The Biofisika Institute, a leading research centre based in Bizkaia, has strengthened its position at the forefront of European science following the award of an ERC Advanced Grant to Ikerbasque researcher David Albesa.
The grant, awarded under the European Research Council’s Horizon Europe programme, is worth nearly €3 million and will support the five-year T6S-PoreMech project, which will investigate the molecular mechanisms bacteria use to interact and compete with one another.
In particular, the research will examine the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS), a bacterial nanomachine that enables bacteria to inject toxic proteins into other cells. The project will focus on characterising pore-forming toxins, proteins capable of perforating cell membranes and disrupting the internal balance of target cells.
The aim is to deepen our understanding of how these toxins act in their active state, as well as the mechanisms bacteria use to protect themselves against their own weapons. To achieve this, the team will employ cutting-edge structural biology and biophysics approaches, including cryo-electron microscopy, to obtain atomic-level insights into these processes.
The findings will generate new fundamental knowledge about competition between microorganisms and could lay the groundwork for the development of new therapeutic strategies, particularly in the context of the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
This recognition establishes the Biofisika Institute as a key player in research excellence, capable of competing successfully in Europe’s most demanding funding programmes. ERC Advanced Grants are regarded as among the most prestigious and competitive research grants in the world, supporting high-risk scientific projects with major transformative potential.
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