Board member Professor Karin Roelofs has been appointed to the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC). The European Commission announced the selection of six new members who will join the ERC’s governing body as of 1 January 2026.
The Scientific Council defines the ERC’s scientific strategy and safeguards the excellence and independence of its funding programmes. Members are selected through an independent identification process that includes consultation with the scientific community, and each serves an initial four-year term.
Professor Roelofs, a professor at the Donders Institute and the Behavioural Science Institute at Radboud University in the Netherlands, has long been recognised for her contributions to behavioural science. Her appointment to the Scientific Council reflects her leadership and sustained commitment to advancing fundamental research in Europe.
Her work within the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG) has been central to that commitment. As a founding member of AERG, she played a key role in shaping the organisation’s early structure and mission. The association’s president, Axel Cleeremans, noted:
“Karin Roelofs is a founding member of the Association of ERC Grantees. She was instrumental in getting us off the ground, working with a few other grantees and me over the course of 2018 to imagine how the association should be structured to best serve our vision of building a community of scientists eager to defend the value and importance of fundamental research in Europe and elsewhere. We are immensely grateful for her contribution to the Association and wish her the very best as she will now help shape the future of ERC funding as a member of the Scientific Council.”
In view of her new responsibilities at the ERC, Professor Roelofs has stepped down from her role as Vice-President of AERG. Reflecting on this transition, she remarked:
“I am extremely grateful to have been able to serve as vice-president for the AERG for such a long time. AERG brings together a remarkable group of people for a cause that—given the growing threats to free science across Europe—has only become more important. It is one of those rare organisations that unites exceptionally talented individuals who work effectively on issues of great significance, without any self-interest, driven solely by one goal: supporting, preserving, and strengthening free and excellence-based science in Europe as embodied by the ERC. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at AERG, and I’m honoured to continue serving the ERC in its Scientific Council. I can wholeheartedly recommend that all ERC grantees become members, or even join the board. We need a strong and sizeable AERG to ensure a powerful voice for basic, excellence-driven science in Europe.”
Professor Roelofs joins the following newly appointed members of the Scientific Council:
- Michel Campillo, University of Grenoble, France
- Emmanuelle Charpentier, Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Germany
- Kateřina Králová, Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czechia
- Susana Narotzky, University of Barcelona, Spain
- Eleftheria Zeggini, Helmholtz Munich, Germany
In parallel, the Council elected three new Vice Presidents: Liselotte Højgaard (life sciences), Torsten Persson (social sciences and humanities), and Nicola Spaldin (physical sciences and engineering).
Professor Roelofs’ term on the Scientific Council will begin on 1 January 2026.
Learn more: https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/six-new-members-erc-scientific-council-2025