Prof. Ernfors has received three ERC Advanced Grants in 2008, 2016 and 2022, and an ERC Proof of Concept Grant to explore a potential therapy for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.
Learn more about his ongoing ERC-funded research π cordis.europa.eu/project/id/1...
@horizoneu.bsky.social
Congratulations to the 2026 laureates of the Brain Prize!
ERC grantee Patrik Ernfors (Karolinska Institutet) shares the award with David Ginty (Harvard Medical School) for discoveries on how we sense touch and pain.
Read more about the winners: brainprize.org/winners/touc...
Thinking about doing research in Europe?
Meet the European Research Council at the MIT European Career Fair πΊπΈ
#MITECF is the largest EU-focused career fair in the United States.
π
5β8 March 2026
π MIT, Cambridge, MA
Full info π erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
#ChooseEurope
βWe are falling dangerously behind our competitors.β
ERC President Maria Leptin on the next EU R&I budget:
βMaintaining the Commission proposal is the minimum. Strengthening it would be strategic.β
Listen to the hearing at the European Parliament (9β32β30)
π₯ bit.ly/4scILfc
Seven new grantees are joining the Ambassadors for the ERC network - now 37 strong! π§π¬ πͺπͺ ππΊ π±π» π±πΉ π³π± π΅πΉ
The #Amb4ERC engage with policymakers, research communities and the public, promoting frontier research in Europe and beyond.
π’ bit.ly/4rxB2IN
#FrontierResearch
Tune in tomorrow to a hearing at the European Parliamentβs Committee on Industry, Research & Energy (ITRE) on Horizon Europe. ERC President Maria Leptin will speak there.
π°οΈ THU 26/2 9.30-11.30
π₯ Livestream
www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/e...
The ERC executive agency has launched a Call for Expression of Interest for Seconded National Experts. Applications via national authorities only.
π Deadline: 16 March 2026 β 12.00 (Brussels time)
Details π bit.ly/4kGfNSy
#EUcareers
Our Scientific Council met for the first plenary in its new constellation!
Meet our six new members and our three new Vice-Presidents:
link.europa.eu/NdwjMm
Learn more about our independent governing body:
link.europa.eu/CPH7DW
βThe Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has elected new members to the class for biosciences and the class for humanities β
Camilla I. Svensson, @ki.se
Maria Leptin, @erc.europa.eu
Jan Ellenberg, @scilifelab.se
Timothy Williamson, @ox.ac.uk
Sara Hallin, SLU
Very good meeting with @erc.europa.eu President, Maria Leptin.
Europe is a skills and research powerhouse.
At the @eib.org Group weβre working alongside our partners to scale up support for trailblazing projects to reinforce Europeβs competitiveness and technological leadership.
βTrust in scientists is gone!β
Maria Leptin points to USA, adding:
βTo be resilient we must trust that the best researchers know where the scientific frontiers lie and keep diversity in research now for our future. Blue sky science is key to be prepared.β
BMW Foundation
Energy Security Hub
Live from Munich!
At 17:50, watch topical session at BMW Foundation Energy Security Hub - ahead of Munich Security Conference.
π₯ www.bmw-foundation.org/events/Energ...
#MSC2026
Today, ERC President @MariaLep.bsky.social speaks at session on how innovation can strengthen not only economic competitiveness, but also resilience and the common good at BMW Foundationβs Energy Security Hub, ahead of @munsecconf.bsky.social #MSC2026.
Follow livestream at 17:50
π₯ bit.ly/3M73MsF
Curiosity, adventure and discovery.
On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Giulia Giordano, Eleonora Macchia and GΓ©raldine Laloux share what inspired them to choose a career in science, from early curiosity to inspiring teachers.
#WomenInScience #GirlsInScience #IDWGS #STEM
Even when the focus is on research with immediate industrial applications, many policymakers recognise that breakthroughs start with fundamental science. That's why Mario Draghi recommended doubling the ERCβs budget.
ERC President spoke at @sciencebusiness.net Annual Conference earlier this week.
π£ ERC grantees: this oneβs for you!
AERG, together with the ERC (@erc.europa.eu), is appointing
Ambassadors for ERC in:
π Bulgaria | Estonia | Hungary | Latvia | Lithuania | Malta | Netherlands | Portugal
Interested? Donβt miss the chanceβapply now!
