The Synergy grants are the most competitive of all the prestigious ERC research grant schemes. They support a small group of two to four Principal Investigators to jointly address ambitious research problems that could not be addressed by the individual Principal Investigators and their teams working alone. Synergy projects are expected to enable substantial advances at the frontiers of knowledge. The transformative research funded by Synergy Grants should have the potential of becoming a benchmark on a global scale.

Cristina Brito and her 3 colleagues received a total of 10.5 M € to carry out the 4-Oceans project. The research will focus on the human history of extraction, knowledge, drivers and consumption of marine resources.

34 grants were awarded this year. 4-Oceans is the second SyG grant to be awarded to a researcher working in Portugal.

Cristina Brito is an Assistant Professor at NOVA FCSH. Her research focus on early modern environmental history and the history of european expansion. She is currently director of CHAM – Centre for the Humanities (NOVA FCSH), member of the board of the international organization OPI – Oceans Past Initiative, and executive coordinator of the UNESCO Chair on Oceans’ Cultural Heritage.

Portugal has received so far 121 ERC Grants, including all types of grants (StG, CoG, AdG, SyG and PoC).

The ERC Program will continue to exist in the same format and with the same rules in the new European Framework Programme Horizon Europe. Information on ERC calls can be found here.