Thanks to NCN funding, 35 early-stage researchers will soon be able to embark on their projects, using a total of 31.3 million zlotys worth of grants to fund their research, find employment at Polish research institutions and complete foreign research fellowships.
SONATINA is a call in which early-stage researchers vie for funding for
basic research projects and applied research projects. Its eighth round was open to PIs who earned their PhD degree between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2024.
An important goal of SONATINA grants is to fund the full-time employment of early-stage researchers at Polish research institutions. There is only one condition: they cannot be employed at the same institution where they earned their PhD degree. All winners must also complete a mandatory fellowship of 3 to 6 months abroad. The project budget may also include resources for, e.g. additional remuneration for investigators, materials and equipment, business trips, visits and consultations.
SONATINA 8 attracted 236 proposals with a total budget of nearly 197 million zlotys. Following a full evaluation procedure by expert teams, funding was awarded to 35 projects worth 31.3 million zlotys in total, for a final success rate of 15%.
Successful SONATINA projects
In Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, a total of 9 million zlotys in funding was awarded to 12 researchers. One of the winners is Dr Maria Zimmermann from the University of Warsaw, whose project proposes to explore human brain plasticity. Specifically, Zimmermann will look into the impact of language exposure and sensory experiences on brain organisation in people deaf from birth. Her research will rely on two complementary approaches: firstly, while their brains are scanned with fMRI, subjects will be exposed to naturalistic stimuli (such as watching a silent movie) and asked to perform various tasks that will allow specific functions in their brains to be mapped. These fMRI data will then be supplemented by an analysis of the deaf subjects’ individual life experiences. At the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Dr Joanna Tomczyk will focus on the mental health of breast cancer patients. Breast cancer carries an increased risk of depression and anxiety disorders. Being able to notice and appreciate the small things in life is recognized as an effective tool to help tackle the hardships of life. Dr Tomczyk will investigate the effects of mindful gratitude training in which the exercises are tailored to each individual research subject, as opposed to using one exercise repeatedly over a longer period.
The winners of SONATINA 8 also include nine researchers working in Life Sciences, who will conduct projects worth more than 10.3 million zlotys in total. Thanks to her grant, Dr inż. Katarzyna Gembara from the Voivodeship Specialist Hospital in Wrocław will analyse the gut microbiome and the urinary tract microbiome in patients who have undergone bladder removal surgery as part of cancer treatment. Following the procedure, the urinary tract is typically reconstructed to allow the elimination of urine from the body. To this end, surgeons often use a segment of the patient’s intestines; originating in another part of the body, however, this tissue causes a radical change in the microbiome of the urinary tract. As a result, more than half of all patients face a variety of post-surgical complications. Dr Gembara’s project aims to elucidate the gut-bladder axis and understand how the intestinal phageome transitions into the urinary tract phageome, as well as how it impacts the bacterial part of the microbiome and the clinical outcomes of patient treatment. Another winner, Dr Tomasz Diserens, will conduct his SONATINA 8 project at the Institute of Mammalian Biology, PAS, in Białowieża. Beavers and wolves are two species that are crucial for biodiversity protection. Dr Diserens will try to determine how wolf risk and human activity shape the behaviour of beavers and their impact on woody tree communities. The results will enable a more informed management of wolf and beaver populations, as well as riparian landscapes, which is especially important in the context of the ongoing recolonisation of these species in previously human-dominated areas throughout Europe.
In Physical Sciences and Engineering, SONATINA grants were awarded to 14 research projects with a total budget of nearly 12 million zlotys. Dr Michael Lintner from the Institute of Geological Sciences, PAS, will look into the still unknown relationships between marine proxies and environmental pollution, focusing on the impact of antibiotics on foraminifera. Foraminifera are single-cell organisms (protists) that can be found in all marine habitats from shallow water to the deep sea. For scientists, they serve as important proxies for the monitoring of environmental changes. In his project, Dr Lintner will analyse how foraminifera are affected by the main types of antibiotics used in mass marine and land animal farming, which will allow him to draw up a list of the least harmful substances. Dr inż. Natalia Majewska, who works at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, will conduct research into materials that contain transition metal ions, which are characterised by efficient luminescence and serve as crucial emitters of near-infrared (NIR) light, imperceptible to the human eye. The luminescence can persist for hours after excitation, which means the materials are crucially useful for marking and imaging substances introduced into living organisms; they can also be used as components of LED light sources for food analysis or in optical thermometry, a non-invasive method for determining internal body temperature. Dr inż. Majewska will test how the optical and structural features of luminescent materials change in high hydrostatic pressure conditions.
SONATINA 8 - ranking list in PDF
Proposal assessment under SONATINA
SONATINA proposals undergo a two-stage merit-based evaluation by NCN expert teams. At stage 1, each proposal is evaluated by at least two team members, based, among other things, on the short project description. The team agrees on a score for each proposal and then decides whether to pass it on to stage 2 or reject it. At stage 2, the proposal is evaluated by at least two external reviewers, based on the full project description; the PI of the project is also invited to the NCN headquarters for an interview. The final scores, as well as the ranking list of proposals recommended for funding, are decided by the entire expert team.
Under SONATINA, proposals are evaluated by three panel teams composed of experts in a given area: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (HS); Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST); and Life Sciences (NZ). Experts are appointed by the NCN Council from among outstanding Polish and international scientists with at least a PhD degree.