TUMCS | PM | 22.11.2022
Twelve young researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) – including Prof. Niederholtmeyer, a new professor at the TUM Straubing Campus – have received ERC Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). With this funding, the EU supports scientists at an early stage of their careers. They applied with groundbreaking research projects and were selected by high-ranking expert panels.
TUM President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann: “Twelve ERC Starting Grants – this is a great success for TUM and an international confirmation of the scientific quality of the researchers. I heartily congratulate all those awarded and am already eagerly awaiting the fascinating results of the research projects.”
Researchers at TUM have so far been able to acquire a total of 176 of the prestigious ERC grants. These are awarded every year in various categories. Starting Grants are aimed at scientists who are still at the beginning of their careers. They are endowed with up to 1.5 million euros.
Prof. Dr. Henrike Niederholtmeyer: Many biomolecules, such as proteins and RNA, have the ability to spontaneously concentrate in molecularly dense, droplet-shaped assemblies. These so-called biomolecular condensates are considered a promising tool in synthetic biology and materials science, for example as microscopic bioreactors. However, in order to be able to produce and use them, there is a lack of both knowledge about how the material properties of condensates influence biochemistry and strategies for regulating these dynamic compositions. In the “SYNSEMBL” project, Henrike Niederholtmeyer wants to pioneer the synthesis, characterization and research of the effect of biomolecular condensates, as well as pave the way for their application.
Dr. Henrike Niederholtmeyer will be researching and teaching as Professor of Synthetic Biology at the TUM Straubing Campus from December. She currently works at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg.