Small Grants for New Investigators to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (R03)

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to provide support for New Investigators from backgrounds nationally underrepresented in biomedical research to conduct small research projects in the scientific mission areas of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS).  The scientific mission areas of the Institutes and Office are: NIDDK -diabetes, endocrinology, metabolism, digestive diseases, hepatology, obesity, nutrition, kidney, urology, or hematology; NIMH – factors contributing to mental disorders, the trajectories of mental disorders, pre-emption and treatment of mental disorders, identify and improve interventions for mental illness; and ODS – all types of research in which the primary emphasis is the investigation of dietary supplements and/or their ingredients. The NIDDK, NIMH and ODS recognize the need to promote diversity in the health-related research workforce by increasing the pool of highly trained researchers from diverse backgrounds conducting research in areas of importance to these Institutes and Office. The R03 grant mechanism supports different types of projects including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology. The R03 is intended to support small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources with the ultimate goal of providing the preliminary data for a R01-equivalent application.

Activity Code: R03 Small Grant Program

Announcement Type: Reissue of PAR-09-223

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: PAR-13-074

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards
The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Award Budget
The total direct costs for a R03 application submitted in response to this funding opportunity announcement are limited to $125,000 per year.

Award Project Period
The total project period for an R03 application submitted in response to this funding opportunity announcement may not exceed three (3) years.

For further details:

Part 1. Overview Information

Part 2. Full Text of the AnnouncementSection I. Funding Opportunity DescriptionSection II. Award InformationSection III. Eligibility InformationSection IV. Application and Submission InformationSection V. Application Review InformationSection VI. Award Administration InformationSection VII. Agency ContactsSection VIII. Other Information

Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R21)

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages investigators to submit research grant applications that will identify, develop, evaluate and refine effective and efficient methods, systems, infrastructures, and strategies to disseminate and implement research-tested health behavior change interventions, evidence-based prevention, early detection, diagnostic, treatment and management, and quality of life improvement services, and data monitoring and surveillance reporting tools into public health and clinical practice settings that focus on patient outcomes. 


Funding Opportunity Title: Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R21)

Activity Code: R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award

Announcement Type: Reissue of PAR-10-040.

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: PAR-13-054

Companion Funding Opportunity
PAR-13-055, R01 Research Project Grant 
PAR-13-056, R03 Small Grant Program

Key Dates
Posted Date: January 9, 2013
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date): January 16, 2013

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards	The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
Award Budget	Direct costs are limited to $275,000 over an R21 2-year period, with not > $200,000 in direct costs allowed in any single year.
Award Project Period	Not > 2 years

For further details:

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

Planning Grant for Chronic, Non-Communicable Diseases and Disorders Across the Lifespan: Fogarty International Research Training Planning Award (NCD-LIFESPAN) (D71)

Purpose: The Fogarty International Center (FIC), together with the Office of Dietary Supplements (OD/ODS) encourages new applications for the: Chronic, Non-Communicable Diseases and Disorders Across the Lifespan: Fogarty International Research Training Planning Award (NCD-LIFESPAN) (D71). The application must propose a plan to develop the components necessary for the(D43) application, including the objectives and special requirements as defined in the Chronic, Non-Communicable Diseases and Disorders Across the Lifespan: Fogarty International Research Training Award (NCD-LIFESPAN) (D43) FOA .The NCD-LIFESPAN D43 program supports research training that will strengthen the capacity of institutions in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC), defined by the World Bank classification system, to conduct non-communicable disease (NCD) research. The planning grant application should be developed and implemented collaboratively with all designated participating institutions.

