Dr. Miklós Geiszt from Semmelweis University’s Department of Physiology and Dr. Andrea Fekete from the Joint Research Group for Paediatrics and Nephrology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS) and Semmelweis University, have been awarded research grants through the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’s Momentum Programme. Dr. Geiszt’s research is concerned with the production and effects of reactive oxygen species, while Dr. Fekete’s research seeks to uncover the causes of Diabetes and examine new possibilities for its cure.
Established in 2009 by HAS President Dr. József Pálinkás, the Momentum Programme is one of Hungary’s most successful initiatives aimed at recognising and providing incentives for scientific excellence and productivity. Its mission is two-fold: to prevent the braindrain of the nation’s most valuable scientists on the one hand, and to support research groups that promise tangible, almost sure results on the other.
For the first time this year, participation in the programme has been extended to universities, while the amount of available grant money has doubled compared with previous years, totalling 600 million forints (approximately EUR 2.2 million). This amount will enable 16 outstanding researchers to form their own independent research groups, which will receive financial support from HAS for a period of five years.
Researchers can apply for Momentum Programme grants in two categories, based on their age: the first category is open to young, promising research group leaders, while the second is meant for eminent professor-researchers who have consistently demonstrated outstanding results, even in the international arena.
Counting this year’s winners, there are now a total of 28 preeminent scientists conducting internationally competitive research through Momentum Programme grants.
(Translated by Gina Gönczi)
