Bilkent Researchers Awarded Prestigious European Grants
Assistant Professor Michelle Adams of the Department of Psychology and Assistant Professor Ebru Erbay of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics were awarded the prestigious 2010 European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Installation Grant and the European Commission Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant, respectively. These grants, regarded amongst the most prestigious in the European Research Area, reflect the internationally competitive nature of the research endeavors at Bilkent University and provide an invaluable impetus for scientific excellence.
Michelle Adams
Dr. Adams received a 2010 Installation Grant from the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). Dr. Adams, one of six life science researchers who received the honor, will use the award amount to continue her work regarding caloric restriction and aging. These grants are designed to help new researchers set up their research groups in Europe.
Dr. Adams is part of the fifth group of awardees since the EMBO introduced this grant in 2006. EMBO Installation Grants are awarded annually and aim to strengthen science in selected member states of the EMBC, the intergovernmental funding body of EMBO. EMBC Member States hosting the grantees finance the grants entirely. EMBC Member States include Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, and Turkey. Each scientist receives 50,000 Euros annually for three to five years to help her/him establish groups in the European scientific community. "We welcome these six talented researchers to the EMBO community as recipients of the 2010 EMBO Installation Grants," said Gerlind Wallon, EMBO deputy director and program manager. "They represent a promising scientific future for the countries receiving them and for Europe as a whole. The secure financial backing of their host countries and the support of the EMBO community will foster their scientific and professional development."
Michelle Adams received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University. Dr. Adams has an excellent publication record with 24 peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as numerous conferences presentations, and her work has been cited over 1500 times.
Ebru Erbay
Dr. Erbay received a 2010 Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant from the European Commission.
The Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant is given to experienced scientists returning to the European Union and associated states to initiate their research groups and laboratories. Experienced scientists can apply for the Marie Curie Reintegration Grant to carry out their research on any topic. One of these grants were awarded to Dr. Erbay (from more than 750 applicants in 2010). This funding will support Dr. Erbay's research program for four years, during which she will initiate molecular studies on the pathogenesis and new therapeutic approaches for Cardiometabolic Syndrome in her new laboratory in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. The funded investigators will receive 100,000 Euros in 4 years to assist in forming their new research groups and laboratories.
Ebru Erbay received her M.D. from Ankara University, Faculty of Medicine, a Ph.D. in Cell and Structural Biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and postdoctoral training at the Harvard University's School of Public Health. In the past Ebru Erbay has received a prestigious mentored career award from the National Institutes of Health - National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and a fellowship from the American Heart Association. Dr. Erbay has an excellent publication record, articles published in prestigious journals such as Nature Medicine and Nature Reviews Immunology, as well as numerous conferences presentations.