Prof. Dr. Seda Keskin Avcı Wins EUR 2 Million Grant from ERC

Prof. Dr. Seda Keskin Avcı's new STARLET project, which earned a EUR 2 million grant from the European Research Council (ERC) with TUBITAK support, shows promise in critical areas such as fighting cancer and slowing global warming. Koç University was the only Turkish university to receive European Research Council (ERC) support this year. Prof. Dr. Seda Keskin Avcı, a faculty member in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Koç University, which hosts 28 of the 50 ERC projects in Turkey, is known for her work on metal-organic frameworks, also known as MOFs. These sponge-like porous structures, discovered approximately 10-15 years ago, represent a relatively young technology. Scientists today continue to develop these molecules and expand their numbers with new combinations for use in many fields, from capturing water molecules in deserts to more efficiently distributing electricity in vehicles and trapping carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. With her 2017 ERC project COSMOS, Prof. Dr. Seda Keskin Avcı developed computer simulations to obtain faster results from these materials, which could take years to test in the laboratory. With COSMOS, Prof. Dr. Seda Keskin Avcı became the first female researcher from Turkey to receive ERC Starting Support in engineering. This time, she became the recipient of the first consolidator project from Turkey to receive support from the general engineering panel (PE8). Prof. Dr. Seda Keskin Avcı's TUBITAK-supported "STARLET: Atomistic Modelling of Advanced Porous Materials for Energy, Environmental and Biomedical Applications" project, which received a EUR 2 million grant, aims to discover the most suitable materials through MOFs for cancer treatments, clean energy storage, toxic gas capture and combating global warming. The project, which represents the next step in previous research conducted at Koç University on this subject, aims to determine the performance of MOFs in different applications by combining atomic calculations, molecular simulations, data science methods and experimental studies. This work, which will create a comprehensive materials intelligence ecosystem, aims to utilize the potential of MOFs in energy, environmental and biomedical applications more efficiently in a short timeframe. The project will run for 5 years within Koç University. [caption id="attachment_158191" align="aligncenter"] Prof. Dr. Seda Keskin Avcı[/caption]

Prof. Dr. Seda Keskin Avcı shared the following details about her project:

"In this project, we will focus on 10 critical molecules to address the world's fundamental societal problems: hydrogen and methane for clean energy storage using MOFs; ammonia, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide for toxic gas capture and combating global warming; fluorouracil, methotrexate as carriers in anti-cancer drug therapy, and we will investigate the storage and distribution properties of nitrogen and oxygen molecules within MOFs for biomedical applications. One of the project's greatest global benefits will be the establishment of the world's first database in this field. This database will contain the guest molecule storage and transport properties of millions of MOFs. Within the scope of STARLET, design guidelines will also be created for high-performance MOFs to encourage the discovery of new materials."

ERC by the numbers

STARLET is one of 308 projects selected from 2,130 applications this year and was deemed worthy of EUR 2 million support by the ERC. Of the 50 ERC grants received by Turkey, 28 are being conducted by Koç University faculty members. Of these, 20 received main project support, and 8 received Proof of Concept support, an additional ERC grant for commercialization purposes. To date, of the projects receiving ERC support within Koç University, 18 consist of research in engineering, 7 in social sciences and 3 in molecular biology and genetics.

What is ERC support?

The European Research Council (ERC) is Europe's most prestigious and recognized institution in the scientific field, providing support for the most original and innovative scientific research. Unlike other funds provided by the European Union, ERC support is awarded to a single researcher rather than a research group, institution or consortium. The person receiving the project has the right to carry this project to any institution of their choice across Europe. ERC projects have three programs for researchers at different stages of their careers. The first is for 0-7 years after the doctorate (Starting – EUR 1.5 million), the second is for 7-12 years (Consolidator – EUR 2 million) and the third is for those conducting advanced research 12 years and beyond (Advanced – EUR 2.5 million). To date, seven researchers who have received ERC support have also been deemed worthy of the Nobel Prize in their fields.