Few years ago, Head of the Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Protein Engineering, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, received ERC Starting Grant worth EUR 1.5 million to conduct work on ribonucleic acid (RNA). In 2012 he received "Proof of Concept" grant in the amount of 150 thousand euros for commercialisation, also from the ERC.

"Our first ERC grants are a bit like ice breakers, which break through the ice of prejudice - from colleagues and decision makers, and the country and abroad - said Prof. Bujnicki in an interview with PAP. - Our actions prove that Poland can conduct research on the same level as in the richer countries, where more funds are allocated to science."

His road to obtaining the grant, however, was not easy. The scholar admitted that his proposal received funding only at the third attempt. He first submitted it in the competition for young researchers EURYI, and then in the first edition of the ERC competition, where the assessment procedure was still being developed and in practice no one from Poland received the grant. In subsequent competitions, more Polish scientists were awarded grants.

In Prof. Bujnicki’s experience, it is difficult to get through with an interdisciplinary proposal that needs to be reviewed by experts in various fields. In his case it was a combination of structural biology and bioinformatics. More about Prof. Janusz Bujnicki’s research in PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland here: (link to text "Computer programs help understand RNA")

"It is important that for researchers to be active, participate in conferences and become known in the scientific community, so that the reviewers treat them as credible persons, especially if they change the research subject, as I did, when my interest moved from proteins to RNA" - advised the bioinformatics expert.

He added that his interview with the committee that evaluated the application was very difficult. "I felt that I was treated a bit like a visitor from the edge of civilization. Experts, who evaluated the application asked, for example, how would manage to carry out the project in Poland, the country which only recently introduced competitive grant system - which was obviously not true, because we had had the grant system for a long time" - said the researcher.

The professor tried to objectively answer questions of members of the panel, with a strong belief in the high quality of his application. Despite this, after the interview he was convinced that he would not get the grant. It turned out, however, that his application was among those that the committee decided to fund in the first place.

ERC Starting Grant was also awarded to Dr. Marcin Nowotny from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology. According to Prof. Bujnicki it is no coincidence that two scientists from one institute have won these prestigious grants.

"In our institute we promote of high quality research and support each other. I think that it will be a little easier for each next person from our institute. It is already known that we conduct research at a high level and have very good research facilities which, in my opinion, can compete with typical institutes in Western Europe. We have nothing to be ashamed of" - said the researcher.

Prof. Bujnicki belongs to a growing group of scholars who appreciate the current direction of the changes in the financing of science in Poland. Research of his team is currently funded from several sources, including the National Science Centre.

"If I did not get the ERC grant, I would probably try to finance the project from other sources, for example the National Science Centre. Since my application has been awarded by the ERC, I can concentrate my efforts on key research, instead of +scrimping+ funds from a small grants for the implementation of sub-targets" - said the winner of the Starting Grant.

According to Prof. Bujnicki, few ERC grants are carried out in Poland, for reasons including a small number of grant applications and their conservatism.

"Unfortunately, many Polish proposals involve projects that are not bold enough, and the proposed research and expenses are poorly justified. I think that Polish scientists should present more bold research ideas that could significantly affect the world science, and not just repeat, with slight modifications, things that have already been done. Breakthrough ideas, of course, must be well-founded, so that the experts assessing the application have no doubt that the proposed target is achievable by the investigator" - said bioinformatics expert.

Prof. Bujnicki advises fellow researchers to confronted initial versions of their applications with the opinions of fellow scientists who can help deal with problems before they mercilessly bulleted by the reviewers. In his opinion, the Polish researchers need to help each other more and share experiences. The researcher believes that such assistance would especially benefit young and inexperienced researchers, and those from small academic centres where the acquisition and administration of grants is not common. He declares that, time allowing, he is eager to share his experience.

The researcher acknowledged that the preparation of the administrative part of the application is very important, and here a professional grant office can help. In his view, the creation of such units at the Polish scientific centres would undoubtedly both increase the chances of success for Polish grants and facilitate the administration of projects that are awarded funding.

According to Prof. Bujnicki, ERC primarily funds projects that are both exciting and credible. Perfect formal preparation of documents adds credibility to the author and the institution in which the research will be carried out. The researcher argues that he has learned a lot from reading his grant application reviews, especially those that ended in the negative decision. In his opinion, is critical comments are extremely valuable, as they not only inform the author that the application is not good enough, but also suggests improvements that would result in a better proposal.

"My impression is that unfortunately many researchers in Poland prefer to whine and come up with all sorts of excuses for their failures, instead of arming themselves with courage and enthusiasm, drawing lessons from failures, and pushing forward" - concluded the researcher.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland, Karolina Olszewska

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