With the Vici grant, researchers can develop an innovative research line over the next five years and further expand their research group. Each researcher receives a maximum of 1.5 million euros. Vici is one of the largest individual scientific grants in the Netherlands and is aimed at advanced researchers. This funding instrument enables researchers to conduct research of their own choosing, giving a boost to innovative scientific research.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is proud of the adventurous, talented, and groundbreaking researchers who clearly demonstrate the impact of scientific research with their research proposals. The laureates are, in alphabetical order:
Neuroscientist Martijn van den Heuvel receives the Vici for his research BrainDiversity: Biodiversity and human evolution of cognitive brain networks.
We humans have a large brain and advanced cognitive abilities. But is it just the size that makes us this smart? There are many animals with small brains that are also intelligent, as well as many animals with larger brains that do not surpass humans in intelligence. Which parts of human brains are actually unique? Van den Heuvel compares the human brain to those of other animals and studies how unique adaptations to our brain may have given rise to our unique cognitive abilities.
Professor of Neuropsychiatry Odile van den Heuvel receives the Vici for her research Neuroplasticity in obsessive-compulsive disorder: from lifespan changes to better treatment outcomes. (Re)shaping the compulsive brain
How the brain shapes during development contributes to the risk to develop obsessive-compulsive disorder, characterized by repetitive thoughts and behaviours. Chronic symptoms, by the power of repetition, can also shape the involved brain circuits. The brain is ‘plastic’. By intensive behavioural therapy and magnetic brain stimulation, we can ‘re-shape’ the brain. Since everybody (including their brain) is different, the treatment effect will be best, when optimally aligned to the profile of the individual.
Professor of Psychology and Infectious Diseases Joshua Tybur receives the Vici for his research Moral Disgust: A Cognitive Science Perspective (MORDISGUST).
Most scientists agree that the emotion disgust evolved to help guard against infectious disease threats. But people also seem to naturally and intuitively experience disgust toward crooked politicians, greedy landlords, and friends-turned-foes. Scientists have yet to fully understand this connection between disgust and morality. In this project, researchers will examine disgust toward moral transgressions across dozens of countries with diverse cultures, languages, and moral values. Results will help scientists better understand how disgust impacts moral judgments, and how moral judgments impact disgust.
NWO Talent Programme
The goal of the NWO Talent Programmes is to create space for adventurous, talented, and groundbreaking researchers, allowing them to conduct research of their choice, develop their own research line, and further cultivate their talents.
The Vici target group consists of researchers in the phase of consolidating and further developing their leadership and research group. The Vici grant can support their development in these areas. Researchers eligible for a Vici grant demonstrate academic excellence that clearly exceeds the norm and possess established leadership and mentoring qualities.
The Vici grant is intended to fund scientifically innovative research, enabling these researchers to expand their research group and further develop their research trajectory.
Read more on the NWO website.