ERC Proof of Concept to Per Augustsson

The ERC Proof of Concept is announced by the European Research Council (ERC) and provides researchers who have already received funding from the ERC the opportunity to further develop their research results. The grant amount is 150,000 euros. In 2024, there are two application rounds for Proof of Concept grants, with a total budget of 30 million euros. The funding is part of the EU's research and innovation program Horizon Europe.

A total of 100 researchers from 17 different countries received grants in the first application round of the call. Of these, three researchers are from Sweden.

Per Augustsson is awarded a grant for the project “BLOODFLOW, Acoustic whole blood imaging flow cytometry for rare cell identification”. The project addresses the need for new tools to detect and monitor the disease progression in patients with metastatic cancer. Breast 

and prostate cancer are the most common malignant cancers in women and men, respectively. Metastasis is the main threat in these cancers since it turns a curable local disease into a chronic lethal disease.

The goal of the project is to pave the way for this technology to be commercialized and thereby benefit society in the long run.

Sound carries energy that can exert forces on suspended microscopic objects such as blood cells and biological nanoparticles. Per Augustsson and his research group study the physics of ultrasound waves interacting with fluids and microscopic objects. the physics of ultrasonic waves that interacts with fluids and suspended objects. In collaboration with biologists and biomedical researchers they build instruments to separate cells and nanoparticles by ultrasound.

Per Augustsson has previously received two ERC grants. In 2019, he received an ERC Starting Grant and in 2022, an ERC Proof of Concept Grant.

Press Release on Proof of Concept Grants – European Research Council Website

ERC grant for research on separating cells using ultrasound