University of Bonn Secures Three Proof of Concept Grants
Three University of Bonn researchers have been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Neuroscientist Professor Dominik Bach, chemist Assistant Professor Ala Bunescu and radiologist Professor Philipp Vollmuth (from the University Hospital Bonn) are each receiving €150,000 over a period of 18 months. This program helps researchers to take findings from their work and turn them into commercial products or services.
Neuroscientist Prof. Dr. Dominik Bach, a Hertz Professor in the Life and Health Transdisciplinary Research Area at the University of Bonn, is to receive an ERC Proof of Concept Grant.
That no fewer than three projects have been approved for funding demonstrates the University of Bonn’s growing innovative strength, which is also being boosted by the gradual development of transfer structures by the Transfer Center enaCom. “The ERC Proof of Concept Grants are a major sign of recognition for some uniquely innovative and visionary approaches,” says Dr. Daniela Treutlin, an enaCom innovation scout. “It shows that we at the University of Bonn start thinking early on in the research process about how new insights might also pave the way to solving some of the problems facing society.” The Transfer Center enaCom helps researchers to turn their findings to practical use and, together with the Transfer team in the Faculty of Medicine, accompanies applicants on their journey to take their product or service to market.
Virtual reality environment helps with anxiety disorders
Professor Dr. Dominik Bach, a Hertz Professor in the Life and Health Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) and Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience (CAIAN) at the University of Bonn, is simulating anxiety situations in his project “NOVA: Non-Verbal Objective VR-Based Diagnostic Assessment for Anxiety Disorders” in order to improve how these conditions are diagnosed. “Up until now, diagnoses have been based on the subjective information that patients supply themselves,” Bach says, explaining the problem. “They fill in questionnaires that their doctor then interprets. This can distort reality, e.g. due to cultural differences or language barriers.” Aiming to devise an objective, fully automated and language-independent solution for assessing anxiety disorders, the NOVA team is simulating threat situations in virtual reality environments in order to induce natural behaviors in individuals. The idea is based on the research findings that Bach has been producing since 2018 with the help of an ERC Consolidator Grant.
In addition to Prof. Dominik Bach, Assistant Professor Ala Bunescu of the Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and Prof. Philipp Vollmuth of the Department of Neuroradiology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have also been awarded ERC Proof of Concept Grants.
