KI researcher receives grant on basis of top ERC assessment
Vicente Pelechano Garcia at the Department of Microbiology, Tumour and Cell Biology is one of two researchers to be awarded a Swedish Foundations’ Starting Grant. The grant is arranged jointly by five private research foundations and is awarded to young research group leaders who achieved a top grade and proceeded to the interview stage of their ERC Starting Grant application but did not make it all the way.
As a recipient of this Swedish start-up grant, Vicente Pelechano Garcia is guaranteed approximately EUR 1.5 million for five years on condition that every year he applies for funding from the European Research Council (ERC). Should the ERC approve his application the Swedish grant will be cancelled.
The five foundations are: The Erling-Persson Family Foundation, the Kempe Foundations, the Ragnar Söderberg Foundation, the Bank of Sweden Tercentary Foundation and the Olle Engkvist Byggmästare Foundation. The foundations base their evaluations of current projects solely on those of the ERC.
The research applications to the ERC “are some of the most detailed currently composed in Sweden. It is a widely known fact that the quality of all those that proceed to interview is exceptionally high. The expert assessment is of the highest class. In today’s research community, an ERC grant is the most meritorious form of financing available. By making available the Swedish Foundations’ Starting Grant we hope to capture young researchers at the forefront of European science and provide them with sustained support for their research,” write the foundations in a joint press release.
The other recipient of the Swedish Foundations’ Starting Grant is Cristian Bellodi at Lund University. Dr Pelechano Garcia was also recently made a Wallenberg Academy Fellow.