๐ช๐บ๐งช ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐: ๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ
To help support their cutting-edge research projects, European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants have been awarded to Dr Junli Xu, Ad Astra Fellow at UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering and UCD Conway Fellow, andย Dr David MacManus, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
The pair were among seven Irish scholars who were among the 494 early career scholars to receive funding under the Horizon Europe programme.
Dr Junli Xu was awarded โฌ1.5 million for her project, Plastox โ which will use machine learning and spectral imaging to investigate the impact of micro and nano plastics (MNPS) on human digestive health.
For his project, Brainsex, Dr David MacManus received โฌ1.5 million to help bridge the sex gap that exists when it comes to modelling traumatic brain injuries.
Congratulating Dr Xu and Dr MacManus on receiving coveted ERC grants, UCD Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impactย Professor Kate Robson Brownย said, โTheir groundbreaking projects will contribute significantly to their respective fieldsโ.
โUCD is committed to supporting academic career development and ambitious projects at every career stage and we are excited to follow the progress of these promising researchers and their fascinating projects.โ
European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, added: โThe European Commission is proud to support the curiosity and passion of our early-career talent under our Horizon Europe programme.
โThe 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.โ
President of the European Research Council, Professor Maria Leptin, continued: โEmpowering researchers early on in their careers is at the heart of the mission of the ERC.โ
ALT Photo: Dr Junli Xu, Ad Astra Fellow and Dr David MacManus on the UCD Belfield Campus