News 2015

Maria McNamara secures major ERC funding

5 Mar 2015

BEES scientist Dr Maria McNamara has secured major European Research Council funding.

Dr McNamara has been awarded funding from the European Research Council worth up to €1.5 million. The awards allow researchers to build their own research teams and pursue their best ideas at the frontiers of knowledge. Dr McNamara joins 374 other early-career scientists across Europe who recieved ERC Starting Grants in the 2014 call.

Dr McNamara will look at animal coloration through deep time: evolutionary novelty, homology and taphonomy.

Prof. Andy Wheeler of the School of BEES congratulated Dr McNamara on her significant achievement: “The School of BEES is delighted that Dr McNamara has been recognised for her outstanding research achievements through the award of this €1.5m ERC grant. These only get awarded to the very best and most promising researchers across Europe. There are 3 ERC awards in University College Cork, all of which are in BEES! We are really excited about the ground breaking work that Dr McNamara and her team will perform on the fossil preservation”

The ERC call will fund early-career research to the tune of almost €550 in this current call. ERC Starting Grants are intended for the best junior researchers to help them fully develop their potential and become a new generation of European research leaders.


ERC funding is part of the EU Horizon 2020 framework programme for research and innovation.

School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences

An Scoil Eolaíochtaí Bitheolaíocha, Domhaneolaíocha agus Comhshaoil

Distillery Fields, North Mall, University College Cork, Ireland , T23 N73K.

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