ERC announces 281 winners of its latest Advanced Grant competition

On 17 June 2025, the European Research Council (ERC) announced the winners of its latest Advanced Grant competition. The funding, worth in total €721 million, will go to 281 leading researchers across Europe. The Advanced Grant competition gives senior researchers the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs.

The new grantees’ work will cover a wide range of subjects; from developing a preventive vaccine for hereditary breast cancer, and investigating how diet and exercise affect brain cells related to ageing, to creating AI digital twins that mirror and enhance human thought and social skills, and exploring the hidden oceans on Jupiter’s and Saturn’s moons.

The new grantees will be based at universities and research centres in 23 EU Member States and associated countries, notably in the UK (56 grants), Germany (35), Italy (25), the Netherlands (24), and France (23). Austria will host 12 new grantees. Among the winners are 45 Germans, 37 Italians, 26 Britons and 22 French, as well as researchers of 28 other nationalities. 4 grantees are Austrian nationals. 

This competition attracted 2,534 proposals, which were reviewed by panels of internationally renowned researchers. Over eleven percent of proposals were selected for funding. Estimates show that the grants will create approximately 2,700 jobs in the teams of new grantees.  

For more information:

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See also more ERC statistics and the full list of winners.