Seven Israeli researchers have won ERC Advanced Grants from the European Union’s Horizon Europe program, including four from the Weizmann Institute of Science, two from the Hebrew University, and one from the Technion and Rambam Medical Center. The grants go to senior researchers with exceptional achievements over the past decade and fund ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could produce major breakthroughs across fields ranging from the life sciences to the humanities.
At the Weizmann Institute, Prof. Shragee Schwartz will develop a new toolkit for writing chemical marks on RNA, tracking how the molecules move and are regulated in cells, with long-term potential for RNA-based therapies. Prof. Rotem Sorek will use bacterial immune systems to identify previously unknown components of human immunity, work that could help lead to treatments for autoimmune diseases. Prof. Doron Kushnir will run advanced 3D supercomputer simulations of Type Ia supernovae in an effort to solve a decades-old mystery about what systems trigger these cosmic explosions and how they begin. Prof. Ofer Yizhar will study how oxytocin-producing neurons shape early-life brain circuits, sensory perception, learning and social behavior, with implications for neurodevelopmental disorders.
At the Hebrew University’s IMRIC, Prof. Yuval Dor and Dr. Agnieszka Kluszczynska are investigating the earliest steps in Type 1 diabetes, suggesting the disease may begin with internal metabolic disruption in beta cells rather than viral infection. Their ERC-funded work focuses on defects in RNA editing and aims to uncover mechanisms that could enable prevention before major pancreatic damage occurs. At the Technion and Rambam, Prof. Lior Gepstein will develop 3D human heart-tissue models combined with optogenetics to study and treat cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias.
