The UV leads with more than 7 million euros the grants of the Prometeo programme in the Valencian Community for research groups

The UV will benefit from the 31,95 %of the total of the Prometeo grants, a 84,16 % than the second university with more benefits and a 105,57 % more than the third.

The Vice-Dean of Research of the UV, Carlos Hermenegildo, values really positively the results, since “they evidence once more our leadership in the ValencianCommunity, specially in the calls of greater scientific excellence”.

According to the resolution on 11 July of the General Director of Science and Research of the distribution of the funding for the UV will be distributed the next way: 689.965 euros in 2025, 1.858.205 euros in 2026, 1.861.154 euros in 2027, 1.853.777 euros in 2028 and 1.130.646 euros in 2029.

The Prometeo GVA programme concedes subventions with the purpose of identifying and helping the R+D+I groups of excellence of the Valencian Community, and promote their international projection and their transfer of knowledge. They are directed to Valencian research centres and are done by groups directed by one or two main researchers, that act as applicants of the subvention. It has a maximum duration of four years, with a dotation that can reach the 150.000 annual euros per project.

The 13 selected projects in the Universitat de València take ninen big scientific areas. In the Biomedicine area, have been selected three projects: the one lead by the full-time university professor Isabel Fariñas and the tenured professor José Manuel Morante, both from the University Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (Biotecmed) with Neuroyeast. Through the combination of studies in yeast, neural mother cells of mammals and tumour cells, the project aims to find mechanisms conserved as a response to the damage on the DNA in quiescent cells. The results can help understand the neural regeneration or the resistance to chemotherapy of cerebral tumours; María Dolores Barguesand Adela Valero‘s proposal has also been subvention. Both full-time university professors of Parasitology of the UV, that present a multidisciplinary study (‘Una Salud’), that tackles the impact of natural disasters, such as floods in Valencia, in the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases with an extrapolated focus of prevention and control to different temporal scales; and a third project directed by the full university professor of the Department of Physiology of the UV Juan José Sastre, that will look for a new therapeutic way based on microARNs, little molecules of RNA that regulate the functioning of key enzymes in cells, and their modulation for the obesity in two serious diseases of the pancreas: the severe acute pancreatitis and the pancreas cancer, whose incidence is increasing and for which there is still no effective treatment.

In Physics Sciences, the full university professor of Applied Physics and Electromagnetism in the Institute of Material Science (ICMUV) Juan Francisco Sánchez-Royo will develop a research centred in the control of excitons -particles that govern the emission of light, but that are tremendously elusive-, to create a new quantic technology. This could be applied in optoelectronic devices of ultra low consumption, such as screens or sensors of the future.

In the Chemistry area, Eugenio Coronado, full-time university professor of Inorganic Chemistry and director of the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol), has obtained his fifth Prometeo project in a row. Ever since the Valencian Government initiated this excellence programme in 2008 the group of Coronado has led in Europe two emerging areas: molecular spintronic —known as well as molecular magneto-electronic—, and the molecular approximation of the two-dimensional matters analogue to graphene. In this fifth Coronado project they integrate these two emerging areas through the introduction of innovative concepts that allow to prepare new nanostructures and extremely thin spintronic devices based on two-dimensional magnetic devices of atomic thickness, as well as new hybrid matter —that combine a molecular system with a two-dimensional matter— of interest in quantic and neuromorphic technologies, or in the clean energy generation (production of green hydrogen).

As for the Social Sciences area, Ruth LucasandAdolfo Alonso, associate professors of the Department of Science History and Documentation in the UV, have obtained funding for their proposal. With this project they pretend to promote the use of open science, regarding the management of research data and citizen participation in the promotion of health and tackling the more prevalent diseases: cancer, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, mental health and addictions.

Grants have also been conceded to projects in the Humanities and Culture area. Specifically, in an interdisciplinary project that uses technologies and the generative AI in the data interaction and digitalised pictures and that has as a goal creating a digital repertoire in open access of artistic archives of contemporary creators, and with an specific line of recovery and conservation of personal archives from Valencian artist women. This project is led by the Vice-Rector Ester Alba, professor of the Research Group ValuArt from the department of History of Art and by the professor Marcos Fernández, from the Research Group Artec of the IRTIC. Another project of this field that has received funding is headed by Teresa Ferrer, full-time university professor of Spanish Literature and director of Servei de Publicacions of the UV, centred in the arising of a scenic professional practice in Valencia in the 16th century and its development until the 17th century from the Digital Humanities perspective.

On the other hand, in Environmental Science and Technology the project made by the full university professors Pedro Carrasco, director of the SciencePark and full university professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Eva Barreno, full-time university professor of Botany has been selected. It suggests a multidisciplinary study about bioindication of lichens in protected areas of the Valencian Community. The project tackles from the biodiversity of the symbionts to their interaction patrons, and their biotechnological potential or their appliances in the conservation of natural resources.

In Law, the project ‘El moderno Derecho del seguro’, has been selected, coordinated by Juan Bataller Grau, full university professor of Mercantile Law, and María Luisa Atienza, Associate Professor of Civil Law certified to full-time university professor. A project that analyses how the field is changing due to five big factors: the integration between different branches of financial Law, their adaptation to an international context, the impact of new technologies, the incorporation of sustainability criteria and the necessity of reinforcing the protection of the client against new challenges. At the same time, the professor Andrés Boix has been distinguished by the project Algorithmic Law, promoted by the Faculty of Law to reunite experts in law and Artificial Intelligence from all Spain and analysing the juridical framework on the use of AI in the public and private area. Their goal is to continue the previous work of the team, centred on proposing legal improvements and developing solutions that reinforce the rights of the citizenship in front of the AI.

In the area of History and Archaeology the research project by the full-time university professor of Contemporary History Ivana Frasquet, has received funding. It analyses how the memories and historic narratives generated all along the 19th century in Spain and Ibero-America influenced in the construction of national identities. Through a comparative and interdisciplinary focus, it aims to understand the uses of the past and their projection in the present.

Lastly, in the area of Psychology, the outstanding proposal led by the full university professor from the department of Social Psychology, Vicente González, andJosé María Peiró, emeritus full university professor from the department, that will study the impact of generative Artificial Intelligence inside the work posts and work results.

Call

In the call for the Prometeo programme of 2025 86 requests have been presented by excellence groups, from which 40 have been granted. It must be highlighted that in most conceded projects (30 out of 40), at least one of the people working as Principal Investigator is a woman.

A total of 32 funded research groups are from Valencian universities (13 from the Universitat de València) and 8 to Valencian research organisms, such as the Spanish Research Council (CSIC)(CSIC), the Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the ValencianRegion(FISABIO), the Fundación para la Investigación del Hospital Clínico de la Comunitat Valenciana(INCLIVA) and theInstituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias(IVIA).