Two young, promising researchers from VU Amsterdam receive Rubicon grants from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
This grant allows recently promoted scientists to spend up to 24 months doing research at a foreign research institution. The amount of funding depends on the chosen destination and length of stay.
Biologist en toxicologist Mátyás Bittenbinder receives the grant for his research: Poisons on the move: How invasive cane toads adapt their chemical defenses in response to new ecological frontiers.
The cane toad is a highly toxic amphibian that offers a unique model to study toxin evolution under new selection pressures. This project investigates whether invasive populations show altered toxin profiles compared to native populations, exploring adaptive changes driven by predation, habitat and ecological interactions to understand toxin variability and evolution.
Cognitive psychologist Dock Duncan receives the grant for his research: Biased competition 2.0: how experience shapes the visual system.
Often, we find ourselves paying attention to things we did not intend to pay attention to—like noticing red cars everywhere after recently shopping for one. Using state-of-the-art brain imaging tools, this project proposes to investigate how our past visual experiences influence what captures our attention, updating foundational theories of how vision works in the brain.
Rubicon grant
The grant enables young researchers to do research at a foreign institute that offers the best environment for their research. The amount of funding depends on the chosen destination and the duration of the stay. Per year, NWO and ZonMw can fund around 60 young researchers (for a total amount of around 9 million euros, spread over 3 rounds). The allocations from this post concern the second funding round in 2025.