Five researchers from the Technion won ERC Consolidator grants. The grants are given on behalf of the European Research Commission (ERC) for the purpose of supporting pioneering research and development. The support is given to selected researchers who come up with pioneering and ground-breaking research ideas in the stages of forming the research team and the work plan. The total grant – about two million euros for each researcher.
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The winning researchers are: Prof. Asia Rawls from the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, for the study of the interrelationships between the brain, fascia and the immune system. Fascia – the body’s connective tissue system – is the largest tissue in the body. According to the researchers’ hypothesis, the fascia is a sensing platform that monitors damage to the tissues it wraps and transmits this information to the brain , this is so that the brain, through its influence on the immune system, initiates protective and restorative actions.
Another winner is Prof. Avi Schroeder from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering at the Technion, who is involved, among other things, in the development of nanometer drugs that target diseased tissues and release the active substance (drug) in the target organ without harming healthy tissues. The research that won the grant will focus on the development of nanotechnological drugs to treat aging and diseases such as Alzheimer’s that affect the central nervous system and the brain.
Prof. Mittal Landau from the Faculty of Biology studies amyloids – protein fibers that are involved in infectious diseases but may also help in the treatment of these diseases. In the research that won the current grant, she will investigate the role of amyloids in infectious diseases as well as in neurodegenerative diseases.
A research grant was also given to Prof. Nadav Amdorski from the Faculty of Chemistry, who studies charge transfer mechanisms – electrons and protons – in biological systems. As part of the research, he will develop new chemical and biotechnological tools to study the transfer of protons through proteins.
In the research of Dr. Graham de Ruyter from the Faculty of Chemistry, he will develop efficient, safe, cheap and sustainable catalysis processes to be used in the production of drugs and the production of materials for agriculture and other fields.
Technion Vice President for Research Prof. Kobi Rubinstein said that “ERC Consolidator grants are considered the flagship for encouraging excellence in science, under the framework program for research and development Horizon Europe. Our winners demonstrate excellence in a wide range of research and development fields – new insights in biology and medicine, which are expected to change the The effectiveness of medical treatments and breakthroughs in chemistry that will bring about sweeping changes in industry and in the protection of the planet.”