EASD welcomes Horizon 2020 health funding
Andrew Boulton, the president of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), has applauded the health research funding announced under Horizon 2020.
The association president said the work of the European Research Council (ERC) has been crucial to advancing scientific breakthroughs since its creation six years ago and will be key under the next research framework programme.
“With an €80bn budget, it is the EU’s main project aimed at funding research during the period 2014-2020. This however covers all areas of research, not just medical. The ERC has injected steadily more and more funds into research and its commitment has seen a rise from €300m in 2007 to an estimated €1.7bn in 2013. By the end of 2013, the ERC will have awarded, since 2007, approximately 5,000 grants, supported more than 10,000 doctoral students and more than 5,000 postdocs. It can also count five Nobel Prizes and three Fields Medallists to its accolade”.
Funding for the ERC will form part of the Excellent Science pillar of Horizon 2020, receiving an estimated €13bn over the seven years of Horizon 2020. Health research will also benefit from significant funding under the Societal Challenges pillar and from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
