ERC Proof of Concept

The European Research Council, part of the European Commission, has announced the winners of the ERC Proof of Concept 2025 grant. Among them are two projects developed by researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València, José Capmany and Ramón Martínez Máñez. Both already had an ERC Grant, the most prestigious award from the European Research Council, which allowed them to compete for this new grant, worth €150,000 per project and intended solely for pioneering research that is high risk but has a significant impact on society. This boost will enable them to advance their development and bring them closer to practical transfer to industry.

The OncoFlag project, led by Ramón Martínez Máñez, and TRANSBIT, led by José Capmany, are among the exclusive group of research teams that already have an ERC Grant and are now receiving this new financial injection so that some of the results they are obtaining can be put to good use.

Recognising cancer cells and attacking them

The OncoFlag project, led by Ramón Martínez Máñez, professor at the UPV and director of the Interuniversity Research Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM), is working to enable the immune system's cells to recognise cancer cells as if they were a virus and attack them. "Cancer cells have several mechanisms by which they escape recognition and elimination by the immune system, but we want to demonstrate that it is possible to reconnect immune and cancer cells to attack cancer," explains Martínez Máñez from his chemistry laboratory where, together with his team, they work daily to use lipid nanoparticles loaded with messenger RNA to alert the immune system to cancer cells. ‘In a year, we will be able to see if this technique is truly universal for various types of cancer and move forward in the preclinical phase. Receiving this Proof of Concept grant is an honour and will allow us to verify if the idea we are working on is applicable,’ said Researcher Martínez Mañez upon learning that his project was one of those selected for funding.

A unique approach in the world

José Capmany, professor at the UPV and researcher at the Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (ITEAM), leads the TRANSBIT project to revolutionise photonic chips and how computing and optics are combined. "No one in the world has proposed a similar approach. We have used the principles of optics to develop a compatible computing system. This approach has its risks, but we are very confident because the results we have so far are very promising,' said José Capmany, delighted to receive this prestigious grant but 'more for what it means, which is to develop technology, have a team and then be able to transfer it and create new companies and businesses". Capmany already has experience with ERC grants; this is the fifth he has obtained and the seventh for his working group. ERC (European Research Council) grants are among the most prestigious instruments for promoting European research excellence, available only to leading researchers in their field.

Spain is the second country with the most projects awarded grants by the European Commission

The pioneering projects by Ramón Martínez and José Capmany join the 20 Spanish projects that have received this significant financial injection, only behind Germany, with 27 research projects awarded. Behind Spain are the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands. In total, 150 projects from 32 countries have been awarded grants.

This prestigious grant, which is only available to universities and research centres that already have an ERC Grant, is highly competitive, and a total of 480 proposals were submitted in this latest edition.

The Universitat Politècnica de València is the only institution in the Valencian Community to have been awarded a Proof of Concept grant in this edition.

Capmany and Martínez: international leaders

José Capmany is an international leader in the field of photonics and is considered a pioneer in the disciplines of microwave photonics and programmable integrated photonics. Among his numerous awards, he has received the Rey Jaume I Prize for New Technologies and the IEEE Photonics Society Engineering Achievement Award 2021. He was also recognised with the Physics, Innovation and Technology Award from the Royal Spanish Physics Society-BBVA in 2022.

Ramón Martínez Máñez recently received the Juan de la Cierva National Research Prize for the impact of his scientific career, specifically in the field of nanotechnology and its application in medicine, the environment, and the agri-food sector. He is one of the leading national and international figures in the field of chemical research and is also a recipient of the Rey Jaume I Prize for New Technologies.