Eight Groningen researchers receive Veni

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded Veni grants to eight talented young researchers at the University of Groningen and at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) who have recently gained their PhDs. They will each receive EUR 250,000 which is intended to fund their research for three years.

Veni grants are part of NWO’s Innovational Research Incentives Scheme (‘Vernieuwingsimpuls’) and are one of the most prestigious grants for young researchers. To land a Veni is an important step in an academic career.

Remarkable talent

The Veni applications are judged by Dutch academics as well as by academics in other countries. Although Veni researchers are just embarking on their careers, thery have already managed to prove that they have striking talent for research and belong to the international top in their field.

The Veni applications are judged by Dutch academics as well as by academics in other countries. Although Veni researchers are just embarking on their careers, thery have already managed to prove that they have striking talent for research and belong to the international top in their field.

Innovational Research Incentives Scheme

The Veni grants are one of three types of grants within the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme ( www.nwo.nl/vernieuwingsimpuls ). The other two are the Vidi grant (for experienced postdocs) and the Vici grant (for experienced researchers). The Innovational Research Incentives Scheme was set up in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the KNAW and the universities. With the Scheme, NWO gives talented researchers the opportunity to conduct innovative and ground-breaking research.

Winning projects

Protein nanopores as nanoreactors
Dr A.J. (Arnold) Boersma (m) University of Groningen - GBB
The researchers will construct a protein nanopore in a new way, enabling the proteins to be used as nanoreactors. Important chemical processes are studied in nanopores, providing insights that conventional techniques are unable to provide.

Cosmic neutrinos striking the moon
Dr S. Buitink, University of Groningen - Kernfysisch Versneller Instituut (KVI)
The earth is under constant bombardment by cosmic neutrinos. Where do they come from and how are they produced? These are important questions in astrophysics and new detection methods are required to answer them. This research will develop a technique to measure the impact of cosmic neutrinos striking the moon, using the revolutionary Dutch LOFAR radio telescope.

Climate change, extreme droughts and biodiversity conservation
Dr J. (Jofre) Carnicer (m) University of Groningen - Community and Conservation Ecology Group (COCON)
Climate change is causing more frequent and warmer extreme drought events that impact European biodiversity. The researchers will quantify the response of forests, birds and butterflies to extreme droughts using demographic and genetic techniques.

Archaeology of the Milky Way Galaxy
Dr S. (Shoko) Jin (f) University of Groningen - Astronomy
The outskirts of our Milky Way Galaxy host streams of stars and gas that were stripped from smaller galaxies during fatal, close encounters. By studying their motions, this project aims to determine the distribution of the invisible dark matter around our Galaxy.

Improved diabetes treatment
Dr H.J. (Hiddo) Lambers Heerspink (m) UMCG – Clinical Pharmacology
Despite the available drugs, diabetes mellitus type 2 patients are greatly at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. One reason is that treatment is insufficiently adapted to individual patients. The researchers will study why patients react differently to drugs in order to increase the effectiveness of treatments.

Oxygen as a building block
Dr E. (Edwin) Otten (m) University of Groningen - Molecular Inorganic Chemistry
Incorporating oxygen atoms into molecules is an important step in making things like drugs. Using oxygen (O₂) taken straight from the surrounding air has major advantages, but also problems due to unwanted reactions. The researchers are developing new ways of making it possible to use O₂ as a building block in synthesis.

Dealing with evidence
Dr B.P. (Bryan) Renne (m) University of Groningen – Faculty of Philosophy
When confronted by evidence, beliefs about what is true or not can shift. This project will develop a theory on how best to go about this.

Complete non-invasive scan for heart disease imaging
Dr R. (Rozemarijn) Vliegenthart (f) CMINEN / UMCG – Radiology
A new CT scanner is able to simultaneously provide images of coronary artery obstruction and of myocardial perfusion for patients complaining of chest pain. Research will investigate whether one combined non-invasive procedure can be used to decide straightawa my whether an invasive procedure is warranted.