Key Dates
Letter of Intent Receipt Date: March 17, 2013
Application Due Date: April 17, 2013 
Peer Review Date: October/November 2013
Council Review Date: January 2014
Earliest Anticipated Start Date: March 2014 

Additional Overview Content 

• Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the International Training Program Planning Grant (D71) grant mechanism.
• Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. Because the nature and scope of the proposed research training program will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the mechanism, numbers, quality, duration, and costs of the applications received.
• Budget and Project Period. The expected amount for individual awards will be up to $27,000 per year (total direct costs) for up to two years. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs requested by consortium participants are not included in the direct cost limitation, see NOT-OD-05-004. Facilities and administrative costs are limited to 8% for all awards and sub-awards.
• Application Research Strategy Length: Items 2-3 of the Research Training Program Plan (Background, Program Plan,) are limited to a combined total of 12 pages, including additional tables, graphs, figures, diagrams, and charts.
• Eligible Institutions/Organizations. Institutions/organizations listed in Section III, 1.A. are eligible to apply. Only applications from foreign institutions in the low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), defined by the World Bank classification system will be accepted.
• Eligible Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs): An eligible Training PD/PI is any individual with the skills, knowledge, successful past training record, and available resources necessary to carry out the proposed research training program. The PD/PI should be an established researcher at the applicant institution. Women, individuals from underrepresented racial, ethnic or socially disadvantaged groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. The PD/PI and/or key personnel listed in the application must be designated as the PD of at a research award, which is directly relevant to the research training proposed, and with at least 12 months of support remaining at the time of submission of the application.
• Number of PDs/PIs. More than one PD/PI (i.e., multiple PDs/PIs), may be designated on the application.
• Number of Applications. Only one application for a planning grant may be submitted from an institution in a fiscal year under this FOA. Only one D71 and D43 for the NCD-LIFESPAN program award will be made to an institution at any given time.

For more information, see:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-277.html

and/or contact the Office of Research Services, on tel. 1332

NIH/NIAID Grant: Immune Mechanisms of Virus Control (U19)

Participating Organization	National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Component of Participating Organization	National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Funding Opportunity Title	Immune Mechanisms of Virus Control (U19)
Activity Code	U19 Research Program – Cooperative Agreements
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number	RFA-AI-12-048
Funding Opportunity Purpose	The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) invites multi-project applications to be part of a network of synergistic research teams focused on the immunological parameters of virus infection and vaccination that are important for understanding the key molecular and cellular immune mechanisms involved in the natural control of infection, the induction of protective immunity by vaccination, or the immune-mediated processes that cause pathology after virus infection or vaccination.  Studies involving multiple viruses are encouraged to foster discovery of novel immune mechanisms and generalizable principles of anti-viral immunity.  The viruses of interest to the Immune Mechanisms of Virus Control (IMVC) program are listed as part of the NIAID Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/emerging/Pages/list.aspx).  The ultimate goal of this program is to discover and define novel basic immune mechanisms for controlling virus infections that will lead to new potential targets for developing future vaccines and therapeutics.

Foreign Institutions

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply.

 Key Dates

Letter of Intent Due Date	March 15, 2013
Application Due Date	April 16, 2013
Scientific Merit Review	September, 2013
Advisory Council Review	January, 2014
Earliest Start Date	May, 2014

Award Information

Funding Instrument	Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities.
Application Types Allowed	New Renewal
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards	NIAID intends to commit approximately $15 Million in FY 2014 to fund 5-7 U19 awards.
Award Budget	Application budgets are limited to $1.5 million direct costs per year, but need to reflect actual needs of the proposed project.
Award Project Period	Scope of the proposed project should determine the project period.  The maximum period is five years.

Purpose

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) represents the third phase of the NIAID Immune Mechanisms of Virus Control Program (IMVC).  The first phase was awarded as exploratory R21 grants in fiscal year 2007 (RFA-AI-07-008) and the second phase as either U01 or U19 cooperative agreements in fiscal year 2009 (RFA-AI-08-013). All qualified investigators are invited to apply to this FOA; prior funding under the first or second phases or through NIAID or NIH is NOT required.

The lack of effective vaccines and drug treatments for many viruses presents a health concern of significant proportions.  Host defenses against viruses involve both innate and adaptive immune mechanisms, but the basic processes and the interactions of these two arms of the immune response in anti-virus defense are not completely understood, especially in humans.  This FOA will continue to support basic immunological research focused on the parameters underlying the immune response to either virus infection or vaccination.  Studies involving multiple viruses are encouraged to foster discovery of generalizable principles of anti-viral immunity.  The goal of this program is to discover and define novel basic immune mechanisms that provide a more sophisticated understanding of the immune response to virus infection, and provide potential new targets for future vaccine and therapeutic drug development.  It is NOT the purpose of this program to apply currently accepted immunological concepts to the development of improved anti-virus vaccines or therapies.  For example, conventional antibody measurements used to test new vaccine candidates would not be considered responsive in the absence of studies on immune mechanisms of antibody protection.

