UCL wins 10 European Research Council grants
Ten UCL researchers have received European Research Council (ERC) Starting Investigator grants with a total value of more than £12.4 million. The number of grants awarded to UCL under this scheme doubled this year compared to 2010. The researchers were chosen from among a record 4,080 applicants from across Europe, including 793 from the UK. Each of the grants is worth up to £1.3 million and will enable the researchers to set up their own teams and carry out cutting-edge projects. Applications were evaluated through an international peer review process with scientific excellence as the sole evaluation criterion. The UCL researchers awarded ERC Starting Grants in 2011 are: Francesca Cacucci, Psychology and Language Sciences: The development of the hippocampal spatial representation system Ignacio De La Torre Sainz, Institute of Archaeology: The origins of the Acheulean in East Africa Kyle Jamieson, Computer Science: Building scalable, secure, and reliable 'chaotic' wireless networks Josef Kittler, Biosciences: Regulation of neuronal connectivity and plasticity by activity-dependent mitochondrial trafficking to synapses Professor Cécile Laborde, Political Science: Is religion special? Reformulating secularism and religion in legal and contemporary theory Anne McMunn, Population Health: Health effect of social changes in gender, work & family: Life course evidence from Great Britain Steen Ooi, Cancer Institute: How does the X chromosome regulate DNA methylation in pluripotent stem cells Jason Rihel, Biosciences: Resolving the neuropharmacology and genetics of zebrafish sleep Kazunori Tomita, Cancer Institute: Hidden role of the meiotic chromosomal bouquet Aaron Walsh, Chemistry: Hybrid semiconductors: Design principles and material applications.
