03 Oct 2022
ERC-funded scientist wins 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
On 3 October 2022, it was announced that Svante Pääbo has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution. For a decade, Svante Pääbo has been substantially funded by the European Research Council.
Considered one of the founders of palaeogenetics, Svante Pääbo, who is director of the Department of Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, was awarded his first ERC Advanced Grant in 2008 to investigate the genomic and phenotypic evolution of bonobos, chimpanzees and humans. In 2015, he won another ERC Advanced Grant to study genome sequences from extinct hominins. The latter project integrates new approaches in molecular biology, physical anthropology and bioinformatics to perform genetic research into populations over an exceptional timespan and geographical area. The overall aim is to explain the history of the Neanderthal population and other ancient groups, and to advance understanding of early human evolution, ranging from anecdotal observations to a more population based view of human ancestry. Svante Pääbo also participated in a project funded by the 6th EU Research Framework Programme (FP6) on molecular evolution of human cognition.
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