ERC Starting Grants: Take A Glimpse into Baden-Württemberg's Most Promising Research

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded THE LÄND the second-highest number of ERC Starting Grants in Germany, proving the region's innovative strength and international competitiveness.

With more than 70 universities and over 100 research institutions, Baden-Württemberg is one of Germany’s top locations for science and its excellent research environment is giving it the edge in an international comparison. This is also reflected in this year's ERC Starting Grants. The ERC has awarded 18 Starting Grants to exceptional young scientists in Baden-Württemberg. Providing funding of €1.5 million each over five years, the ERC offers targeted support to young researchers from a variety of disciplines to help them start and develop their research projects.

The University of Heidelberg was particularly successful in the German Southwest, with four projects receiving funding. Two grants each went to the University of Tübingen and the University of Konstanz. Other funded researchers are based at the University of Stuttgart, the University of Mannheim, the University of Freiburg, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and various Max Planck Institutes.

This year, the ERC provided €761 million in funding to support 478 talented researchers from 25 countries, 99 of whom are supervised by researchers in Germany. This makes Germany the most successful participating country overall.

 

The following research projects in Baden-Württemberg received ERC Starting Grants in 2025:

Projects in (interdisciplinary) Life Science

• „Signal to Regeneration“ (SigReg):The project investigates how cells that contribute to limb regeneration in amphibians can be used to activate a limb regeneration program in mammals from regenerative signal centres (Can Aztekin, Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen).
• „The role of cell type-specific timing in the robustness of development”: The research project addresses the question of how developmental timing reliably controls the formation of an embryo despite environmental variability (Michael Dorrity, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg).
• „Geometry-driven self-organisation in active living matter”: Researches the ways in which the shape of cells and tissues guides their self-organisation and enables information processing in living systems (Anna Erzberger, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg).
• „Epigenome Maintenance on Sister Chromatids”: The aim of the project is to uncover how epigenetic memory is faithfully preserved during DNA replication (Valentin Flury, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg).
• „Transposable elements as architects shaping embryonic development“:The project aims to investigate the epigenetic regulation of transposable elements — DNA sequences that can move within the genome — during mammalian embryonic development, and their potential contribution to both proper organogenesis and congenital malformations (Juliane Glaser, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg).
• „Theranostic platform for early diagnosis and treatment of cancer based on Acoustofluidics”:The researchers' goal is to develop an acoustofluidic theranostic platform that uses ultrasound to selectively isolate extracellular vesicles from small volumes of liquid. This will enable both the early detection of cancer via specific vesicle signatures and the delivery of therapeutic agents (Michael Gerlt, Heidelberg University).
• „DeClocking the vascular rhythmic control of tissue homeostasis and disease initiation”:It uncovers how endothelial cells — the cells that line blood vessels — sense and anticipate circadian changes (e.g. day and night cycles) and how these vascular rhythms affect tissue homeostasis and the onset of ageing and disease (Mahak Singhal, Heidelberg University).
• „Do fetuses perceive social stimuli? A magnetoencephalography investigation of the prenatal mind”: The project examines whether unborn babies can perceive social stimuli (such as voices and faces) differently from neutral stimuli in the final weeks before birth. The aim is to understand when and how fetal social perception begins (Joel Frohlich, University of Tübingen).
• „Optimised plant immune receptor pairs for improved disease resistance”:The aim is to bioengineer optimised pairs of plant immune receptors, particularly by studying how two receptors collaborate when one recognises a pathogen molecule and the other triggers the immune response (Clemence Marchal, University of Tübingen)
• „Phenotipping: Tipping dynamics and resilience in adapting ecological systems”:The project analyses how the adaptation of organisms to environmental change can influence ecological resilience (Catalina Chaparro-Pedraza, University of Konstanz).
• „Tailor-Made Terpenoids: Exploring and Exploiting Nature’s Magic Methyl Effect”: The aim is to discover and engineer naturally occurring enzymes that methylate terpenes in novel ways. This will enable the creation of custom terpenoid molecules (Lena Barra, University of Konstanz).
   

Projects in Physics, Mathematics & Engineering

• „Manifolds and functor calculus”:Uncovers new links between the symmetries of high‑dimensional manifolds and algebraic laws by developing and applying tools from manifold theory, functor calculus, topology, geometry, and higher algebra to resolve deep structural questions in pure mathematics (Manuel Krannich, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology).
• „Towards lossless electrical energy converters”:The aim of this project is to develop lossless electrical energy converters. This involves researching, among other things, how many voltage levels are optimal for efficient energy conversion. The results should ultimately pave the way for a more efficient and sustainable energy system in areas such as electromobility, innovative heat pumps, and robotics (Stefan Mönch, University of Stuttgart).
• „Early Giants in Context: How could Galaxies Grow so Rapidly in the First Billion Years?”:As the project title suggests, the project aims to answer the question of whether galaxies matured faster than expected after the Big Bang and, if so, how they were able to do so. This will be achieved using a JWST NIRSpec instrument (Anna de Graaff, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), Heidelberg).

 

Projects in Social Sciences and Humanities

• „SINOFANTASY - Studying Imaginative Otherworlds: Chinese Fantasy Fiction, Literary Politics, and Media Creativity”: The project explores how Chinese fantasy and science fiction literature has negotiated cultural identity, historical memory and visions of the future since the 1990s (Jessica Imbach, University of Freiburg).
• „Reconstructing Scribal Vernacular Practices. Coptic Correspondence and Vernacular Scribal Practices in Late Antique and Early Islamic Egypt”: The aim is to study a corpus of around 5,000 Coptic letters from the 4th to 11th centuries CE in order to reveal how writing in the vernacular Coptic language (alongside Greek and Arabic) can shed light on social networks, cultural identities, daily life, multilingualism and epistolary norms during a critical period of transition between the Byzantine and Islamic eras (Loreleï Vanderheyden, Heidelberg University).
• „Towards a Sociology of Debt Stratification and its Moral Foundations Across Countries”:The researcher examines how indebtedness manifests itself in different societies and over time and asks who accrues debt, under what circumstances, and how moral judgements about debtors differ depending on social, temporal and national contexts (Nora Waitkus, Heidelberg University).
• „Making the Queers Visible: Partisanship and Support among Sexual and Gender Minorities in Eastern and Western Europe”:The project investigates how LGBTQ+ identities are formed, how they influence political attitudes, party preferences and trust in political institutions, and how these relationships differ between Western and Eastern European countries (Constantin Wurthmann, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) of the University of Mannheim).

 

Further information:

• Thinking about your next step? Explore research opportunities in Baden-Württemberg in our job search.
• Find here more information on funding and scholarships in Baden-Württemberg.
• Watch the video to find out what other junior researchers think about the research landscape and opportunities in THE LÄND.

 

Author: Isabelle Dobratz