Specific Areas of Research Interest

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases invites multi-project applications to be part of a network of synergistic research teams focused on the immunological parameters of virus infection and vaccination that are important for understanding the key molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the natural control of infection, the induction of protective immunity by vaccination, or the immune-mediated processes that cause pathology after virus infection or vaccination. 

The emphasis of research proposed in response to this FOA should be in defining novel cellular and molecular immune mechanisms involved in immunity to virus infection or vaccination.  Viruses of interest to this program are included as part of Groups I – III in the NIAID Emerging and Re-Emerging Diseases, listed at  http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/emerging/pages/list.aspx.  It is anticipated that proposed studies will be relevant to multiple viruses, therefore studies including multiple viruses are encouraged.  Studies involving viruses other than those on the NIAID Emerging and Re-Emerging list may be included as long as the chosen viruses pose serious threats to human health and at least one of the projects within the U19 is solely dedicated to one or more viruses from the NIAID Emerging and Re-Emerging list.  HIV studies are EXCLUDED from this FOA.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to those listed below:

• Understanding the interaction of innate immune pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) with viruses and the subsequent signaling pathways in immune cells.
• Profiling the responses of innate immune cells after viral infection or vaccination.
• Understanding the role of the innate immune system and the mechanisms used to direct specific adaptive immune responses to viral infections or anti-viral vaccines.
• Understanding the unique features of innate and adaptive immunity to virus infection or vaccination in specific mucosal sites and associated cells and tissues.
• Defining the influence of the microenvironment of different organs on immune cell function during virus infection or vaccination.
• Determining how different T and B cell subsets are generated and maintained during virus infection or vaccination against viruses.
• Characterizing the role of survival/apoptosis of immune cells, antigen persistence, cell turnover kinetics, and cytokines necessary for T and B cell memory to viruses.
• Understanding the immune mechanisms that lead to immunopathology versus a protective immune response during virus infection.
• Defining the relationship between lymphatic function (e.g., flow/cell trafficking) and the immune response to virus infection or vaccination.
• Characterizing sex differences in the immune response to virus infection or vaccination.
• Defining the impact of microbial co-infection on the immune response to virus infection.
• Defining the role of protective antibodies in the immune response during acute and/or chronic virus infection.

Research in Animal Models:  If animal studies are proposed, they must be well justified in terms of their relevance to human infection with or vaccination against emerging or re-emerging viruses.   Additionally, it is highly encouraged that validation studies be proposed in human cells where possible, but is not required.

In Vitro Work: in vitro work using human or other mammalian tissues, cells or molecules is permitted.

The following research areas will be considered non-responsive and applications proposing studies in the following areas will not be reviewed:

• Studies on AIDS, HIV, or SIV.
• Projects that:  1) simply apply existing immunological tools to the study of viruses; or 2) focus on non-immune mechanisms of pathogenesis.
• Clinical trials (clinical studies that test novel interventions in humans); the NIH definition of clinical trials is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/hs/glossary.htm/.  For the purpose of this announcement, clinical trials are not allowed; however, the use of samples obtained from human subjects in clinical trials funded through other mechanisms is allowed, as is the use of samples obtained from human subjects treated with licensed vaccines or drugs for the FDA approved purpose.
• Projects that focus primarily on technology, reagent, or animal model development.  However, these may be included as necessary parts of the project if well justified by the research aims and preliminary data.
• Projects that use non-mammalian systems.
• Virus challenge studies in humans

For more details, see:

 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-12-048.html#_Section_II._Award_1

and/or

 contact the Office of Research Services, on tel. 1332

AXA Chairs (full-time, AXA-funded academic positions) 2013

AXA Chairs

Application Guidelines

2013

please see: http://www.axa-research.org/sites/dev/files/A-Howtoobtain-Modus/Chairs2013.pdf

1. About this guide
This guide contains all the necessary information to apply for a Chair financed by the AXA Research Fund (ARF). You will also find a general overview of our selection process.