π
aerg.eu/news/call-fo...
ERC conference on 'Frontier Research for One Health' has started!
π€ President Maria Leptin has opened the conference, followed by a keynote speech by Ilaria Capua, Professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe.
π΄ Follow the livestream: webcast.ec.europa.eu/erc-workshop...
300 Proof of Concept Grants awarded under the ERC 2025 work programme, with an overall budget of β¬45 million, following the selection of a further 136 grantees.
π erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
From discovery to decision: how can we bridge research and policy for a thriving world?
Join the discussion on Wednesday at our conference on #OneHealth
π link.europa.eu/K4YCvc
ERC Public Engagement with Research Award 2026 call has closed with 110 applications, up from 99 two years ago.
Weβre glad to see so much enthusiasm for public engagement in frontier research. Winners will be announced this autumn.
#ERCengage
Congratulations to Dr Toby Kiers, winner of the @tylerprize.bsky.social Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement π±
Her ERC-funded research revealed how underground plant-fungal networks sustain life on Earth and shape global conservation thinking.
#ChooseEuropeforScience
The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement names Toby Kiers as the 2026 Laureate.
Her research reveals how underground fungal networks support life on Earth.
Explore the hidden world beneath our feet:
tylerprize.org/laureates/toby-kiers
spun.earth/underground-atlas
@spun.earth
π’ Registration for in-person attendance to the ERC's Annual Conference on "One Health" closes today (9/1). Register here π link.europa.eu/K4YCvc
π
28 January 2026
β° 9.15-18.00 CET
π Covent Garden, Place Rogier 16, Brussels
π In-person & web streamed
Before we fully throw ourselves into the new year, letβs take one more look back at 2025:
π§βπ¬ 1,497 new grantees (β¬2.9 billion)
π’ ERC Plus Grants scheme announced
π
15th ERC grantee with Nobel Prize Prize
π€ Ambassadors for the ERC launched
ποΈ ERC President Maria Leptin reappointed for 2 more years
The six new ERC Scientific Council members are: Michel Campillo, professor emeritus of geophysics at the University of Grenoble, France Emmanuelle Charpentier, Nobel Prize laureate; founder, scientific and managing director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin, Germany KateΕina KrΓ‘lovΓ‘, professor of contemporary history at the Institute of Ethnology (CAS) and Charles University in Prague, Czechia Susana Narotzky, professor of social anthropology at the University of Barcelona, Spain Karin Roelofs, professor at the Donders Institute and the Behavioural Science Institute at Radboud University, Netherlands Eleftheria Zeggini, director of the Institute of Translational Genomics, Helmholtz Munich, Germany The Scientific Council has elected three Vice Presidents from amongst its members: Liselotte HΓΈjgaard, who will be responsible for life sciences, Torsten Persson for the domain charge of social sciences and humanities, and Nicola Spaldin, who will be in charge of physical sciences and engineering.
Happy New Year! π
We start 2026 with important changes in ERC governance. As of 1 January, six new members join the ERC Scientific Council and three new Vice Presidents take up their roles.
We wish them every success as they help steer the ERC in the years ahead.
π‘Your questions, answered.
The ERC Plus Grant webpage is now live, and the Q&As on this new funding scheme are available on the website, too.
π ERC Plus Grants π bit.ly/3N7BJcr
π Q&A π bit.ly/4j4G5gA
Can we tackle antimicrobial resistance or predict future pandemics?
The first panel of our #OneHealth conference will focus on innovation in surveillance and diagnostics, health systems and more!
π buff.ly/bqvaXlW
@cassandrakoh.bsky.social @pasteur.fr @engelmal.bsky.social @epidemy.org
βοΈ How is the #DigitalServicesAct (DSA) shaping the future of digital research?
The latest ERC Magazine explores what digital accountability and transparency mean for science and Europe's online world.
π link.europa.eu/JFFYYH
The 2025 Madame de StaΓ«l Prize has been awarded by ALLEA to Maria Leptin for "pioneering contributions to developmental biology and her outstanding leadership in European research":
allea.org/2025-allea-m...
