Argentine university applying quantitative modeling to biological networks and Antarctic coastal ecosystems through MSCA-RISE researcher exchanges.
UNGS is an Argentine public university that contributes advanced mathematical and computational modeling expertise to international research consortia. Their researchers work at the intersection of quantitative methods and natural systems — applying statistical inference and network analysis to large-scale biological data, and ecological modeling to marine and coastal environments. In EU projects, they participate through MSCA-RISE researcher exchange programs, contributing specialist knowledge from Argentina's scientific community while building reciprocal ties with European research groups. Their applied modeling expertise spans two distinct domains: systems biology and environmental science.
INFERNET (2017-2022) engaged UNGS in developing algorithms for statistical inference from large-scale biological data, including metabolic networks, regulatory networks, and protein-protein interactions.
CoastCarb (2020-2025) placed UNGS within a consortium studying Antarctic and sub-Antarctic coastal carbon cycling, ecological modeling, and organismal adaptation to rapid glacier melt.
Both INFERNET and CoastCarb rely on quantitative modeling — mathematical modeling and statistical inference underpin INFERNET, while ecological modelling and environmental knowledge systems structure CoastCarb.
CoastCarb explicitly addresses climate change effects on sub-Antarctic coastal ecosystems, including carbon cycling, marine ecosystem services, and organismal adaptation.
In their first H2020 project (INFERNET, 2017), UNGS focused on computational biology — building and analyzing multi-scale molecular networks, co-evolutionary models, and inference algorithms for biological data. By 2020, their second project (CoastCarb) marks a clear pivot toward environmental and marine science: the keywords shift entirely from molecular systems to Antarctic coastal ecosystems, carbon cycling, and climate change. The common thread is quantitative modeling, suggesting their computational methods expertise is being redirected from molecular biology toward environmental and ecological systems.
UNGS is moving toward climate-environment science while retaining its quantitative modeling core — a trajectory that positions them well for future consortia in marine ecology, coastal carbon research, and climate-biology intersections.
UNGS participates exclusively as a third-party partner through MSCA-RISE exchanges, meaning they integrate into large international consortia by hosting and sending researchers rather than leading projects or managing workpackages. With 20 distinct consortium partners across 13 countries from just two projects, they operate within broad, multi-institutional networks typical of MSCA-RISE. This profile suggests they are brought in as modeling specialists rather than institutional managers, making them a flexible addition to any consortium needing quantitative expertise.
UNGS has connected with 20 unique partners across 13 countries through only two MSCA-RISE projects — an unusually broad reach for such a small EU portfolio, reflecting the large consortium structures typical of researcher exchange schemes. Their network spans Europe and South America, with research activity extending into Antarctic territory.
As an Argentine university, UNGS offers EU consortia direct access to South American scientific expertise and research infrastructure — a geographic asset for projects requiring Southern Hemisphere fieldwork or data, particularly for Antarctic and sub-Antarctic studies. Their combination of computational biology background and environmental systems modeling is uncommon in a single institution, making them a versatile quantitative partner across life sciences and ecology. For MSCA-RISE consortia specifically, they provide a proven, active channel for researcher exchange with the Argentine academic system.
