Vilnius University Scientist Prof. Urtė Neniškytė Receives Prestigious ERC Grant

Vilnius University Life Sciences Center's Institute of Biosciences and EMBL Partnership Institute scientist Prof. Urtė Neniškytė has been awarded the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant.

Prof. Neniškytė's team will investigate the glycocalyx - a kind of cell "identity card" that helps the organism distinguish healthy cells from damaged ones - and its effect on brain functions and diseases. This research is expected to open new possibilities for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.

This funding became possible due to the new EU funds redistribution mechanism, which allows up to 5% of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) resources to be directed to the "Horizon Europe" program. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lithuania allocated 18.5 million euros for the 2024-2025 period, part of which can be used for highly-rated ERC projects that did not receive funding due to the limited call budget.

The new funding mechanism is one of the EU initiatives aimed at strengthening countries' participation in the "Horizon Europe" program and increasing the success rates of scientific projects.