Veni grants awarded to six FSE researchers

Fourteen researchers from the University of Groningen and the University Medical Center Groningen have been awarded a Veni grant as part of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme run by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the universities. The personal Veni grants are worth up to a maximum of € 250,000 and enable talented researchers who have just completed a PhD to conduct research of their own choice.

The grants awarded to the Faculty of Science and Engineering (formerly known as the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) are:

Through galactic fog to the first stars

Dr. V. (Vibor) Jelic (m), RUG – Kapteyn Institute

Complicated emission from our own Galaxy obscures the first stars in the Universe. Astronomers will study this Galactic "fog", and clear the view towards the early Universe. This will allow them to see 13.2 billion years back in time.

Berekenende babysitters? [ Calculating babysitters?]

Dr S.A. (Sjouke Anne) Kingma, (m), University of Groningen – CEES - Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization & Theoretical Biology

In cooperative breeding systems, some animals postpone reproduction in order to help other animals care for their broods. This project will use computer simulations and 30 years of field data on the Seychelles warbler to find out why certain individuals do this.

Bacterial warfare in the human intestine

Dr. A (Alicia) Lammerts van Bueren (f), RUG – GBB - Microbial Physiology

The human gut microbiome consist of over 1000 bacterial species that are competing for space within the gastrointestinal tract. Researchers will study the activity of bacterial enzymes that target and degrade surface sugar molecules of competing bacterial species in a “bacterial warfare”, which exposes the targeted bacteria for clearance by the immune system. Investigating this novel competition strategy will lead to new insights into the regulation of human microbiome populations.

Systems genetics of metabolic fluxes

Dr. Y. (Yang) Li (f), RUG – GBB - Molecular Systems Biology

Genetic analysis on multiple molecular levels can provide insight into how a genotype relates to a phenotype. The researcher will use this approach to look for heritable causes of metabolite flow rate (flux) through metabolic pathways.

Breaking into and breaking down membranes]

Dr M.N. (Manuel) Melo (m), University of Groningen – GBB - Molecular Dynamics / Biochemistry

Some antibacterial proteins work by breaking down the bacterial membrane, while others break into the cell and attack from within. The researchers will use computer simulations to try to understand the difference, and test whether this knowledge can be used to produce better drugs.

The limits to life's diversity

Dr. A. (Alex) Pigot (m), RUG – CEES / COCON - Biology

Life has diversified into a bewildering array of species but is there a limit to how many species can be supported? This research project aims to address this question and identify the ecological and geographical processes regulating species diversity.