ERC Consolidator Grant

European grants for research into stomach cancer and motor control

Neuroscientist Zhenyu Gao and molecular geneticist Miao-Ping Chien from Erasmus MC have been awarded Consolidator Grants from the European Research Council. They will use this 2 million euro grant for research into difficult-to-treat stomach cancer and the brain’s control of movement.

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Miao-Ping Chien’s research project focuses on understanding chromosomal instability in gastric cancer. Chromosomal instability leads to errors in cell division, worsens disease progression and affects the immune response, but the underlying mechanisms of action are still largely unknown.

Miao-Ping-Chien

Chien hopes to find ways to improve the treatment of gastric cancer with chromosomal instability. Using advanced microscopy and multiplex sequencing technologies, she studies chromosomal instability at the level of individual cells. In this way, she aims to discover how chromosomal instability stimulates tumor progression and affects immune cells.

Precise movements

Zhenyu Gao and his team are using the ERC grant to investigate how the motor cortex and cerebellum work together to generate and regulate precise movements. Although both brain regions are known to be crucial for motor control, exactly how they communicate with each other remains a mystery. Gao aims to map the detailed anatomical connections between the motor cortex and cerebellum.

Zhenyu Gao

Gao expects the research to change the way we think about brain functions. ‘Our findings may reveal the motor cortex and cerebellum as parts of a dynamic, integrated network. Understanding how these two areas work together will teach us how movements are controlled and may improve the treatment of motor disorders.’

Consolidator Grant

The ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded annually to promising researchers with between 7 and 12 years of post-doctoral experience. They can use the €2 million grant to fund their team and research their ideas over a five-year period.

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