17 researchers from UNICA member universities awarded with ERC’s Proof of Concept Grants
27 January 2026 | From UNICA - From our Members - Funding
17 researchers from 10 UNICA member universities have been granted Proof of Concept Grants from the European Research Council (ERC) in the last 2025 round. The researchers will each receive €150 000, supporting them in exploring how their scientific results can move towards practical application or early commercial use.
Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Edinburgh lead among UNICA universities, with three awardees each. They are followed by the University of Amsterdam, NOVA University London, and King’s College London, with two awardees each. Finally, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the University of Bern, the University of Cyprus, the University of Luxembourg, and the University of Ljubljana each have one awardee.
In total, 136 researchers have been awarded in this round, bringing the total number of Proof of Concept Grants under the ERC 2025 Work Programme reached 300, representing an overall budget of €45 million. The scheme is funded under Horizon Europe, the EU’s framework programme for research and innovation.
Discover all researchers from UNICA member universities awarded with Proof of Concept Grants:
| Researcher’s Name | University | Project’s Name |
| MOVAHEDI Kiavash | Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) | PERTURB-Flow In vivo PERTURB-Flow: high-throughput single-cell perturbation screening for macrophage target discovery |
| AHMED Daniel | University of Bern | UniADLP Universal Acoustic Digital Light Processing 3D Printing |
| KRIKIDIS Ioannis | University of Cyprus | QUARTO Quantum Annealing for Fluid Antenna MIMO Systems |
| DI LEONARDO Roberto | Sapienza University of Rome | IMAGE Imaging module for automated optogenetics |
| RUSSO John | Sapienza University of Rome | SAT-Design SAT-Design – A Web Platform for Programmable Self-Assembly |
| RAVIGNANI Andrea | Sapienza University of Rome | SoundHorse: Rhythmicity-based acoustic biomarkers for equine welfare |
| WILMES Paul | University of Luxembourg | sAMY-Dx Investigating the potential of microbiome-derived small amyloidogenic proteins as clinical biomarkers for the early detection of Parkinson’s disease |
| JALAAL Maziyar | University of Amsterdam | BloomSCAN Portable, Early Warning for Cyanobacterial Blooms |
| NOEL Timothy | University of Amsterdam | RoboChem A robotic platform for rapid optimization and scale up of photocatalytic transformations |
| HOMEM Catarina | NOVA University Lisbon | MetaBoost MetaBoost: Metabolic Reprogramming for Neuronal Differentiation |
| SANTOS Cláudia | NOVA University Lisbon | ReMAP-PD A Novel 3Rs Microphysiological Alternative Platform for Parkinson’s Disease |
| DULAR Matevz | University of Ljubljana | PureWater Combining Cavitation and Plasma to Tackle Drinking Water Pollution |
| YANG Yunjie | University of Edinburgh | FLEX-AI Scalable Electronic-skins for Autonomous Intelligence in Soft Robotics |
| VENDRELL ESCOBAR Marc | University of Edinburgh | FLUOROTRAP FLUOROgenic probes for rapid assessment of immunoTheRAPies in precision oncology |
| SPOEL Steven | University of Edinburgh | Post-Harvest-Boost Bioengineering novel post-harvest traits in Brassica crops |
| OREGLIA Elisa | King’s College London | JANUS Mapping Back-End Internet Connectivities |
| SYLVEST BERGHOLT Mads | King’s College London | LEAN Morphomolecular diagnostics of head and neck cancer |
Learn more about the results of this call of Proof of Concept Grants on the website of the ERC.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.