Professor Eleanor Scerri, a Maltese researcher based at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, has achieved global recognition as a recipient of a highly sought-after National Geographic Grant. Only ten such grants were awarded worldwide this year, underscoring the significance of her work.

This latest achievement comes on the heels of her earlier success in obtaining a €1.5 million European Research Grant. The newly awarded funding will advance Prof. Scerri’s pioneering studies of Malta’s ancient ecosystems. Her research focuses on the island’s once-thriving miniaturised ‘megafauna,’ including pygmy elephants and giant swans, which inhabited the region in prehistoric times.

Working in partnership with the University of Malta’s Department of Classics and Archaeology, Heritage Malta, and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Prof. Scerri aims to uncover critical insights into these species.

Key questions include determining their timelines, understanding their extinction, and examining the impact of their disappearance on local ecosystems. Additionally, her studies investigate how human activities have since shaped Malta’s landscapes and biodiversity.

As part of her initiative to share findings, Prof. Scerri, alongside Prof. Nicholas Vella from the University of Malta, is spearheading a major conference titled Island Legacies: Prehistoric Insular Ecosystems, Societies, and Climate Change in the Mediterranean.

Supported by RIDT and the Max Planck Institute, this conference will gather experts from across the Mediterranean to connect historical insights with contemporary ecological challenges.

Prof. Scerri sees her work as a crucial step in addressing today’s urgent climate and biodiversity crises, drawing lessons from the past to inform solutions for the future.

Well done!