ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to exceptional researchers with a minimum of seven years of experience after their PhD dissertation and with substantial scientific results behind them that testify to a promising research career. Each ERC Consolidator Grant is on average EUR 2 million.

In the Physical Sciences and Engineering category, Associate Professor Thomas Poulsen from the Department of Chemistry received DKK 15 million (EUR 2 million) for his Recypion project to examine a class of naturally occurring molecules called polyether ionophores.

Polyether ionophores are substances with powerful antibiotic activity, and they also have that effect on bacteria that have developed resistance to many known types of antibiotics. Unfortunately, the substances also have negative and unexplored effects that can make them toxic.

- We want to try to develop entirely new chemical methods to produce artificial polyether ionophores in an attempt to improve the pharmacological potential of the substances. In addition, we’ll be setting up a number of experiments to give us unprecedented insight into how polyether ionophores work in cellular systems, says Thomas Poulsen.

A total of three researchers from Aarhus University are receiving ERC Consolidator Grant:

• Professor Jacob Bentzon, Department of Clinical Medicine (HEALTH)
• Associate professor Thomas Bjørnskov Poulsen, Department of Chemistry (Science and Technology)
• Professor Rune Slothuus, Department of Political Science (BSS)

Contact

Associate Professor Thomas Poulsen
Department of Chemistry - Organic Chemistry 

Email: thpou@chem.au.dk
Mobile: +4561141844