2. Available Chair schemes & Budgets
The AXA Research Fund selects three to five Chairs a year. The Chair funded by the AXA Research Fund aims at creating an academic full-time position. The AXA Professor may combine teaching activities with research work, in compliance with the policy of the hosting institution.

Institutions may apply for one of the following funding schemes:

Endowed Chairs
In this case, the institution is expected to invest the capital and fund the Chair from the interest.
o Endowed Distinguished Permanent Chair
- The institution intends to attract on the long term a world-class researcher from another institution. His/her research program must be aligned with the long-term strategy of the institution.
- The Chair holder is expected to be of the highest caliber (publications in first-rate journals, international stature and network)
- For endowed Distinguished Permanent Chairs, institutions may apply for a maximum of € 4.000.000
o Endowed Distinguished Visiting Chair
- The institution intends to set up a research program on the long run where successive world class researchers will be attracted from abroad every two to three years.
- Chair holders are expected to be of the highest caliber (publications in first-rate journals, international stature and network)
- For endowed Distinguished Visiting Chairs, institutions may apply for a maximum of €3.000.000
o Endowed Visiting Chair
- The institution intends to strengthen a research program on the long run where successive researchers will be attracted from abroad every three to five years. The Chair holder could also be internally chosen among the present academic faculty of the institution.
- Chair holders are expected to be tenure-track academics (PhD+10/15y)
- For endowed Visiting Chairs, institutions may apply for a maximum of €2.000.000

o A non-endowed fixed-term chair
- In this case, the institution can use the capital and interest to fund the program. The recommended duration of fixed-term chairs is three to five years.
- The institution intends to attract a world-class researcher from another institution, either to explore new avenues or significantly strengthen the research led in a department/laboratory.
- The Chair holder is expected to be of the highest caliber (publications in first-rate journals, international stature and network)
- For non-endowed fixed-term Chairs: the institutions may apply for a maximum of €100.000 per year.
Please note that for any funding scheme, the AXA Research Fund expects the name of a candidate (initial candidate for Visiting Chairs) in order to fully appreciate the ambition of the proposal. Should this be difficult, institutions are allowed to provide a short-list of prospected Chair holders. Institutions must be confident that, should the Chair be granted by AXA, it will be set up as initially proposed (designated candidates or prospects will indeed be hired). Finally, please note that the allotted budget is expected to cover primarily the Chair holder’s salary: the AXA Research fund does not cover infrastructure or overhead costs.

3. Eligibility criteria

3.1 General information
Only the most renowned research institutions, which meet the highest standards of excellence, may apply for a Chair. The scientific and academic assessment of all applications (for any Chair funding scheme) is based on the stringent selection criteria set forth below.
The Scientific Board oversees the selection process, basing its decisions on the assessments offered by a network of experts whose reputation in their fields is international.
Please note that every application that is submitted must be complete in order to be considered by the Fund’s Scientific Board.

3.1.1 Institutions
o The institution’s reputation for academic excellence
o Quality of its research: publications in scientific reviews, presence of internationally renowned researchers
o Relationship to the international community: international impact of the research carried out, success in attracting top-tier foreign researchers
o Quality of the research environment and working conditions offered to researchers through the Chair
o The ambition and robustness of the institution’s long-term strategy
o Quality of the prospection and recruitment process to hire faculty (this criterion is not relevant for non-endowed short-term chairs)

3.1.2 The Chair Program
o The academic excellence of the Chair program
o The scientific originality and innovative nature of the program
o The Chair’s contribution to strengthening international networks
o Consistency between the Chair program and the long-term development policy of the institution
o Operational strength and quality of the organization set up to support this Chair (including a realistic and coherent budget)

3.1.3 The Prospective Chair holder
o Academic excellence of Chair holder
o Chairholders must have acquired an international reputation rate in their scientific field and possess an outstanding track record.

3.2 Geographical scope
Our geographical scope for Chair funding includes:
Member states of the European Union, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Belarus, Brazil, China, Croatia, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Norway, the State of Qatar, Philippines, the Republic of Macedonia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam. Please note that this geographical scope is reviewed on a yearly basis. Host institutions located within this geographical scope are eligible to present candidates to our Chair funding campaigns. The Fund does not place restrictions on the nationality of the Chair holder.

