Fapes joined the European call and will support a project from Espírito Santo with €6,000.

Research from Espírito Santo reaches Europe. The final results of the ERC 2025 Call, which supports Brazilian PhD researchers in projects funded by the European Research Council, have been announced. Among the 19 approved projects, one is from Espírito Santo and will receive €6,000 from the State Government, through the Espírito Santo Research and Innovation Support Foundation (Fapes), to be carried out at the University of Cantabria, in Spain.

The project titled “Nanoparticles in Situ Surface Growth for Direct Fabrication of Functional Patterned Nanomaterials (NANOGROWDIR ECT)” will be coordinated in Brazil by Jairo Pinto de Oliveira, a professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Ufes) in the field of Nano and Biotechnology. The research is part of the ERC panel on Synthetic Chemistry and Materials.

“Our project aims to develop a new generation of optical biosensors that are more sensitive and portable, with potential applications in food safety and public health,” explained the Ufes professor.

“The support from Fapes is essential because it enables a strategic international collaboration with a leading research group in Europe, allowing not only access to advanced infrastructure but also the generation of high-level knowledge. This type of funding is crucial to strengthening research in Espírito Santo, expanding Ufes’s international presence, and generating solutions with real societal impact,” the researcher added.

The selection process was supported by Brazilian state research foundations (FAPs), through participation in the international call. In Espírito Santo, Fapes allocated €18,000 to fund up to three projects from the state. The funding comes from the Espírito Santo Science and Technology Fund (Funcitec).

“It is very rewarding to see yet another project from Espírito Santo approved in an international call. Supporting cooperation between countries and strengthening research networks is one of Fapes’ priorities. This result demonstrates the strength of scientific production in Espírito Santo and our capacity to operate and generate knowledge at the international level,” said Fapes Director-General Rodrigo Varejão.

What is the ERC Call?

The call is conducted under the Implementing Arrangement (IA) signed between the European Commission and the National Council of State Research Funding Agencies (Confap) in October 2016, within the framework of the Horizon 2020 program, and currently in force under the Horizon Europe (2021–2027) program.

Press Information:
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