AS OF MARCH 13, 2019, THE CALL FOR PRE-PROPOSALS IS CLOSED.

AS OF JUNE 26, 2019, THE CALL FOR FULL PROPOSALS IS CLOSED.

On January 7, 2019, the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) initiative launched a joint transnational call for multinational research projects on personalised medicine for neurodegenerative diseases.

With the ageing of the world population, the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases is on the rise. At present, an estimated 47 million people are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, the most prevalent class of neurodegenerative diseases. This figure shows no signs of abating, and is expected to double every 20 years as the population ages. 

One of the greatest challenges for neurodegenerative diseases treatment is the deciphering of the large variability – in origins, mechanisms and clinical expression – that these debilitating diseases are characterised by. With this in mind, JPND has identified a pressing need for investment aimed at enabling research projects on Personalised Medicine, that may in time bring about the delivery of targeted and timely prevention and therapies for patients of neurodegenerative diseases.

This call, launched in partnership with the European Commission, invites proposals for ambitious, innovative, multinational and multidisciplinary collaborative research projects to change the trajectory of these debilitating diseases through the development of Precision Medicine approaches. 

Relating to the targeting of specific elements responsible for pathology in a given individual at a particular point in time, Precision Medicine is an emerging approach for disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment that takes into account individual variability in genes, biological/molecular characteristics, along with environmental and lifestyle factors.

Funding: The total made available for this call is 24 million euros (from all participating countries) with a top-up funding by the European Commission that could increase the total funding up to 30 million euros. Under this call, each country funds their own national participants in successful collaborative proposals, according to their national budget allocation.

Participating JPND countries

The funding organisations that have agreed to participate in this joint call are listed below. The call will be conducted simultaneously by the funding organisations in their respective countries and coordinated centrally by the Joint Call Secretariat.

• Australia, National Health and Medical Research Council
• Belgium, The Research Foundation – Flanders
• Belgium, The Fund for Scientific Research
• Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Czech Republic, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
• Denmark, Innovation Fund Denmark
• Denmark, VELUX Foundation
• Finland, Academy of Finland
• France, French National Research Agency
• Germany, Federal Ministry of Education and Research
• Hungary, National Research, Development and Innovation Office
• Ireland, Health Research Board
• Israel, Ministry of Health
• Italy, Ministry of Health
• Italy, Ministry of Education, Universities and Research
• Latvia, State Education Development Agency
• Luxembourg, National Research Fund
• Netherlands, The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development
• Norway, The Research Council of Norway
• Poland, National Science Centre
• Portugal, Foundation for Science and Technology
• Portugal, Regional Fund for Science and Technology of the Azores
• Romania, National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation
• Slovenia, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
• Spain, National Institute of Health Carlos III
• Sweden, Swedish Research Council
• Turkey, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
• United Kingdom, United Kingdom Research and Innovation Medical Research Council

Deadlines

Pre-proposals must be submitted no later than 15:00h C.E.T. on March 12, 2019, via the electronic submission tool.

Full proposals must be submitted no later than 15:00h C.E.S.T. on June 25, 2019, via the electronic submission tool.

Where can I get more information about this call? Links to the relevant documents and resources can be found below:

Call text* – download all specific information about the call. [PDF]

Call procedures** – description of the evaluation procedure and decision-making process applied for this call. [PDF]

Country-specific information – all requirements and details from participating funding organisations.

Pre-proposal template – mandatory for creating proposals. No other formats are accepted.

Pre-proposal guidelines – information on formal conditions and guidelines for the preparation of pre-proposals. [PDF]

Proposal Submission Tool – mandatory for submitting proposals. No other routes are accepted.

Joint Call Secretariat representatives are available for questions:

Dr. Sabrina Voß, [email protected], (+49) 228-3821 2111

Dr. Olaf Krüger, [email protected], (+49) 228-3821 2111

*This information was updated on 21 February 2019

**This information was updated on 08 February 2019. The procedures document of the call has been updated and replaced by a new version in the call procedures link above. No fundamental changes have been made. Nevertheless, the new document provides further information, mainly regarding the pre-proposal evaluation procedure. The new procedures document will be the basis for all call-related decisions, however, the former version of the procedures document is still available here.