The European Research Council (ERC) funds researchers capable of conducting ambitious frontier research projects, selecting them through a global panel evaluation based on the criteria of Scientific Excellence.
Under the ERC 2024 Consolidator Grant (CoG) Call, published within the scope of Horizon Europe, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Serdar ÖNSES from Erciyes University and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serhat TOZBURUN from the Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center have been awarded funding with a total budget of €3.6 million.
For the first time, projects hosted by institutions located in cities other than Istanbul and Ankara have been selected for ERC funding under this call.
We congratulate our esteemed researchers and their host institutions and wish them continued success in their endeavors.
 | Principal Investigator (PI): Prof. Dr. Mustafa Serdar ÖNSES |
In WETDNA Project Dr. Mustafa Serdar ÖNSES and his team aims to introduce an unexplored modality for controlling complex surface wetting properties using DNA, the genetic information carrier. Understanding the principles governing DNA-driven wetting phenomena is expected to generate knowledge at the interface of physical, chemical, and biological sciences with high fundamental and applied value for a range of fields and technologies including encoded surfaces, smart coatings, anti-counterfeiting, wearable sensors, and diagnostics. Dr. ÖNSES returned to Türkiye in 2014 under the TÜBİTAK 2232 reintegration grant and received the TÜBA GEBİP Award in 2016 and TÜBİTAK Incentive Award in 2020. His project proposal was supported within the scope of TÜBİTAK's ERC Principal Investigator Advancement Program (EBAG). | |
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 | Principal Investigator (PI): Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serhat TOZBURUN |
Many diseases in the digestive system organs often originate from the inner lining; for example, numerous cancers of the esophagus, stomach, and intestines begin as abnormal superficial tissues (precancerous mucosal lesions) and later spread to deeper tissue structures. Therefore, early-stage treatment of abnormal superficial tissues is critical. The innovative technology developed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serhat TOZBURUN and his team offers a groundbreaking endoscopic cap that separates superficial lesions from healthy tissues using negative pressure, eliminates lesions without burning through irreversible electroporation, enables lesion imaging, and allows large areas to be treated in a single session. Upon completion of the project, a next-generation endoscopic cap for screening and treatment will be developed, marking a significant breakthrough in the treatment of precancerous lesions through preclinical studies and contributing to the training of experts in the field of endoscopy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serhat Tozburun has previously received support under the MSCA-IF-2018 call and was honored with the TÜBA GEBİP award in 2018 and the BAGEP award in 2020. His project proposal was also supported during the application phase under TÜBİTAK’s ERC Principal Investigator Advancement Program (EBAG). | |
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A total of 38 ERC projects are currently being conducted or have been completed in Turkey excluding the aforementioned projects.
You can access the ERC's related news and sample projects here.
For any questions or suggestions regarding the ERC, you can contact us at ncperc@tubitak.gov.tr.