ERC Proof of Concept Grant for Gautam Dey’s evolutionary biology cell research
EMBL Group Leader Gautam Dey has been awarded a €150,000 European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept Grant to develop a technology that could transform how scientists study and engineer cells.
Gautam Dey, ERC Proof of Concept grant awardee, announced in June 2026. Credit: Kinga Lubowiecka/EMBL
Gautam Dey, Group Leader at EMBL Heidelberg, has secured a €150,000 ERC Proof of Concept Grant to advance a novel technology that will remodel how scientists study and engineer cells.
Awarded exclusively to researchers who have previously received an ERC grant, the Proof of Concept Grants will empower this year’s 182 selected scientists to take the next step from discovery to application. The funding supports exploration of the societal or commercial potential of research findings, enabling promising ideas to be developed into tangible products or technologies that can benefit society.
Combining AI and a light-activated gel to select cells by sight
The Dey Group’s new ERC-funded project combines microscopy, artificial intelligence (AI), and a light-activated gel to identify and isolate cells based on how they look. In other words, scientists will study their internal organisation, shape and even their behaviour. By repeating this process over many generations, researchers can guide the evolution of cells towards almost any visible trait, opening up new possibilities for studying and engineering cells.
“I feel like society could benefit from investing in open-ended, fundamental discovery research,” said Dey. “Equally important is creating mechanisms that allow research to rapidly prototype and spin out real-world applications when unexpected discoveries arise. I’m thrilled that this grant enables us to pursue both ambitions in parallel.”
The grant will support the recruitment of a technician, microscopy experiments, specialist chemistry, and the development of robust microfluidic systems capable of running continuous evolution experiments over many months. The group will also benefit from the expertise of EMBLEM, EMBL’s technology transfer arm, to explore pathways towards commercialisation and broader adoption.
This approach could accelerate the development of improved production processes for cell-based medicines and other biotechnology applications. Because the platform functions as a general-purpose technology, it can drive progress across many areas of life science research and innovation.
