Copyright Hubrecht Institute 17 June 2025 ERC Advanced grant for Geert Kops Back to news Geert Kops receives an ERC Advanced grant to study the structure of human centromeres, crucial regions of our chromosomes that ensure proper cell division. Mistakes in this process can lead to cancer, developmental disorders, or miscarriages. Kops and his colleagues will investigate the molecular events that shape centromeres during cell division, and what goes wrong in cancer cells. Our bodies consist of trillions of cells. To produce all these cells during development, and to keep our tissues healthy, existing cells must make new ones. This happens through a process called cell division, where the cell duplicates its DNA and distributes it evenly to two new cells. It’s essential that this happens accurately, as errors can lead to serious consequences, including miscarriages, developmental issues, and cancer. To ensure correct distribution of genetic material, the DNA is packaged into chromosomes that attach to fibers capable of pulling them into the two new cells. The location on the chromosome where this connection happens is called the centromere, a specialized region that marks the “center” of the iconic X-shaped chromosome. The precize structure of the centromere is crucial to make robust connections with the fibres, and to resist the forces involved in pulling the chromosomes apart. The project, titled CENTROSHAPE, will uncover the structure of human centromeres and the key molecular events that shape them during cell division. Kops: “This grant enables us to use various cutting-edge imaging and DNA sequencing technologies in a range of human cells and tissue models to understand the shape of centromeres. Given the centromere’s essential role in chromosome segregation, we also aim to learn more about the role of the centromere in cancer cells.” Chromosomes during cell division. The chromosomes (grey) are divided over the two daughter cells (left and right). One chromosome is lagging behind (close to the center of the image), which may cause an abnormality in the number of chromosomes in the daughter cells. The shape of this centromere (yellow) of this chromosome looks different than that the other centromeres. The team of Geert Kops will study these structural differences using the ERC Advanced grant. About the ERC and the ERC Advanced grant The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC Advanced Grant is designed to support established research leaders pursuing ambitious projects across all fields of science. Recipients of the ERC Advanced Grants are active researchers with a track-record of significant research achievements. They are exceptional leaders in terms of originality and significance of their research contributions. The ERC Advanced grant offers up to 2.5 million for a period of 5 years. Geert Kops is director of the Hubrecht Institute, group leader, professor of Molecular Tumor Cell Biology at the University Medical Center Utrecht and Investigator at Oncode Institute.