For further information, please visit the AXA website at:

http://www.axa-research.org/sites/dev/files/A-Howtoobtain-Modus/Chairs2013.pdf 

and/or contact us at the Office of Research Services (ext. 1332)

AXA Research Fund: Postdoctoral Fellowships 2013

Post-Doctoral Applications: Guidelines 2013

please see: http://www.axa-research.org/sites/dev/files/A-Howtoobtain-Modus/Post-Doc2013.pdf

1. About this guide
This guide contains all the necessary information to apply for a Post-Doctoral fellowship financed by the AXA Research Fund (ARF). You will also find a general overview of our selection process.

Post-Doctoral applications – Instructions

2. Eligibility criteria
2. 1 General information
2.1.1 Institutions
To apply for these fellowships, institutions must be registered with the AXA Research Fund. The AXA Research Fund does not accept unsolicited applications from individual applicants. Please note that although a given candidate may be presented twice by the same institution, they cannot submit the same proposal twice. Applications must be submitted by the research institution to which the candidate’s host laboratory belongs, and where the post-doctoral work is to be carried out.

2.1.2 Candidates
Applications must comply with the following criteria in order to be submitted for peer-review and final selection by the Scientific Board of the AXA Research Fund:

• Applications must be filled out in English.
• A candidate can be presented through one institution only.
• Candidates must have defended their Ph.D thesis before the beginning of their Post-Doctoral grant.

We wish to finance projects from start to finish: projects that are already under way are thus not eligible for funding with the ARF. ARF PostDoc grants are not compatible with permanent academic positions.

2.2 Geographical scope
Our geographical scope for Post-Doc funding includes:
- Member states of the European Union,
- Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Belarus, Brazil, China, Croatia, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Norway, the State of Qatar, Philippines, the Republic of Macedonia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam
Only host institutions located within this geographical scope are eligible to present candidates to our Post-Doc funding campaigns. Please note that this geographical scope is reviewed on a yearly basis.

2.3 Eligible research fields
The mission of the AXA Research Fund is to fund basic research dedicated to a better understanding of risk. The word risk as we understand it is connected to: Phenomena that are perceived, or yet to be perceived as hazards or threats and which must be identified and measured for frequency and impact.
Post-Doctoral projects funded by the AXA Research Fund must be related to one of the general topics listed below, and should contribute to a better understanding of one of these three clusters of risks.

Our three general clusters of risks:

Environmental risks
Climate change, from glacier retreat to sea-level rise. Natural hazards, from earth hazards to atmospheric and space-weather phenomena. Human-driven environmental changes such as urban pollution, nanotechnologies or pesticide exposure.

Life risks
Aging and long-term care, e.g. trends in individual longevity, age-related diseases, population demographics. Biomedical risks, from the analysis and evolution of infectious diseases and pandemics to exposure to new technologies. Addictions and risky behaviors, from the perspectives of psychology, biology, medicine, etc.
o NB: The AXA Research Fund wishes to finance basic research only. This excludes R&D research programs, as well as clinical trials involved in clinical research projects. Please note that research programs aimed at understanding the fundamental mechanisms of a disease and its impact on health are considered basic.

Socio-economic Risks
Geopolitical risks, e.g. access to natural resources, international and civil conflicts, political upheavals, international security. Macro-economic and financial systemic risks, i.e. all uncertainties affecting the aggregate behavior of the economy. Individual and collective behaviors towards uncertainty. Large corporate risks, from internal corporate governance risks to threats and challenges inherent to the corporate environment.

