Four Leiden researchers receive ERC Advanced Grant
From social inequalities in prehistory to placebo effects in medical treatments. Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million to develop their research.
Social inequalities in late prehistoric Cyprus
The consolidation of social inequalities in prehistory remains poorly understood. In this project, Professor Bleda Düring will apply innovative mixed methods to datasets from late prehistoric Cyprus (4000-1700 BCE) to reconstruct how social inequalities were first consolidated. Decades of research on Cyprus have produced rich datasets from settlements and cemeteries, showing clear transformations in the articulation of social inequalities. This project will contribute to broader discussions on this key development in global history.
How the context matters with medical treatments
When people expect a treatment to work, it often does – even if the treatment itself is not particularly effective. This placebo effect arises from people’s conscious or unconscious expectations. A powerful example is pharmacological conditioning, in which the body responds to a placebo with the same reactions as to a previously administered drug. On the other hand, the expectation that a treatment will not work, based on previous negative treatment experiences, can reduce the effectiveness of that treatment. In the five-year ‘CONTEXT MATTERS’ project, Professor Andrea Evers will investigate how automatic bodily responses and conscious expectations influence treatment outcomes. She will examine whether earlier negative treatment experiences affect how a person responds to treatments and whether psychological training methods or pharmacological strategies can positively influence these outcomes. The findings may lead to treatments that require less medication, are more effective, cause fewer side effects and reduce healthcare costs.
Don’t Worry, Beta Happy: new strategies for a potential cure for type 1 diabetes
Professor Bart Roep (LUMC) and his team will research how to make insulin-producing beta cells ‘invisible’ with type 1 diabetes. Their groundbreaking approach will focus on reducing beta cell stress and protecting these cells from the immune system. Roep’s research combines scientific innovation with technological ingenuity, translating these insights into personalised care, all with one ultimate mission: to fundamentally transform the lives of people with type 1 diabetes.
Climate adaptation from the community
Diana Suhardiman, Professor of Natural Resource Governance, Climate and Equity at Leiden University and Director of the KITLV, has recieved an ERC Advanced Grant for her research on grassroots climate adaptation. In her project, she will study how local communities in Southeast Asia deal with climate change through their own institutions and knowledge practices. Historical and ethnographic research will enable her to map how these local adaptation strategies develop in relation to broader power structures. The project contributes to just and inclusive climate governance at multiple scales.
ERC Advanced Grants are awarded annually to established principal investigators. This year’s funding, worth EUR 721 million in total, is going to 281 researchers throughout Europe.