UEA given millions for research funding
The uni says the money will fund three major research projects, which includes studies on fertility and tackling climate change.
The University of East Anglia has secured over 5-point-1 million pounds in funding.
The grants from the European Research Council will be used to pay for three major research projects.
Dr Charlie Wilson, from UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences has been awarded €1,598,465 to study the digitisation of daily life and its impact on climate change.
Digitalisation is a major trend that has reshaped our lives – from streaming music and TV to using smart meters to reduce energy use in our homes. Dr Wilson’s project will involve 80 ‘living lab’ households to investigate how these changes impact carbon emissions and climate change.
Dr Simone Immler from UEA’s School of Biology has been awarded €2,122,476 to research fertility.
Her project will investigate the role of selection on sperm and eggs based on their genetic make-up in determining the fitness of the resulting offspring in zebrafish. And the team hope this will one day help us understand more about human reproduction and fertility.
Dr Alexander Suh, from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, has been awarded €1,994,180 to explore the evolutionary origin and impact of germline-restricted chromosomes.
The funding is part of the EU’s current research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020. With this support, the project leaders will be able to consolidate their teams and have far-reaching impact.
Prof Fiona Lettice, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at UEA, said: “ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to the most talented researchers and innovators, so I would like congratulate Simone, Charlie and Alexander for this great achievement. Their projects will improve our understanding of these important topics and will deliver significant impact and real change.”
ERC President Prof Jean-Pierre Bourguignon said: “This funding not only empowers bright minds from across Europe to pursue their most ambitious ideas at a critical stage of their careers, but also helps train the youngest generation of researchers as members of their ERC teams.
“To prepare for the challenges of tomorrow, Europe must stick to the vision of investing in frontier research, which has proved time and again its crucial added value. That is why so many count on Europe’s leaders to endow the “Excellent Science” pillar of Horizon Europe with the resources essential to strengthen Europe as a whole.”