ERC Advanced Grant for Fabian Theis

Fabian Theis, Professor of Mathematical Modelling of Biological Systems at TUM and Director of the Institute of Computational Biology at Helmholtz Munich, receives one of the prestigious Advanced Grants from the European Research Council (ERC) for his project "DeepCell". The goal is using machine learning to predict the effects of drugs on cells.

About project "DeepCell"

Molecular cell biology aims at understanding cells and their reaction to external signals. Single-cell genomics enables researchers to read out the internal state of a cell in unprecedented detail. 

In his ERC-funded project, Fabian Theis will develop mechanism-constraint machine learning approaches for single-cell genomics to systematically model a cell’s behavior under external perturbations, focusing on the largely-untouched area of drug-induced perturbations with single-cell readouts. If successful, it will allow optimal treatment predictions in new cell types. DeepCell thus opens up the possibility of in silico drug screens, with the potential to expedite drug discovery and impact clinical settings.

The ERC Advanced Grants

Professor Fabian Theis is one of 253 senior researchers of the annual ERC Advanced Grants competition. The grant supports the most innovative research projects of excellent scientists who have a track-record of significant achievements in the last ten years.

Researchers at TUM have received a total of 157 prestigious ERC Grants to date. The ERC awards grants in various categories every year. Advanced Grants  come with up to 2.5 million euros in funding.

It is the second Advanced Grant at our Department - after 4 ERC Starting Grants and 3 ERC Consolidator Grants so far. Fabian Theis was awarded an ERC Starting Grant in 2010.