In 2007, the European Commission established the European Research Council (ERC) to promote excellent fundamental science in Europe. The ERC supports the best researchers from all fields and nationalities who wish to push the frontiers of knowledge. The ERC funds prestigious projects aimed at developing groundbreaking and high-risk research. Since its creation, the ERC has had a significant impact on the European research landscape.
In the ERC Consolidator Grant 2024 call, a program designed for outstanding researchers with 7 to 12 years of scientific experience, aiming to fund the most promising frontier ideas, two grants have been awarded to researchers from the Basque Country:
Amaia Arranz Mendiguren is a Ramón y Cajal and Ikerbasque researcher at Achucarro - Basque Center for Neuroscience. She has received €2 million to develop the hASTROCURE project, an ambitious initiative aimed at understanding the contribution of astrocytes to Alzheimer's disease.
The pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease is not fully understood, and no cure currently exists. Current therapeutic targets are insufficient, creating an urgent need to identify new pathways and mechanisms to treat this devastating disease. Mouse models have so far provided essential insights into the disease; however, their limitations make it necessary to employ human-based models to fully grasp Alzheimer’s complexity.
hASTROCURE proposes a multidisciplinary investigation into astrocytes, which have been underexplored in relation to this disease. The goal is to uncover their contribution to Alzheimer’s and define new therapeutic strategies.
Marie Lallier is an Ikerbasque researcher at the BCBL - Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language. The ERC Consolidator Grant will enable her to develop BIBALANCE, an ambitious €2 million project exploring how early bilingualism can enhance brain resilience against dyslexia.
The project examines how learning two languages from an early age influences brain organization and helps overcome the challenges associated with reading difficulties. Through the concept of hemispheric rebalancing, BIBALANCE will investigate how bilingual experience reorganizes neural networks, creating more efficient connectivity that offsets genetic risks associated with dyslexia. The study will employ advanced neuroimaging and genetic techniques involving 500 bilingual Basque children.
With thousands of applications each year and an international evaluation process where scientific excellence is the sole criterion, only 10-15% of projects secure this coveted funding.
Initiatives supported by the European Research Council enjoy great prestige within the international scientific community. In fact, successfully obtaining ERC grants, which cover all scientific fields, is an indicator of international excellence. According to Fernando Cossio, scientific director of Ikerbasque, "Securing ERC grants positions the Basque Country as an internationally recognized region for advanced research, with world-class research groups and the right conditions for conducting high-level research."
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