UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE

Their core work

The University of Dundee is a Scottish research university with world-leading strength in protein science — particularly the ubiquitin system, targeted protein degradation, and drug discovery. Their life sciences division dissects how cells regulate proteins through ubiquitin tagging and uses that knowledge to develop new therapeutic strategies for diabetes, neurodegeneration, and infectious disease. Beyond biomedicine, Dundee contributes significant expertise in environmental sensing, citizen science platforms, and soil monitoring, drawing on strong quantitative and computational biology capabilities.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), Dundee's portfolio was diverse — spanning renewable energy crowdfunding, soil science, ultrafast photonics, citizen observation, and foundational protein biochemistry. From 2019 onward, the university sharply consolidated around ubiquitin biology, targeted protein degradation (PROTACs), and drug discovery for neurodegeneration and diabetes, reflecting a strategic bet on translational life sciences. The environmental and citizen science work tapered off while the protein degradation cluster became dominant, with multiple coordinated ERC and MSCA grants reinforcing this focus.

Dundee is concentrating its EU research identity around targeted protein degradation and PROTAC drug design — expect future projects at the intersection of structural biology, ubiquitin science, and therapeutic development.

How they like to work

With 29 of 78 projects as coordinator (37%), Dundee leads projects at a rate well above average for universities, particularly in MSCA fellowships and mid-sized RIA grants. They operate across a wide network of 586 partners in 40 countries, indicating they build fresh consortia rather than relying on a fixed circle. Their coordination strength in focused protein science projects, combined with participation in large clinical consortia (BEAt-DKD, RHAPSODY, ENSAT-HT), shows they can both lead niche research and contribute specialist capability to big multi-partner efforts.

Dundee has collaborated with 586 unique partners across 40 countries, making it one of the more broadly connected UK universities in H2020. Their network spans from large clinical consortia across Western Europe to focused bilateral MSCA fellowships, giving them reach into both academic and clinical institutions continent-wide.

What sets them apart

Dundee is arguably the strongest EU-funded university centre for ubiquitin biology and targeted protein degradation — a field now driving a multi-billion-dollar wave in pharmaceutical R&D (PROTACs and molecular glues). Few universities can match their depth: from fundamental ubiquitin biochemistry through structural biology to pre-clinical drug development, all within one institution. For any consortium needing protein degradation expertise, PROTAC chemistry, or translational drug discovery pipelines for neurodegeneration or diabetes, Dundee is a first-call partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• GROW
  Largest Dundee-coordinated project (EUR 1.73M) — built a pan-European citizen soil-sensing observatory, unusually bridging environmental science with participatory data collection.
• RELYUBL
  EUR 1.5M ERC Consolidator Grant on ubiquitin regulation of lymphocyte biology — demonstrates Dundee's core scientific leadership in the ubiquitin field.
• ANCHOR E3s
  Pioneering MSCA fellowship on designing ligandable binding sites for plug-and-play PROTACs — directly at the frontier of targeted protein degradation drug design.