Vici grants fund research on obesity, climate change, and brain health

A total of 39 prominent researchers have secured funding for the next five years through Vici grants from the Dutch Research Council (NWO), each worth up to 1.5 million euros. This round of awards goes to 21 men and 18 women.

The NWO allocates funding annually to promote scientific research. In recent years, about 30 leading researchers on average received a Vici grant. After freeing up additional resources, NWO awarded 43 grants last year, the highest number in at least 16 years.

Lars Tummers of Utrecht University has secured funding to examine why some people living in poverty fail to claim the benefits they are entitled to, and how policymakers can better support them. Meanwhile, Sander Veraverbeke of VU University Amsterdam will research how lightning-triggered wildfires in Arctic regions are accelerating the thawing of permafrost. He warns that these fires are occurring more often and with greater intensity. As permafrost thaws, it releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Esther Aarts of Radboud University in Nijmegen has been awarded funding to explore how gut-to-brain signaling contributes to obesity, including how these signals can make overeating feel rewarding. Valeria Gazzola of the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience will focus on how the brain processes aggression, while Jeannette Hofmeijer will investigate the precise neurological effects of oxygen deprivation following cardiac arrest.

The NWO operates three major research funding schemes. The Veni grant supports recently graduated PhDs with up to 320,000 euros. More experienced researchers can apply for a Vidi grant worth as much as 850,000 euros per person. The Vici grant is reserved for senior researchers.