2.4 Ethical disclaimer
For ethical reasons, the AXA Research Fund does not finance research in the following areas:

• research violating national regulations
• research having direct military use
• research having potentially dangerous environmental impact, research relying on the artificial production of highly infectious pathogens with potential large scale harmful/lethal effects for humans
• biomedical research led without the informed consent of the donors
• research on embryonic stem cells
• research processing private personal data without the informed consent of the concerned parties (incl. genetic information)
• research activities aiming at human cloning

3. Application & selection process

3.1 Key dates

o First Round: The operational contact fills in the form about the fields the institution wants to propose candidates in and why, on the AXA Research Fund’s application website.
 Opening: January 17th, 2013 ; Closing: February 2nd, 2013 at noon (Paris Time GMT +1)

o Second Round:
a. Pre-selection of candidates by the institution: The operational contact submits the names and emails of the pre-selected candidates on the AXA Research Fund’s application website.
 Opening: February 14th, 2013; Closing: March 21st, 2013 at noon (Paris Time GMT +1)
b. The candidates receive an email from the AXA Research Fund, providing them with an access and a password to fill in their on-line application, on the AXA Research Fund’s application website.
o They are allowed to fill in their application as soon as their institution has submitted it and till closing on April 18th, 2013 at noon (Paris Time GMT +1)
o AXA Scientific Board’s decision will be released on July 26th 2013.

For further details, please see the AXA Website at:

 http://www.axa-research.org/sites/dev/files/A-Howtoobtain-Modus/Post-Doc2013.pdf

and/or contact us at the Office of Research Services (ext. 1332)

AXA Research Fund 2013: Application Tips from AXA

TIP 1: Matching our Selection Criteria

Academic excellence of the candidate: here we mean track record, in terms of impact even more than volume; excellence of the previous host institution(s);   and, of course, stature and quality of the recommendation letters.

Innovative nature and originality of the project: reviewers highly value applications showing commanding knowledge of relevant literature; originality both in the research hypothesis and in the methodology used to test it. Naturally, demonstrating a contribution to a better understanding of important hazards and risks, or current global societal challenges is the core of what we are looking for.

International scope of the host research laboratory: we look at rankings, bibliometrics, and also at peer-reviewed recognition. We value both labs that are global leaders and labs that are on a dynamic growth path.  The quality of the facilities and attractiveness to international students and researchers – both junior and senior – is a good way to demonstrate these traits), as is the international exposure of the project/lab director.

Feasibility of the project: Quality of the environment (Postdoctoral program, supervision); Project framework (macro-planning, budget); Quality of the preliminary work and access to needed equipment, field studies, data and so on.

TIP 2: Demonstrating Exciting Innovation
As you know, the innovative nature of the research projects is very important to us – and we’ll try and favor “high risk/high gain” projects over more pedestrian, albeit productive, approaches. We believe that this is a quality of the applicant more than of the application so we’ll look both at the question asked and at previous research demonstrating creativity and innovative potential.

TIP 3: Helping Young Researchers’ Mobility.
We believe that it is crucial for young researchers to gather an international network and be exposed to various research environments in the early stage of their career. Hence we value applicants who already had an international exposure or, even more, whom we will help to build one. Our definition of international exposure goes as following:
-at least a semester spent abroad during doctoral studies or planned/previous post-doctoral positions. International exposure during master degree or undergraduate studies is much less relevant as they seldom lead to the nurturing of a strong research network.
-of course, as research is international by nature, the nationality of the applicant is not our basis for assessing international mobility.

TIP 4: Our Starting Grants are for Junior Researchers
The length of the time scale between PhD defense and Post-Doctoral applications projects should not exceed 5 years, except if a specific reason (illness, for instance) is involved. For more experienced candidates, our other schemes will be more relevant.

TIP 5: Helping Research to Impact/Interact with Policy-Making
Please encourage the applicant to highlight the contribution of his/her research to the discipline and, to a greater extent, to the understanding/ modeling/ mitigation/prevention of major risks and global challenges. The AXA Research Fund wants to better help its supported researchers to have a voice in the public debate and nurture it with the most advanced scientific discoveries. Any proof of the potential of the applicant to bring his research subject to the global table is mostly welcomed!

TIP 6: Great Recommendation(s) are key  
The recommendation letter should first and forehand prove the potential of the applicant. It can also demonstrate the robustness of the research project and its alignment with the strategy of the host institution/lab. It gives also the opportunity to provide us with insights regarding the quality of the environment in which the research project will be conducted in terms of equipment, expertise of the host laboratory, and its international scope.

More details of the 2013 Round will be posted here on, or soon after, 17 January 2013, when AXA expects to make a formal announcement.

Please stay tuned.