Prof. Martien Cohen Stuart (Physical Chemistry & Colloid Science, Wageningen University, The Netherlands and scientific director DPI) has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant of 2.5 million euros for research on new biosynthetic amino acid polymers for synthetic biology. Proteins that can wrap DNA, undergo ATP-driven filament formation, or form hydrogels for soft tissue engineering will be designed, produced and tested by a team of about 10 scientists.