Twenty-two top European grants from the European Research Council (ERC) - the ERC Starting Grants - are going to Bavarian universities, with a large portion going to projects in the fields of medicine/health, life sciences, and biotechnology: the funding is going to Bamberg, Erlangen, München, Nuremberg und Würzburg. The Technische Hochschule München (TUM) is the most successful university in Germany with eight grants, closely followed by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in second place with seven.
Bavaria’s top young researchers are continuing their winning streak: For the fifth consecutive year, the Free State of Bavaria ranks first in Germany for the prestigious ERC Starting Grants. A total of 22 of these coveted European research grants for 2026 are going to early-career researchers at Bavarian universities, with the majority supporting projects in the fields of medicine, life sciences, and biotechnology.
The two Munich universities of excellence are performing particularly well: The Technical University of Munich (TUM) leads the nation with eight grants, followed by Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) with seven. By comparison, twelve ERC Starting Grants are going to North Rhine-Westphalia, and nine to Baden-Württemberg. According to Bavarian Minister of Science Blume, this makes “Bavaria Germany’s talent incubator for cutting-edge research.”
The following researchers at Bavarian universities have been awarded ERC Starting Grants in the 2026 selection round:
Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg
University Hospital Erlangen
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
- DORA, Jonas: CODED: Cross-Context Computational Models of Emotional Decision-Making in Alcohol Use
- MARIMON, Mireia: BASIS: Babies' inner speech
- PEKAYVAZ, Kami: I-CLEAR: Immunothrombolysis: deCoding neutrophiL Engagement in Active thrombus Resolution
- TIEDT, Steffen: SURPASS: Super high-frequency multi-omics and ultrasensitive point-of-care testing towards a molecular classification of acute stroke
- SEIBOLD, Arthur: PENSIONREF: Pension Reforms for Aging Societies: Impact, Design, and Political Economy
- VOLK, Sophia Charlotte: COSCOM: Corporate Science Communication (COSCOM): Risks, Opportunities, Interventions
- WENDT, Ruth: DIGIREL: Adolescents’ Social Relationships and Well-Being in the Digital Age: Interstitial Communication Patterns and their Outcomes
Technische Universität München (TUM)
- DIRNBERGER, Florian: WAVES: Making waves with excitons and magnons
- DOWBAJ, Anna: AgingNiche: Niche and progenitor relationship in the aging liver.
- EGERER, Monika: GardeningResilience: Biodiversity interventions for human-nature synergies
- FISCHER, Fabian: SISOTROP: Quantifying the Sink-Source-Balance of Tropical Forests in a Warming World
- GERNER, Romana: MicroMM: Microbiome-Driven Modulation of Immune Reconstitution and Vaccine Responsiveness in Multiple Myeloma Patients following Stem Cell Transplantation
- SIGMUND, Felix: BIO-CACHE: Bioengineered Integration and Organization of Cellular Archives into Confined Historical Entities
- VOGL, Tobias: QUCONAT: Quantum Communication in Natural Daylight Conditions
- WEGER, Violetta: CODES: Breaking Barriers in Code-Based Cryptography: Cryptanalysis of Decoding, Equivalence and Algebraic Structure
Klinikum der Technischen Universität München (TUM Klinikum)
- AFZALI, Ali Maisam: AXhaustMS: Astrocytic exhaustion underlies chronic progression in autoimmune inflammation of the central nervous system
- GRÜNEWALD, Julian: ONE2MANY: From n=1 to many: Scaling-up gene editing for future heart therapies
Technical University Nuremberg (UTN)
- FORTUIN, Vincent: AutoBayes: Unlocking Reliable Small-data AI through Bayesian Deep Learning
Julius-Maximilians-Universitty Würzburg (JMU)
University Hospital Würzburg
ERC Starting Grants are a prestigious European funding program for outstanding researchers at the beginning of their careers. The grants are awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) and, among other things, enable recipients to establish their own research teams. Outstanding research projects are generally funded with up to 1.5 million euros over a period of five years. A total of 421 projects will receive funding in the 2026 selection round, 89 of which are at institutions in Germany. This makes Germany the most successful participating country.
For more information, visit: ERC Starting Grants: €705 million to back Europe's next generation of researchers|ERC