Four University of Copenhagen researchers awarded major EU grants

A few top researchers at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) can look forward to a significant financial boost from the European Research Council (ERC).

They have secured an ERC Advanced Grant — a research grant that supports free, curiosity-driven research and is considered one of the most prestigious of its kind in the EU.

Each researcher receives up to DKK 20 million to pursue their own ideas and to expand their research group over a period of up to five years.

The ERC Advanced Grant comes with several conditions: It is awarded primarily on the basis of a project’s originality and groundbreaking potential. In addition, recipients must document substantial research achievements over the past decade and have demonstrated the ability to lead a major research programme.

Four of the Danish researchers awarded an ERC Advanced Grant this year are based at UCPH out of a total eight researchers who received the grant.

Boosts confidence

Peter Brodersen is one of the four UCPH researchers whose application was successful.

He is a professor of RNA biology at the Faculty of Science, and his research includes exploring how plants protect themselves against viral infections.

His lab recently made a breakthrough when researchers discovered that plants have not just one, but two distinct strategies for fighting viruses inside their cells. Peter Brodersen hopes this discovery will open new avenues for combating diseases in agricultural crops — so that plants themselves can withstand the viruses.

»Viral attacks pose serious problems for fruit and vegetable production in the tropics and subtropics. We believe our brand-new insights into the basic antiviral immune system of plants — which we are working to uncover — could help tip the scales in favour of the plants, allowing them to eliminate viruses on their own,« he says.

This is not the first time Peter Brodersen has received an ERC grant. He was awarded a Starting Grant in 2011 and a Consolidator Grant in 2016, but this new award is something that really boosts his confidence.

»The grant provides, first and foremost, a financial stability that allows us to pursue our research goals in a wholehearted and ambitious way. It feels good and absolutely right. And an ERC Advanced Grant is also a kind of scientific seal of approval. Everyone appreciates receiving recognition — and I am no exception to this,« says Peter Brodersen.

Social sciences well represented

The three other recipients from the University of Copenhagen are also professors — all based at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Christian F. Rostbøll is investigating, through the MoPo project, how morality plays an increasingly prominent role in modern politics — for instance in cancel culture — and how morality can both weaken and strengthen democracy.

Rebecca Adler-Nissen, through her Techorder project, is exploring the geopolitical battles shaping the emerging global technological order. The project will include mapping out of hierarchies, cultures, and rivalries that could come to define the future world order.

Victoria Southgate’s project, Selfie, seeks to uncover the conditions under which self-awareness can emerge in children — already within the first year of life.

The fact that three of this year’s prize recipients are based at the Faculty of Social Sciences has had Associate Dean of Research Mads Jæger stating, in a press release, that this demonstrates how his faculty has become a leading player in excellent basic research.

This article was first written in Danish and published on 30 June 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.