{"id":5341,"date":"2025-06-18T09:47:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T08:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/?p=5341"},"modified":"2025-07-03T11:00:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T10:00:37","slug":"double-success-two-erc-advanced-grants-to-coe-key-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/news\/double-success-two-erc-advanced-grants-to-coe-key-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Double Success: Two ERC Advanced Grants to CoE Key Researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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CoE Deputy Director of Research, Christine Moissl-Eichinger<\/strong> (Medical University of Graz) has been awarded a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant to launch the project ARCH-METH: \u201cArchaeal keystone species in host microbiomes: Understanding and controlling Methanobrevibacter<\/em> for Environmental and Health Benefits.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With \u20ac2.5 million in funding over five years, ARCH-METH will explore the central role of archaea \u2013 ancient, often overlooked microorganisms \u2013 in shaping gut microbial networks and influencing human health and global methane emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of the project: Methanobrevibacter<\/em>, a genus that acts as a microbial \u201chub\u201d in the gut ecosystem and plays a major role in methane production in ruminants. The project will develop innovative tools to understand and potentially steer these archaeal\u2013bacterial interactions for both therapeutic and environmental applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Press Release by MedUni Graz<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Moissl-Eichinger Lab<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Interview with Christine (in German)<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Photo credit: Med Uni Graz\/Wittmann<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CoE Key Researcher Dagmar Woebken<\/strong> (Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna) also secured a highly competitive ERC Advanced Grant for her project WinMicAct: \u201cWindows of microbial activity in deserts afforded by non-rain water.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we often think of deserts as lifeless, they’re home to resilient soil microorganisms that perform vital ecosystem functions, from cycling nutrients like carbon and nitrogen to storing water and preventing soil erosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dagmar and her national and international collaborators will now explore the crucial role of non-rainwater inputs – think dew and water vapor – in sustaining microbial life and preserving biodiversity in these arid landscapes. This cutting-edge research will provide essential insights into how desert ecosystems function, especially as climate change alters global rainfall patterns. Understanding these “windows of microbial activity” will be key to modeling the effects of climate change on dryland processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Press Release Uni Vienna (German only)<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Dagmar’s Uni Vienna Profile<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CoE Deputy Director Christine Moissl-Eichinger (MedUni Graz) and CoE Key Researcher Dagmar Woebken (Uni Vienna) each receive a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant in the latest funding round. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":5344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"wp-custom-template-news-post-without-featured-image","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5341"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5443,"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5341\/revisions\/5443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microplanet.at\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}