New ERC Proof of Concept for the University of Vienna

Chemist Thomas Böttcher has been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the ERC. This brings the total number of these prestigious awards granted to the University of Vienna to 160. The European Research Council (ERC) programme enables pioneering basic research with high innovation potential.

Proof of Concept Grants support researchers from an existing or recently completed ERC project in exploring the potential for directly applying the results of basic research.

Bacteriophages are viruses that exclusively infect bacteria and offer major potential to address antibiotic resistance and advance biotechnology. But their broader use is limited by slow, unsystematic phage identification and inefficient, unscalable purification methods that introduce harmful contaminants. These challenges create critical bottlenecks and underscore the need for rapid, safe, and reliable phage capture technologies.

In his ERC PoC PhageTRAP project chemist Thomas Böttcher proposes a modular platform that selectively captures and releases phages using synthetic recognition motifs. Validated on clinically relevant and environmental phages, this approach integrates chemistry and microbiology to enable scalable purification, high-throughput screening, and rational selection of phages. PhageTRAP has strong translational potential, with clear industrial, clinical, and commercial applications.

About Thomas Böttcher

Thomas Böttcher is a Professor of Microbial Biochemistry at the University of Vienna, holding a joint appointment with the Faculty of Chemistry and the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science. His research group is focused on the chemistry of microbial interactions, elucidating metabolites that mediate microbe-microbe, microbe-host and microbe-phage interactions and developing species-specific antibiotics, anti-virulence compounds and chemical probes for precision microbiome interventions. His work aims to expand fundamental understanding of microbial chemistry and create tools for targeted microbiome modulation.

About the University of Vienna:

At the University of Vienna, curiosity has been the core principle of academic life for more than 650 years. For over 650 years the University of Vienna has stood for education, research and innovation. Today, it is ranked among the top 100 and thus the top four per cent of all universities worldwide and is globally connected. With degree programmes covering over 180 disciplines, and more than 10,000 employees we are one of the largest academic institutions in Europe. Here, people from a broad spectrum of disciplines come together to carry out research at the highest level and develop solutions for current and future challenges. Its students and graduates develop reflected and sustainable solutions to complex challenges using innovative spirit and curiosity.