Neuropsychologist Katharina Henke and evolutionary biologist Katie Peichel are each receiving a highly endowed SNSF Advanced Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Their research projects deal with the ability to remember despite amnesia and the predictability of evolution.
With the SNSF Advanced Grants, the Swiss National Science Foundation supports researchers with a track record of outstanding research over the past ten years, who are recognized as leaders in their fields. Researchers who wish to conduct innovative, high-risk research in Switzerland are funded. SNSF Advanced Grants provide funding of up to CHF 2.5 million for a maximum period of five years.
The SNSF Advanced Grants were launched in 2021 to provide an interim solution for researchers wishing to apply for an ERC Advanced Grant under Horizon Europe. Researchers from Swiss institutions are currently unable to apply for ERC grants as Switzerland is considered a non-associated third country in the EU’s "Horizon Europe" research program.
Successful projects for research into memory and evolution
In the current call for proposals, Katharina Henke, professor at the Institute of Psychology, and Catherine (Katie) Peichel, Director of the Evolutionary Ecology division at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, two researchers at the University of Bern, are receiving such a highly endowed grant. The research projects deal with the ability to remember despite severe memory disorders and the predictability of evolution, respectively.
"Both research projects are extremely innovative. I am delighted that these two renowned scientists were successful in applying for this important research grant by the SNSF," says Hugues Abriel, Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Bern. "However, it is worrying that researchers from Switzerland are still unable to apply for ERC grants. Research relies on networking and international cooperation."
