Success of Dr. Zuzana Sumbalova Koledova in the first round of ERC Consolidator Grant evaluation

Dr. Zuzana Sumbalova Koledova, the head of the research group on Mechanisms of epithelial morphogenesis at the Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, has achieved another success. This ambitious and hard-working scientist, awarded with the Award of the Czech Minister of Health for medical science and research (2021) and the MUNI SCIENTIST Award for outstanding research results (2020), has succeeded in the first round of the ERC Consolidator Grant proposal evaluation, and has advanced to the second round - she will undergo an online interview with a panel of evaluators in November 2022.

The FIBROFORCE project on Deciphering the role of fibroblast mechanical forces in epithelial morphogenesis aims to lay the foundations for the development of effective therapies against pathological functions of myofibroblasts underlying fibrosis and cancer, two devastating diseases that represent a global health burden. The budget of €2 million for five years would allow Dr. Sumbalova Koledova to focus on her research topic without major concerns about research funding.

Advancing to the second round is a great success, all the more because most applicants from the Czech Republic are currently rejected in the first phase of the evaluation. Therefore, Dr. Sumbalova Koledova will be preparing intensively for the interview with the expert panel, counting on a strong support of FM MU management.

Firstly, she will undergo a mock interview for ERC Consolidator grant applicants organised by the Technology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences together with the Expert Group for Supporting ERC applicants, and secondly, she will be preparing with the support of the RMU Grant Office.

Each year, the ERC selects the awardees from thousands of applications from across the European Union. A panel of up to 20 top scientists from around the world, using solicited opinions from other experts and personal interviews, will select only about 13 percent of the submitted proposals to receive funding.

Nevertheless, we believe that the scientific excellence of Dr. Sumbalova Koledova's research, the originality of her research and the potential to achieve truly groundbreaking results will be duly recognized and Dr. Sumbalova Koledova will become the first recipient of this grant at the MU Faculty of Medicine.