The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) will shortly launch a new multinational call for proposals for “Understanding the mechanisms of non-pharmacological interventions”.

Several non-pharmacological interventions have been shown to be effective and accepted by the patients, e. g. from existing cohort data. Such interventions may include, among others, psychosocial interventions, neuromodulation, nutrition or exercise. Although neurodegenerative diseases are being recognized as multifactorial syndromes, there is little interaction between biomedical and psychosocial approaches. One rationale for integrating biomedical and psychosocial research is the discordance between neuropathology and cognitive functioning. However, there is yet little knowledge about the mechanisms of non-pharmacological interventions, e. g. on the molecular or cellular level.

For this reason, JPND launches this joint transnational call with the aim of improving the understanding of the mechanisms and biological substrates that underlie non-pharmacological interventions in order to tailor a holistic personalized treatment approach. Proposals to this call must be ambitious, innovative, multi-disciplinary and multi-national, i.e. include research teams from at least three different countries. They must be hypothesis driven and should have a strong focus on methodology.

The following funding organisations intend to support this joint transnational call:

  • Australia, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
  • Belgium, The Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-FNRS)
  • Belgium, The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO)
  • Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
  • Czech Republic, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS)
  • Denmark, Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD)
  • Finland, Academy of Finland (AKA)
  • France, French National Research Agency (ANR)
  • Germany, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
  • Hungary, National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH)
  • Israel, Ministry of Health (CSO-MOH)
  • Italy, Ministry of Health (IT-MOH)
  • Latvia, State Education Development Agency (VIAA)
  • Luxembourg, National Research Fund (FNR)
  • Netherlands, The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Dev. (ZonMw)
  • Norway, The Research Council of Norway (RCN)
  • Poland, National Science Centre (NCN)
  • Slovakia, Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic
  • Spain, National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII)
  • Switzerland, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
  • Turkey, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)

Please note that the list of countries participating to this call is provisional and may change until the launch of the call.

This will be a two-step call, expected to be launched in early January 2022, with a likely pre-proposal submission deadline in early March 2022. Further details will be provided with the launch of the call.

Please Note:

All information regarding future JPND call topics is subject to change

Final call information will be published on the JPND website (www.jpnd.eu)