29 scientists conducting research at Spanish institutions will receive funding

On 23 June, the European Research Council (ERC) announced the winners of its latest call for Advanced Grants. The funding, totalling 838 million euros, will go to 319 leading researchers from across Europe. Advanced grants offer the most experienced researchers the opportunity to carry out ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to significant scientific breakthroughs. The grants form part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.

In Spain, projects led by 29 scientists conducting their research at Spanish institutions have been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant. In this call, the number of Spanish institutions with successful researchers has doubled compared to the previous one (14).

Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation, said: ‘My sincere congratulations to the 319 new recipients of ERC Advanced Grants and a warm welcome to the researchers from Australia, Canada and the United States who have chosen Europe to carry out their research. These projects embody the spirit of scientific exploration that drives progress. The increase in applications from researchers based outside Europe shows that initiatives such as ‘Choose Europe’, aimed at attracting and retaining talent, are helping to strengthen Europe’s appeal to the best scientific talent from around the world.”

Projects selected for funding 

The research carried out by the new grant recipients will cover a wide range of topics, such as studying differences in people’s vulnerability to drug addiction, improving women’s fertility and health, and exploring the brain mechanisms underlying stammering.

Project hosted by the Spanish National Research Council: rebuilding the brain to combat addiction

Drug addiction is a devastating challenge for society; however, very little is yet known about individual vulnerability and resilience in the face of it. Not everyone who uses drugs such as cocaine—one of the most addictive substances—develops an addiction. In fact, only 20 per cent of human cocaine users develop an addiction, a pattern that is also seen in mice, which raises the following question: why are some people more vulnerable than others? The answer may lie not only in our genes or our environment, but in how the two interact to alter the functioning of brain circuits.

Christian Lüscher and his team at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) are investigating the enigma of addiction by studying genetically identical mice, focusing on neuroepigenetic mechanisms, that is, the brain’s chemical ‘switches’ that do not alter DNA but do change how genes function. These mechanisms can shape behaviour through life experiences, whether negative, such as stress, or positive. Their work centres on identifying the factors that tip the balance between vulnerability and resilience.

Firstly, the team will identify brain and behavioural markers that can predict which animals are at risk of developing compulsive drug use. They will then test how stress drives them towards addiction and whether positive environmental influences can reverse these changes. Finally, they will investigate ways of eliminating harmful epigenetic changes, effectively ‘resetting’ the brain to reduce vulnerability and restore resilience.

Christian Lüscher is a neurobiologist and neurologist, a professor at the University of Geneva and a consultant at Geneva University Hospital.

CEI funding: €2.8 million over 5 years.

Facts and figures 

The new grant recipients will carry out their work at universities and research centres in 24 EU Member States and associated countries, notably in the United Kingdom (62 grants), Germany (46), Switzerland (32), Spain (29) and France (26). The successful applicants include 52 Germans, 45 Britons and 29 Italians, as well as researchers of 30 other nationalities.

A record number of 3,329 proposals were received for this call, representing a 31 per cent increase on last year’s 2,534. 9.6 per cent of the proposals were selected for funding. Estimates suggest that the grants will create more than 3,000 jobs within the teams of the new grant recipients.

Choose Europe

Since the launch of the ‘Choose Europe’ initiative — which aims to attract and retain scientific talent in Europe— the ERC has launched three calls for grant applications in which researchers from outside Europe have been able to apply for up to an additional 2 million euros to cover the costs of setting up a new laboratory or research team in Europe.

This round of ERC Advanced Grants is the first of these three calls for which the results have been announced. Thirteen researchers currently based outside Europe have been selected for funding (four per cent of all successful applicants): nine from the United States, two from Australia and two from Canada. Last year, four researchers based outside Europe were awarded Advanced Grants (1.4 per cent of successful applicants).

Seven of these thirteen successful candidates made use of the special provision for researchers moving to Europe under the ‘Choose Europe for Science’ initiative and applied for additional funding to set up a new laboratory and research team in Europe.

The growing interest in ERC grants was also reflected in the number of applications from researchers based outside Europe. A total of 164 researchers applied for an ERC Advanced Grant in 2025, compared with 44 the previous year.

Next call for advanced grants — 2026 

Are you interested in applying for an ERC Advanced Grant? The 2026 funding round is now open, and the deadline is 27 August 2026.

For further information: European Commission