The EU grants Umeå University researchers over SEK 66 million

HORIZON 2020

Calls, research projects and researchers

ERC Starting Grant

• Jonas Barandun at the Department of Molecular Biology is granted just over SEK 15 million for the project PolTube: A molecular model of the microsporidian infection apparatus. Using a combination of genetic, biochemical and structural biological tools, the project wants to answer how microsporidia can infect organisms as evloutionarily divergent as protists and mammals.
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Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks

• Francesca Aguilo at the Department of Molecular Biology is granted around SEK 2.8 million for the project ROPES: ROles of ePitranscriptomic in diseasES, which is a collaborative project between several European universities. The aim is to contribute to a further understanding of the function of RNA modifications in diseases. These modifications affect primary cell programs, such as cell differentiation and response to stress. Therefore, this emerging field is crucial for both basic science and application to human disease. The research group in Umeå will focus on the study of N6-methyladenosine (m6A), which is the most abundant internal modification in mRNA, and its role in breast cancer and metastasis.
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• Johan Redström at the Umeå Institute of Design is granted approximately SEK 8.5 million for the project D-CoDE: Fundamentals of Design Competence for Our Digital Future. The aim of this collaborative project, which includes several European universities, is to train tomorrow's design researchers and leaders so that they can shape and guide the digital transformation of society towards an inclusive, sustainable future. D-CoDe introduces so called "prototeams": groups of doctoral students from different disciplines who work together in real contexts to develop new design roles and methods, as well as the knowledge needed to support them.
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• Marlene Sandlund at the Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation is granted around SEK 2.8 million for the project Health CASCADE: Evidence-based co-creation methodology for bridging the implementation gap between knowledge and action in health promotion. This is a collaborative project between several European universities, aiming to foster the next generation of highly-trained research leaders to develop evidence based guiding principles, novel tools and new technologies to make co-creation an effective tool to fight complex public health problems through a European Joint Doctoral Programme.
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Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Individual Fellowships

• Himanshu Sharma and Jonas Barandun at the Department of Molecular Biology are granted around SEK 1.9 million for the project MsInfection: Mechanistic basis of host infection and intracellular development in microsporidia. The aim is to investigate the intriguing infection mechanism of microsporidia, a class of obligate parasites that infect almost all organisms, including bees, fish, farmed animals, and humans. The knowledge about critical events in the microsporidia lifecycle is vital in identifying potential drug targets to curb the growing menace of microsporidia infections.
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• Kerstin Seier and Marta Bally at the Department of Clinical Microbiology are granted around SEK 1.9 million for the project REMIND EBOV: Role of the mucin-like domain of the Ebola virus in modulating virus-glycosaminoglycan interactions. The aim of the project is to investigate how the interaction with glycosaminoglycans, cell-surface carbohydrates involved in the initial recruitment of the Ebola virus, are modulated. The project will lead to a better understanding of how viral particles migrate on the cell surface, and how the interactions function on a molecular level.
  
  
• Dario Conca and Marta Bally at the Department of Clinical Microbiology are granted around SEK 1.9 million for the project CoVentry: Multiscale study of the interactions between corona viruses of various pathogenicity and cell membrane components in the early stages of virus entry. The long term goal of this research is to understand why some coronaviruses cause severe diseases and others do not, and whether the characteristics of virus-membrane interactions play a role in this context.

Towards a vibrant European network of AI excellence centres

• Virginia Dignum at the Department of Computer Science is granted approximately SEK 3.4 million for the project HumanE-AI-Net: HumanE AI Network. The purpose of the project is to shape the ongoing AI revolution in a direction that is beneficial to people, at both the individual and societal level. The challenge is to develop robust, trustworthy AI systems that can "understand" humans, adapt to complex real-world environments and interact appropriately in social settings. HumanE-AI-Net strives to lay the foundations for designing principles that will make AI based on European values and closer to Europeans.
  Read more about HumanE-AI-Net

Boost rural economies through cross-sector digital service platforms

• Weizhuo Lu at the Department of Applied Physics and Electronics is granted SEK 5.8 million for the project AURORAL: Architecture for Unified Regional and Open digital ecosystems for Smart Communities and wider Rural Areas Large scale application. The overall objective is to boost rural economies through cross-sector digital service platforms that can adress technological shortcomings and match technology and people. The project will contribute to increased economic growth in rural areas and help tackle significant societal challenges.
  Read more about AURORAL

Implementation research for scaling up and transfer of innovative solutions involving digital tools for people-centred care

• Peter Nordström at the Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation is granted approximately SEK 700,000 for the project SEURO: Scaling EUROpean citizen driven transferable and transformative digital integrated health and social care. The aim is to evaluate key factors in preparing organizations, towns and regions across the EU to scale, maintain and transmit the ProACT digital health platform. The platform has been developed to give people over the age of 65 who are chronically ill, but who live at home, support in better understanding and managing their own health.
  Read more about SEURO

AI for Health Imaging

• Katrine Riklund at the Department of Radiation Sciences is granted approximately SEK 5.3 million for the project EuCanImage: A European Cancer Image Platform Linked to Biological and Health Data for Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence and Precision Medicine in Oncology. The aim of the project is to build a highly secure, federated and large-scale European cancer imaging platform, with capabilities that will greatly enhance the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in oncology.
  Read more about EuCanImage

Behavioural, social and economic impacts of the outbreak response

• Gunnar Malmberg at the Department of Geography is granted about SEK 3.7 million for the project SHARE-COVID19: Non-intended health, economic and social effects of the COVID-19 epidemic control decisions: Lessons from SHARE (SHARE-COVID19). The aim of the project is to understand non-intended consequences of the epidemic control decisions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic on health, economic and social situation of people aged 50+ in 28 European countries, and to devise improved health, economic and social policies.
  Read more about SHARE-COVID-19

Enhancing the Belmont Forum Collaborative Research Action on climate, environment and health

• Joacim Rocklöv at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine is granted approximately SEK 3.4 million for the project ENBEL: Enhancing Belmont Research Action to support EU policy making on climate change and health. The aim of the project is to bring together researchers from a wide and heterogeneous research area – public health effects of climate change – through various networking activities, including organizing a large conference.
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Technologies for first responders

• Lina Gyllencreutz at the Department of Nursing is granted about SEK 5,3 million for the project MED1stMR: Medical First Responder Training using a Mixed Reality Approach featuring haptic feedback for enhanced realism. The purpose of the project is to prepare medical first responders to handle complex incidents with many injured by using Mixed Reality training with haptic feedback.
  Read more about MED1stMR

Addressing radicalization through social inclusion

• Valerie de Marinis at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine is granted about SEK 2.1 million for the project DRIVE: Determining multi-level led causes and testing intervention designs to reduce radicalisation, extremism and political violence in north-western Europe through social inclusion. The aim of the project is to produce a range of policy-orientated research findings to better understand how social inclusion impacts on radicalisation for far right and Islamist groups in different parts of North-Western Europe, the targeted groups and geographical focus of this project.
  Read more about DRIVE

Open schooling and collaboration on science education

• Christina Ottander at the Department of Science and Mathematics Education was granted about SEK 2.2 million for the project MULTIPLIERS: Multiplayers’ partnerships to ensure meaningful engagement with science and research. The aim of the project is to develop, test and evaluate teaching in science based on authentic questions about contemporary challenges. The teaching will integrate learning in science with exploratory work, development of the ability to identify conflicts of interest, critically examine and take a stand. The authentic cases should arouse the students' personal commitment and the teaching should capture the role of science and the natural scientist in the complex reality we live in.