Three of the six science prizes go to VUB

In order to secure the research funding, scientists had to submit a very extensive research proposal to the European Research Council. A scientific committee assesses the submissions extremely critically and only a few researchers are actually awarded a grant. In the university corridors it is called the scientific champions league.

Professor Luc Baeyens belongs to that small elite of six people in Belgium who received a starting grant this year. He conducts cell research at the diabetes research center of the Free University of Brussels. His rewarded research proposal is called “Neogenesis of new functional Beta Cells through Modulation of Neurogenin-3 Expression to provide Regenerative Therapy for Diabetes Patients”. This research should lead to new therapies for diabetics.

VUB professor Frederik Buylaert was also rewarded. As a historian, he researches the medieval and early modern elite. He received his research funding for “Lordship and the Rise of States in Western Europe, 1300-1600” His research is devoted to the history of rural and urban elites in the Netherlands, with a central focus on the study of social mobility, conflict management and culture of remembrance .

Bio-engineer professor Wim De Malsche is the third VUB member to receive the starting grant. He acquired it for “Exploiting vortices to suppress dispersion and reach new separation power boundaries”. Put very simply, he is looking for new nanotechnological methods to separate different components in chemical substances computing related jobs.

The European Research Council (ERC) of the European Union is the first pan-European organization to fund frontier research. The aim is to promote scientific excellence in Europe by supporting the very best, most creative researchers. In addition to the ERC Starting Grant for young top researchers, it also awards two types of funding: one for independent excellent scientists ('ERC Consolidator Grants'), and one for senior research leaders.