughts in consecutive years with high stress to adaptation: multi-year droughts (MYD). While the general understanding of drought drivers is high, causes for MYD development are poorly understood. Do MYD miss drought-ending rainfall events or is the memory effect of soils the
Decipher Multidimensional Biodiversity Resilience in a Drier world
UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID · ES · €209,914.56
In drylands, the aridity gradient structures biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functioning, including non-linear responses around aridity thresholds triggering abrupt changes when crossed. Climate aridification, in combination with ecosystem degradation by human activities, leads to the so called “desertification” phenomenon, which can be viewed as a loss of ecological resilience, thus threatening livelihoods of people who depend on dryland ecosystems services. While biodiversity facets (taxon
Internalizing Networks: Working memory, ADHD, and emotion Regulation across adolescent Development
UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM · NL · €217,076.16
Internalizing conditions, including anxiety and depression, are highly prevalent in adolescents with ADHD, with prevalence rates of up to 38%. This co-occurrence of conditions has detrimental effects on the individuals and their families, as it causes poorer academic and social functioning, increased levels of psychiatric hospitalization and suicidality. However, research investigating the co-occurrence is limited, where symptom-specific relations or the relative importance of each symptom is no
Using human iPSC-derived sensory neurons to uncover the molecular basis of mechanical hypersensitivity in chronic pain
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · GB · €276,187.92
Mechanical hypersensitivity is a debilitating symptom of many chronic pain conditions and is characterized by painful responses to innocuous mechanical stimuli (e.g., gentle touch, movement). Despite this, the intrinsic cellular, molecular and functional drivers of mechanical hypersensitivity remain poorly understood in humans, in part due to the limited translational success of rodent studies (due to species-specific differences) and limited access to human sensory neurons. As such, there is an
Spine Imaging of Grid cells to Uncover the Roles of their Dendritic Inputs
NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU · NO · €251,578.56
The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) is a key structure for spatial navigation and memory. One of the most studied cell types in this brain region is the grid cells, which are activated in a spatial hexagonal pattern, forming the coordinate system of the cognitive map to support path integration and navigation. Despite their importance, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of how their synaptic inputs influence and generate their activity. This project will develop subcellular-resolution MINI
Enhancing architectural design creativity through semantic sketching via Human-GenAI collaboration
KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN · BE · €200,400
Recently, Generative AI (GenAI) tools have started to enter ideation activities. While they hold potential to accelerate and expand ideation, they are often overlooked by architects, despite a lack of dedicated ideation tools, due to misalignment with natural design activities, complex interfaces, and concerns about hindering creativity.This project aims to uncover key aspects of human–GenAI collaborative dynamics and gain insights into how designers ideate by analogy through reflexive conversat
FoundaMet: A Foundational Model for Metabolomics
FUNDACION UNIVERSITARIA SAN PABLO-CEU · ES · €194,074.56
Untargeted metabolomics is central to biology and medicine, yet a large fraction of mass-spectrometric (MS) experimental signals remains unannotated. Current identification hinges on comparing experimental properties—retention time (RT) or migration time (MT), collision cross-section (CCS), and fragmentation spectra (MS/MS)—with reference libraries. These libraries are incomplete, costly to expand, and often instrument- and method-specific. Machine learning can mitigate this gap by predicting su
Using advanced morphometrics and AI to track evolutionary ecological changes and re-evaluate Neogene pH-based pCO2
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · FR · €242,260.56
Palaeoclimatology provides the only means to observe how the Earth's climate system behaves under elevated atmospheric CO2 levels (pCO2), being a cornerstone in climate projection studies. A major provider of ancient pCO2 are the boron isotope ratios (δ11B) from the shells of planktonic foraminifera (single-celled microorganisms). Yet, interpreting this proxy is challenging due to evolutionary changes, speciation and vital effects. A key past period with high pCO2 and temperatures is the Miocene
Small Pelagic fish Habitats, Ecology and Resource Evaluation
DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET · DK · €247,553.28
Small pelagic fish (SPF) are ecologically and economically important, forming a crucial link in marine food webs by transferring energy from plankton to top predators, as well as humans worldwide. Their abundance and distribution are highly sensitive to environmental variability and fishing pressure, making them key indicators of ecosystem health and essential for sustainable fisheries and marine management. SPHERE aims to develop an integrated understanding of SPF population dynamics across the
Historical Atlas of European Live Music: Digital Framework
THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL · GB · €345,234.90
The project aims to create a framework for an unprecedented and sustainable expansion in the application of digital mapping tools(GIS) to the representation of live music ecosystems. While increasingly adopted by researchers and stakeholders, GIS is dedicated tothe visualization of manually collected live music data. Also, reliance on proprietary software is an obstacle towards the integration ofadvanced features such as network analysis and multimedia. As a result, the geographical and temporal
The role of growth rate density-dependence SHAPE in community assembly: ECOlogical experiments and theory
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION · FR · €271,920.48
