The European Commission has appointed five eminent scientists and scholars as new members of the Scientific Council, the governing body of the European Research Council (ERC). They include Professor Leszek Kaczmarek from the M. Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The new Council members have been appointed for a period of four years and will replace the members whose term of office expires on 1 January 2023.

The ERC’s tasks include awarding funds for pioneering basic research in various fields of science. Its budget for 2021-2027 is more than €16 billion.

Prof Kaczmarek is a molecular biologist. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Catania in Italy, McGill University in Montreal, Canada, the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, and the Institute of Photonic Sciences at ICFO in Castelldefels, Spain.