Manchester researchers awarded major ERC grants

27 Sep 2024

European Research Council funding for projects that will revolutionise early detection of brain diseases, investigate gut microbiome interaction in cancer immunity and help to discover new chemistry and physics

Three Manchester researchers have been awarded European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants to push forward their pioneering research.

Leading nanomedicine researcher, Dr Marilena Hadjidemetriou has secured a €1.5m (£1.3m) grant to continue her research into Alzheimer’s disease and glioblastoma.

The five-year project, NanoNeuroOmics, aims to combine breakthroughs in nanotechnology, protein analysis, and blood biomarker discovery to make advances in two key areas.

First, Dr Hadjidemetriou and her team will explore the use of nanoparticles to enrich and isolate brain-disease specific protein biomarkers in blood. These discoveries could pave the way for simple, reliable blood tests that diagnose Alzheimer’s and glioblastoma in their early stages.

Second, the research will investigate the phenomenon of “inverse comorbidity,” which suggests that having one of these conditions may reduce the risk of developing the other. The team will explore this surprising relationship to uncover any deeper biological connection that could lead to new treatment pathways.

Royal Society University Research Fellow, Dr Conrad Goodwin has been awarded a €1.5m (£1.3m) grant to “push the limit of high oxidation state f-element chemistry” and thus discover new chemistry and physics in this unexplored territory.

The Goodwin Group builds and studies molecules in controlled and well-defined environments to understand the chemistry and physics of rare earth and actinide elements (collectively known as ‘f-elements’) which are essential to modern life.

Redox chemistry is a fundamental behaviour of all chemical elements and is involved many of the chemical reactions central to life – the gain (REDuction) or loss of electrons (OXidation).

In this project, the Group aims to unlock new chemistry and physics with rare earth and actinide elements by pushing their redox chemistry into new territory with higher oxidation states than have been made before.

A better understanding of redox chemistry with these elements is central to their responsible use through recovery and recycling efforts; and many show exciting physics for quantum computing applications.

Cancer Immunosurveillance Group Lead at the CRUK Manchester Institute, Dr Evangelos Giampazolias was awarded €2m to investigate how and when ‘friendly’ microorganisms that are located in the gut boost our immune system to attack cancer.

Recent studies suggest that the friendly microorganisms that inhabit the intestines known as gut microbiome can boost the immune system to attack cancer. However, it is not clear how and when the gut microbiome can influence immunity to cancer. The group found that vitamin D distinguishes a ‘good’ from a ‘bad’ microbiome and helps certain gut bacteria to elicit cancer immunity improving the response to immunotherapy in mice. They are currently trying to understand how exactly vitamin D supports a ‘good’ microbiome and how the latter communicates with the immune system to improve its ability to kill cancer.

You can hear Dr Giampazolias talking about his work on Radio 4’s Today programme.