Sigurdur Yngvi Kristinsson professor of hematology at the University of Iceland Faculty of Medicine, specialist at Landspitali University Hospital and iStopMM´s principal investigator has been awarded a grant of EUR 2 million, the equivalent of around ISK 290 million, from the European Research Council (ERC) in order to focus on smoldering myeloma in the project iStopMM.
The European Research Council has now awarded iStopMM a five-year grant. This is the second grant that the European Research Council has awarded Sigurdur Yngvi’s project, following a grant of ISK 180 million in late 2016. The primary aim of the ERC is to support outstanding basic research in Europe. Competition for funding is fierce and there were over 2,600 proposals submitted this year. University of Iceland researchers have won four such grants over the last 15 years and Sigurdur Yngvi is the first Icelandic research scientist to receive two of them. The research team behind iStopMM also received grants from the International Myeloma Foundation in the US and an excellence grant from the Icelandic Centre for Research. The project is entirely funded with grant money.
The ERC grant represents recognition of the incredible research that has already been completed and highlights the project’s international importance. “This grant is hugely significant for the study and will enable us to bring more scientists on board, so we can guarantee that the research continues to be of a world-leading standard. We currently have 20 full-time employees on the project, as well as 5 PhD students, 4 postdoctoral researchers and around 20 co-researchers. I have no doubt that this incredible team of outstanding scientists will continue to break new ground in our understanding of multiple myeloma over the next months and years,” says Sigurdur Yngvi.
