UofG researcher receives over £1m in EU funding

Dr Mafalda Viana, a Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow's Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, has been awarded €1,259,763 for her research into vector-borne disease control. Her funding is part of over €621million of EU Awards Grants given to early-career researchers from over 50 countries. This year, 408 scientists have won funding from the European Research Council's Starting Grants, in this year's first completed ERC competition. Dr Viana's project is entitled, 'Modelling to Optimize Vector Elimination: Destabilizing mosquito populations,' and aims to determine how arthropod vector population stability and dynamics respond to human-mediated pressures, with the potential to one day start a new, more ecologically informed era of malaria control. The highly-coveted funding aims to help individual scientists and scholars to build their own teams and conduct pioneering research across all disciplines. The grants, worth in total €621 million, are part of the EU' Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020. Dr Viana said: "This award provides an exciting opportunity to expand my research portfolio and collaborative network at the intersection of ecology and global health to find new and innovative solutions for malaria control." Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "Researchers need freedom and support to follow their scientific curiosity if we are to find answers to the most difficult challenges of our age and our future.