Prestigious ERC grant for brain protein study

Professor Jeremy Henley

22 October 2008

Jeremy Henley, Professor of Molecular Neuroscience in the Department of Anatomy, has been awarded a European Research Council Advanced Grant of over €2.1M for a study of SUMO, a protein that influences how brain cells communicate.

Jeremy Henley, Professor of Molecular Neuroscience in the Department of Anatomy, has been awarded a five-year European Research Council Advanced Grant for a project entitled ‘Mechanisms and consequences of synaptic SUMOylation in health and disease’.

The grant was awarded under a new, Europe-wide scheme that supports exceptional, professorial-level research leaders in undertaking groundbreaking, high-impact research projects. Professor Henley’s award, one of only 15 Life Sciences awards made to UK institutions, is for over €2.1M.

The award will enable Professor Henley to build on the work that he and his colleagues have carried out on SUMO, a small protein in the brain that regulates the way brain cells communicate and could provide insight into the cause of, and treatments for, brain diseases such as epilepsy and schizophrenia. For further details of Professor Henley’s pioneering research, see our previous news item.