2026 ERC Starting Grants: the Max Planck winners
Nine Max Planck Society researchers, including four women, have been awarded European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants
Benedict Probst.
Nine early-career researchers from the Max Planck Society have been awarded prestigious Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC), receiving up to €1.5 million each to fund their groundbreaking work.
The funded projects span a diverse range of disciplines, from analysing CO₂ markets and corporate climate commitments, to advancing 3D mapping technologies used in the decommissioning of the Fukushima reactor. Other projects explore how animals navigate three-dimensional space, as well as the mysterious origins of transmissible cancers in cockles.
Through the Starting Grants, the European Research Council supports early-stage scientists as they establish independent research teams and pursue high-risk, high-reward ideas. The funding, which will total 705 million euros in 2026, helps them build their own teams and implement creative ideas across all disciplines
This year, the ERC received 4,807 applications from across Europe, 421 of which were approved. This corresponds to a success rate of nine per cent. With nine successful grants, the Max Planck Society ranks fourth in Europe, behind the University of Zurich and the University of Copenhagen with 10 grants each. As in previous years, the French CNRS takes first place with 19 grants, followed by the Helmholtz Association with 11 grants.
Alongside the overall funding rate, the proportion of women researchers across Europe has also declined slightly: this year, 41 per cent of the total grants were awarded to women scientists, compared to 42 per cent in the previous year. At Max Planck, the proportion of funded women scientists stands at 44 per cent.
This year’s ERC Starting Grants go to:
Chemistry, Physics and Technology
- Thomas Leimkühler, MPI for Informatics
- Stephanie Möllmert, Max Planck Centre for Physics and Medicine
- Fabian Voigt, MPI for the Physics of Light
- Yiting Xia, MPI for Informatics
Biology and Medicine
- Philipp Brand, MPI for Brain Research
- Alicia Bruzos, MPI for Marine Microbiology
- Romy Lorenz, MPI for Biological Cybernetics
- Andrija Sente, MPI for Molecular Physiology
Humanities and Social Sciences