Eight researchers from the University of Cambridge have been awarded a total of €17 million through the European Research Council’s (ERC) Consolidator Grants. The funding, part of the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, is intended to support mid-career scientists working on research projects across various scientific disciplines.
This year, the ERC has allocated a record €728 million in Consolidator Grant awards, selecting 349 researchers based at universities and research centres in 25 EU Member States and associated countries, including the United Kingdom.
The Cambridge recipients for 2025 include Dr Davide Luca from the Department of Land Economy. His project, ‘Bridging Rural-urban Individual Divides in Outlooks and Political Engagement’, will examine social and political divides between urban and rural communities. Dr Luca aims to identify how early-life environments and local interactions influence perspectives on issues such as migration and climate policy.
Professor Blake Sherwin from the Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics will lead research titled ‘Revealing Cosmic Structure Growth and the Early Universe with the CMB Backlight’. He plans to use cosmic microwave background data to map matter distribution in the universe and study its origins.
Professor Alexandra Woolgar from the Department of Psychology and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit is developing new brain imaging techniques with her project ‘Pinging the brain to reveal hidden neural states underpinning flexible human cognition’. Her work seeks to uncover patterns in brain activity that underlie cognitive flexibility.
Dr Emília Santos from the Department of Zoology will investigate how diversity arises in nature through her project on East African cichlid fishes. By integrating genomics, developmental biology, and mathematical modelling, she aims to understand how novel traits develop and why certain features evolve repeatedly.
Dr Emily Mitchell, also from Zoology, will study natural selection during the Ediacaran period when animals first evolved. Her research focuses on understanding evolutionary adaptations during this era.
Dr Somenath Bakshi from Engineering will analyse how bacterial physiology affects phage infection dynamics. His findings may inform strategies for using phages as alternatives to antibiotics in clinical settings.
Dr Eleanor Raffan from Physiology, Development and Neuroscience is researching genetic factors contributing to obesity by studying dogs. Her team hopes that findings about appetite regulation can be applied to improve health outcomes for both humans and animals.
Dr Angela Trentacoste at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research will explore animal production practices in Roman Italy by examining ancient livestock remains. This work could reshape understanding of agricultural changes during periods of urbanisation and expansion.
President of the European Research Council, Professor Maria Leptin, said: “To see all this talent with groundbreaking ideas, based in Europe, is truly inspiring. This bold research may well lead to new industries, improve lives and strengthen Europe’s global standing.
"This was one of the most competitive ERC calls ever, with record demand and many excellent projects left unfunded. It is yet another reminder of how urgent the call for increased EU investment in frontier research has become.”
Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, stated: “Congratulations to all the researchers on winning the ERC grants. The record budget of 728 million euro invested to support these scientific projects shows the EU is serious about making the continent attractive for excellent researchers.”