Vici grants for four University of Groningen researchers

Four scientists at the University of Groningen will each receive EUR 1.5 million to do research in the coming five years. They have been awarded Vici grants as part of NWO’s Innovational Research Incentives Scheme (‘Vernieuwingsimpuls’). NWO will award 32 grants today – a total investment of EUR 48 million in top talent. A Vici grant is one of the largest personal academic grants awarded in the Netherlands.

Like all other grants that are part of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme, Vici grants are intended for innovative and groundbreaking researchers. The grants enable them to set up their own research groups over a period of five years. This makes Vici grants not only an incentive for the researchers who receive them, but NWO also thus provides opportunities for a great number of young researchers.

Like all other grants that are part of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme, Vici grants are intended for innovative and groundbreaking researchers. The grants enable them to set up their own research groups over a period of five years. This makes Vici grants not only an incentive for the researchers who receive them, but NWO also thus provides opportunities for a great number of young researchers.

This year there were 215 initial applicants for a Vici grant. Fifteen percent of them are ultimately awarded one. However, the number of good research proposals is much higher and unfortunately this meant that NWO once again had to turn down very promising researchers due to a lack of funds.

The Innovational Research Incentives Scheme

The Vici grants are one of three types of grants within the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme known as ‘Vernieuwingsimpuls’. The other two types are the Veni grants (for recent PhD graduates) and the Vidi grants (for experienced postdocs). The Innovational Research Incentives Scheme was set up in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the KNAW and the universities.

NWO

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) is the national science financier and aims to stimulate excellent Dutch scientific research via national competition. NWO spends EUR 700 million every year on top researchers and top research, innovative instruments and equipment, and on institutes where top research is conducted. NWO funds the research of over 5300 talented scientists at universities and other organizations. The peer review is done by independent experts. NWO promotes the transfer of knowledge to society.

List of University of Groningen researchers awarded

Harvesting the sun... safely
Prof. R.G.M. (Roberta) Croce (f), 28-08-1968, Turin (Italy), University of Groningen
The research focuses on the mechanisms plants use to protect themselves from damage from light while still utilizing photosynthesis. The complex system of the photosynthetic membrane is still far from having been completely unravelled, while the molecular mechanisms are also not yet fully understood. The goal of the project is to figure out the involved mechanisms using an integrated biological and physical approach.

The DNA copying machine examined
Prof. A.M. (Antoine) van Oijen (m), 06-05-1972, Drunen, University of Groningen – Single Molecule Biophysics
Every organism must duplicate its DNA during cell division. This complex process is conducted by a great many proteins that unravel the DNA and make two identical copies of it. The research aims to develop new microscopy techniques in order to understand how the various proteins collaborate.

Coenzyme-A revisited
Prof. O.C.M. (Ody) Sibon (f), 03-10-1964, Bergen op Zoom, UMCG
Coenzyme A is a well-known essential cofactor in metabolism. However, in 2001 it was discovered that reduced CoA metabolism is accompanied by increasing loss of neuronal function. The research will attempt to discover the reason why this is the case and also to explain other unexpected observations where coenzyme A appears to play a role in non-metabolic processes. A fruit-fly model will be used in which CoA levels can be specifically measured and manipulated. See also: UMCG press release

The End of Darkness: How the Universe Ionized its Gas
Prof. S. (Saleem) Zaroubi (m), 14-10-1963, Nazareth (Israel), University of Groningen – Kapteyn Institute
About 400 million years after the Big Bang the Universe started forming its first stars and galaxies. Radiation from these objects transformed completely ionized cosmic gas. This project aims at detecting and understanding this process using the LOFAR radio telescope.

Saleem Zaroubi: "In the last few decades astronomers have been making great strides in the exploration and understanding of our Universe. Despite all the progress we have made, the Universe's history during its first billion years, one of the holy grails of modern astronomy, has remained unexplored. During this era, the first stars and galaxies have formed, shaping everything that we see around us today. To explore this illusive era both observationally and theoretically, new and powerful telescopes are rapidly coming online world-wide.

Among the most exiting and sophisticated such telescopes is the new Dutch-lead LOFAR radio telescope, currently being rolled out in the Netherlands and over Europe. One of LOFAR's main goals is the detection of hydrogen gas in the early Universe and explorations of how radiation emitted by the first stars, galaxies, and quasars have transformed it from neural to ionized."