The ERC - European Research Council funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run frontier projects across Europe.
4 researchers in Turkiye have been selected for funding with a total budget of 7 Million EUR in the ERC-2022-StG call under the Horizon Europe Programme.
Among these researcher Dr. Elif Nur Fırat KARALAR is the first double grantee in Turkiye in life sciences domain. Her first ERC project was CentSatRegFunc. Also Dr. Erkan AYDIN is the first researcher to be awarded by writing a project proposal from abroad with a host institution in Turkiye.
We congratulate our eminent researchers and their host institutions.
 | Dr. Erkan AYDIN |
| Dr. Selim Erdem AYTAÇ |
| Dr. Elif Nur Fırat KARALAR |
| Dr. Barış YILDIZ |
In INPERSPACE Project Dr. Erkan AYDIN and his team aims to develop highly efficient yet cost-effective solar cells, which have become a necessity in the "new space age". In this context, multi-joint (tandem) and high-efficiency perovskite thin-film solar cells will be designed, manufactured, and tested in real space conditions to operate in the harsh conditions of space. Dr. AYDIN is the first researcher to be awarded by writing a project proposal from abroad with a host institution in Turkiye. His project proposal was supported within the scope of TÜBİTAK's ERC Principal Investigator Advancement Program.
In DEPOLARIZE Project Dr. Selim Erdem AYTAÇ and his team aims to examine how the emotional polarization created by the antipathy, insecurity, and negative feelings developed by citizens in many countries against the supporters of political parties, which they see as opposed to their own views, affects people's democratic attitudes. The project will reveal whether emotional polarization plays a corrosive role in democracy by having a negative impact on citizens' democratic attitudes. In 2020 AYTAÇ was awarded the TÜBİTAK Encouragement Award. His project proposal was supported within the scope of TÜBİTAK's ERC Principal Investigator Advancement Program.
In SatelliteHomeostasis Project. Dr. Elif Nur Fırat KARALAR and her team aims to understand the evolutionary processes of the complex organization of mammalian cells, thus developing new diagnostic and treatment methods for diseases such as developmental disorders or cancer. Her first ERC Project CentSatRegFunc was funded in ERC 2015 Starting Grant call and she is the first double grantee in Turkiye in life sciences domain. KARALAR received EMBO Young Investigator Award in 2019 and TÜBİTAK Encouragement Award in 2021 and she was funded by TÜBİTAK BİDEB-2247-A National Outstanding Research Programme. Her project proposal was supported within the scope of TÜBİTAK's ERC Principal Investigator Advancement Program.
In GoodMobility Project, Dr. Barış YILDIZ and his team aims to design the future urban logistics systems and to design the necessary theories, concepts, and models for the realization of these systems. GoodMobility, which defines urban logistics not as a business problem but as a social need, aims to realize new transportation technologies and business models that have not been considered before, in a way that will maximize social benefit, with public-private partnerships.
Turkiye hosts 31 ERC Grants in total.
More information about the call and project highlights can be found on the ERC webpage.
Please contact us as TÜBİTAK ERC National Contact Points if you are interested in ERC Calls through the email ncperc@tubitak.gov.tr.