Chemist Ryan Gilmour receives "ERC Proof of Concept Grant"
Funding for research transfer: organic chemist Prof. Ryan Gilmour from the University of Münster has been awarded a prestigious Proof of Concept Grant, worth 150,000 euros, from the European Research Council (ERC). The aim of the grant is to support researchers, who have already received funding from the ERC for their pioneering work, to make the results of their work commercially viable. Ryan Gilmour has used the previous funding to develop a general strategy to create fluorinated building blocks that are widely used in the production of medicines and agrochemicals, for example.
“Although fluorinated drugs are extremely common, nature has not evolved a fluorine biochemistry to any appreciable degree and so it is essential that organic chemists develop efficient methods to prepare fluorinated small molecules to meet our societal needs”, says Ryan Gilmour.
Using simple organic catalysts; those that do not contain metals, Ryan Gilmour and his team have been able to create the structural motifs. More importantly, he has been able to design new materials that are unexplored. The background: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, which are commonly used, are considered harmful to humans and other living organisms and also accumulate in the environment. The European Union is endeavouring to restrict their use ("REACH Restriction Proposal"). “We are really excited about working with our industrial partners, and sustaining innovation” says Dr. Emma Campbell, a senior post-doctoral researcher in Prof. Gilmour´s group.
Working with partners at leading European companies, including Merck (Darmstadt), Novartis (Basel) and Nuvisan (Berlin), Ryan Gilmour and his team will now be exploring methods to bring this technology to the market.
Europe-wide, 102 researchers were awarded Proof of Concept Grants in the current call for proposals, 21 of them from Germany. The grants are part of the European research and innovation programme “Horizon Europe”.
About Ryan Gilmour
Gilmour, who has already received coveted ERC Starter (2013) and Consolidator (2019) Grants, is Professor of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Managing Director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry, as well as being a member of the Research Council at the University of Münster. Ryan Gilmour´s research is focussed on translating fundamental principles of structure and reactivity and function to applications in catalysis and biomedicine.