Bern, Nov 06, 2025.- The two scientists Wanda Kukulski and Paola Luciani from the University of Bern are part of two research teams that have each been awarded a prestigious ERC Synergy Grant. The funding enables them to advance groundbreaking projects in international collaboration in the fields of cell biology and drug delivery.
The ERC Synergy Grants are among the most renowned and prestigious grants of the European Research Council (ERC). They are supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program. Researchers from Switzerland were able to apply for the highly competitive ERC research funding again for the first time in summer 2024, from which they had been excluded since 2021. This was made possible by the progress made in the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU. Switzerland’s association with Horizon Europe is to be officialized at the end of the year.
Cutting-edge research thanks to pooled expertise
ERC Synergy Grants support small groups of two to four researchers to jointly address ambitious research problems that could not be tackled by the individual researchers alone. The grants are endowed with up to 10 million euros per project and offer researchers the opportunity to expand their teams and realize projects over a period of six years.
Of the 712 applications submitted in last year’s call for Synergy Grants, a total of 66 projects were funded. 25% of the researchers involved in the funded projects are women. «We are extremely pleased that two outstanding female researchers from the University of Bern are carrying out important synergy projects together with international teams as part of the ERC Synergy Grants,» says Hugues Abriel, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at the University of Bern. «This also sends an important and encouraging signal to all young women researchers in Bern and beyond,» adds Abriel.
Pioneering work at the interface of cell biology and technology
The research of Prof. Dr. Wanda Kukulski from the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bern and her team focuses on mitochondria, multifunctional organelles which are much more than just the power plants of the cell – and their interactions with other cell organelles. These interactions take place at so-called membrane contact sites, which are crucial for the exchange of molecules and signals. «The aim of the MitoContact project is to gain an in-depth understanding of the function, architecture and dynamics of these contact sites,» explains Wanda Kukulski. She adds: «By combining state-of-the-art technologies such as chemical biology, live fluorescence imaging and 3D electron microscopy, we can precisely target and visualize molecular events that underlie the functionality of cells. This will fill key knowledge gaps on molecular mechanisms and can open the door for novel therapeutic strategies.»
The research of Prof. Dr. Paola Luciani from the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Bern aims to develop groundbreaking solutions in the field of drug delivery. «Many promising therapeutic molecules cannot be used because they are unable to cross the protective cell membrane and therefore do not reach their targets inside of the cell. This is a key hurdle in developing new treatments for diseases like cancer,» explains Luciani. «With the CARAMEL project, we can combine our expertise to develop a fundamentally new mechanism for cellular transport. This could revolutionize our understanding of membrane transport mechanisms and pave the way for a new class of therapies,» concludes Luciani.