European Research Council Grants Awarded

Prof. Omry Koren and Prof. Avi Zadok, two of Bar-Ilan University's most prolific researchers, are recipients of prestigious Consolidator Grants from the EU's European Research Council (ERC). ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to outstanding researchers with a scientific track record showing great promise.

"The researchers who receive these grants are the top in Israel in their fields," Vice President for Research Prof. Shulamit Michaeli, who guided the Bar-Ilan applicants through the application process," said.

"I am very pleased with the EU's expression of trust in our groundbreaking researchers," said Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Arie Zaban. In each of their disciplines, Prof. Zadok and Prof. Koren are making an impact on the world of science and putting us on par with Europe's leading universities."

Prof. Omry Koren, from Bar-Ilan's Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, was awarded a €2 million Consolidator Grant for his research aiming to link microbiota, hormones and aggression. Aggression is one of the most important social behaviors in nature for procreation and survival. Although there has been some progress deciphering genetic factors and neural mechanisms influencing aggression, the precise networks and environmental factors controlling aggression remain a mystery. Koren and a team of researchers will study the novel concept that host aggression may be regulated in part by the microbiota. They and others have recently linked the gut microbiota -- the overall constellation of microorganisms residing within the gut -- to behaviors such as risk taking, mating and sexual behavior, as well as hormone production, regulation, and secretion. Here they aim to characterize the effects of antibiotics, germ-free animal models, and specific microbes on aggression in flies and mice. They further hypothesize that these processes are mediated by pheromones, bacterial and host gene products, and host brain hormones, and will test the involvement of these factors, as well. Prof. Koren’s research is supported through the generosity of  of Dr. Zippora and Dr. Arik Carasso in memory of  their parents Esther and Chaim Carasso.

Prof. Avi Zadok, from Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Engineering and Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, has been awarded a €2 million ERC Consolidator Grant for research in the field of Silicon Photonics, which seeks to implement integrated circuits for communication and processing of light, alongside electronics. Silicon Photonics is widely regarded as a key enabling technology for tomorrow's computer and cellular networks, and for the sustained growth of the internet. Zadok and team are looking to extend the platform even further through the introduction of ultrasonic, elastic waves, as part of the same chips. The interaction between light and sound on the same platform would support materials research, signal processing, and sensing that are not possible using light alone. In 2015 Prof. Zadok and his team won the corresponding Starter Grant awarded by the ERC.  

The ERC received 2,506 Consolidator Grant research proposals in 2020, from which approximately 13% will be funded overall.  Three hundred twenty-seven laureates were awarded this year's grant. The funding is part of the EU’s current research and innovation program, Horizon 2020, and worth €655 million in total. With this support, the new grantees will be able to consolidate their teams and have far-reaching impact.