Million support from Villum for research talents at BIO
With the annual award of Villum Young Investigator grants, promising young researchers get the opportunity to carry out groundbreaking projects and start their own research groups.
The Villum Foundation has just awarded more than DKK 150 million to 19 young, talented researchers who have the potential to make a significant independent contribution to technical and natural science research.
Six of these researchers are based at SCIENCE departments, including two at the Department of Biology:
Yi Jiao, section for Terrestrial Ecology, received DKK 7 mio. for the project:
Peatland Exchange of Atmospheric volatile carbon: Kinetics & mechanisms
Peatlands store more carbon than all global plants combined, but climate change may release a fraction of this carbon as volatile organic compounds, impacting air quality and climate. This project aims to study the processes and mechanisms behind the production and consumption of volatile carbon in peatlands and integrate them into climate models. The grant will establish an independent research group and allow the recruitment of one postdoc and one PhD student.
Robert Krautz, section for Computational and RNA Biology, received DKK 7 mio. for the project:
Deciphering the mechanisms of gene regulation on tissue development
The development of tissues relies on the selective activation of genes in different cell types. Enhancers are short DNA-sequences spread across the genome that regulate the extent of gene activation in all cells of an organism. However, it has so far been impossible to measure their activity in single cells. To overcome this we will establish new methods and identify key gene regulatory mechanisms defining how cell types and tissues emerge. The grant will fund one PhD student and one postdoc.
Huge congratulations to both of them!!
Read more about the other projects here: Millions in funding for young researchers