A fundamental challenge in ecology is to understand and predict how diverse microbial communities assemble and persist, a question also relevant for medicine, biotechnology, and ecosystem management. While decades of theory have explored coexistence, predictive models often rely on overly simplified traits, such as maximum growth rate, that fail to capture the dynamic feedback between organisms and their environment. Direct experimental evidence linking functional traits to community-level outco
Robust multimodal pedestrian understanding algorithm for pedestrian safety in autonomous driving
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER · GB · €276,187.92
The automotive industry is undergoing a revolutionary transformation with the rapid development of autonomous driving technologies. According to the European Commission's Strategy on Sustainable and Smart Mobility, more than 50% of new vehicles sold in the EU by 2030 are expected to feature advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) or full autonomous capabilities. This project focuses on the critical need for robust pedestrian understanding systems in autonomous vehicles by developing an advance
Leveraging Adaptive Barley Inflorescences from Limiting Ethiopian environments
USTAV EXPERIMENTALNI BOTANIKY AV CR · CZ · €207,758.16
Barley yield in rain-fed, variable climates depends on stable spikelet fertility. Yet in Ethiopian landraces, a striking labile (“irregular”) inflorescence phenotype reveals dramatic environmental sensitivity. Plants carrying labile can shift within a single spike between fertile and sterile spikelets, creating mosaics that resemble both two- and six-row types. This unique instability, long recognized in Ethiopian barley but never explained, offers a natural entry point to understand how the env
Decoding retinal cell communication to counteract vision loss in aging
AARHUS UNIVERSITET · DK · €263,393.28
The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) protects our vision through a wide array of essential functions, particularly by supporting the photoreceptors. With aging, the RPE undergoes stress that disrupts these functions and contributes to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in Europe and is projected to affect 77 million people in the EU by 2050.As the disease progresses, communication between the RPE and the underlying blood vessels bec
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Reactions under Vibrational Strong Coupling
JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO · FI · €242,116.80
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Reactions under Vibrational Strong Coupling: Recent experiments have shown that vibrational strong coupling (VSC), a cavity quantum electrodynamics phenomenon, can alter chemical reactivity by changing kinetics, mechanisms, and product distributions. VSC arises from the formation of hybrid light–matter states when molecular vibrations couple to photonic cavity modes, enabling modification of molecular wavefunctions without external illumination. While this possi
Learning the Earth with Neural Operators
EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH · CH · €446,228.88
Understanding the fine structure of the Earth is critical for mitigating earthquake risk, assessing volcanic activity, and ensuring the stability of sedimentary basins beneath major cities. Current seismic imaging methods can map subsurface structures, but they face major computational challenges with large datasets. Calculations are slow and often miss small-scale features that are crucial for hazard assessment, limiting our ability to exploit the growing volume of seismic data worldwide.Recent
Understanding combinatorial neuromodulation using biophysical models
INSTITUT DU CERVEAU ET DE LA MOELLE EPINIERE · FR · €242,260.56
Neuromodulators are key controllers of neuronal activity, orchestrating brain state transitions that allow humans to adapt their behaviour to internal needs and environmental demands. Disruptions in the neuromodulatory balance lead to highly prevalent mental and mood disorders, including depression and schizophrenia, identified as top priorities by the WHO.Neuromodulators are released simultaneously and target neurons express multiple receptors for all of them, yet crucially, how they jointly s
Identification of novel genetic regulators governing leukaemic transformation from myeloid proliferative neoplasms
MEDIZINISCHE HOCHSCHULE HANNOVER · DE · €313,394.64
As humans age, the risk of genetic aberrations increases, particularly in rare populations of blood-cell-producing haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Mutations in HSCs can give rise to myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), which are treatable in many cases with therapies such as interferon-α (IFNα). However, 1–20% of patients progress to secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (sAML), a disease associated with poor prognosis and high mortality. This transformation is often driven by high molecular risk
Solar Magnetic Mapping: UV Spectropolarimetric Diagnostics from Photosphere to Transition Region
ISTITUTO RICERCHE SOLARI ALDO ECELE DACCO · CH · €292,118.88
Understanding the magnetic field stratification throughout the solar atmosphere is imperative for characterizing the origin of solar activity and the physical processes that drive space weather. However, due to the impossibility of performing direct measurements, diagnosing the solar magnetic field remains a complex challenge, requiring continuous advancements in both observational techniques and theoretical modeling.The polarization of spectral lines formed in the solar atmosphere carries the i
Local Culinary Heritage and Tourism for Sustainability
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · ES · €194,074.56
LOCATE (Local Culinary Heritage and Tourism for Sustainability) is a participatory and interdisciplinary research project that examines the socio-cultural, environmental, and governance dimensions of food provisioning in the Canary Islands, one of the EU’s most tourism-dependent and import-reliant regions. Despite the archipelago’s rich culinary heritage, local agri-sea-food products remain marginal in tourism menus, where globalised supply chains dominate. This disconnection undermines sustaina
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