ERC Proof of Concept Grants awarded to Vienna BioCenter Researchers
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS)
Thomas Böttcher
PhageTRAP - A Device for Phage Capture and Release
In his ERC PoC PhageTRAP project chemist Thomas Böttcher proposes a modular platform that selectively captures and releases phages using synthetic recognition motifs. Validated on clinically relevant and environmental phages, this approach integrates chemistry and microbiology to enable scalable purification, high-throughput screening, and rational selection of phages. PhageTRAP has strong translational potential, with clear industrial, clinical, and commercial applications.
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Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA)
Nicolas Rivron
BLASTOID-FERTILITY - Human Blastoid-Based Platform for Post-Implantation IVF Optimization and Therapeutic Screening
Blastoids are stem cell-derived in vitro models of early human development that recapitulate key features of the human embryo, offering an ethical and scalable research system without the use of embryos. With the support of the ERC’s prestigious Proof of Concept scheme, Rivron and postdoc Emiel van Genderen will further develop a blastoid-based platform to model post-implantation stages and to screen naturally occurring molecules that could improve early developmental success — addressing a major challenge in fertility and assisted reproductive technologies.
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