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Grill Lab receives ERC Starting Investigator Grant

The European Research Council (ERC) announced the outcome of its fifth competition for Starting Investigator Grants. Out of 4080 submissions, the ERC will fund 480 proposals (by principal investigators of 38 nationalities) at host institutions in 21 different countries. Among them is Stephan Grill, joint research group leader at the MPI-CBG and the MPI of the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS), with his project "Emergent Active Mechanical Behaviour of the Actomyosin Cell Cortex”.

The goal of the research is to better understand intracellular mechanics and the forces that shape cells, which drive them to differentiate into certain cell types with specific functions. The mechanics of cells and tissues are a crucial component of the development of any organism. “It is the intricate interplay between biological and mechanical processes that gives our and any other organism its form and its function”, ” says Stephan Grill, adding: “We do not understand much about it. But it is clear that the physics of living matter will play a major role in the development of the medical applications of the future.”

Grill’s group will receive 1.5 million Euros from the ERC over a period of five years.