Medical Research Council, GB and other funders: COMING SOON: Centres of excellence in neurodegeneration initiative – pathfinder 5

28/07/2022

14/11/2022

The Medical Research Council, under the Network of Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration and in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the Spanish Institute of Health (ISCII), the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the Ministry of Health Italy (MDS), invites proposals for its pathfinder call. This aims to build collaborative research activity in neurodegeneration research across borders in order to accelerate progress in understanding the mechanisms of disease as well as the identification of new therapeutic approaches. The total budget is £2.9 million. The full economic cost of the project can be up to £350,000 for fundamental research up to £575,000 for proposals that involve clinical studies or animal models. Projects may last for up to two years.

The scientific remit for the award is broad in scope and projects may include studies in basic and clinical health services and policies as well as social aspects of neurogenerative diseases. Connectivity with research in related areas, such as inflammation and sensory neuroscience or vascular and mental health is encouraged. Within the remit of this call, neurodegeneration applies to: •Alzheimer's disease and other dementias; •Huntington's disease; •Parkinson's disease and related disorders; •multiple sclerosis; •motor neurone diseases; •prion disease; •spinocerebellar ataxia; •spinal muscular atrophy.

Proposals must involve at least two identified centres of excellence or eligible institutions from at least two different countries. More than one CoE may be involved within any single country, as long as the primary cross-border criterion is met. Essential expertise may be included from outside the CoEs as an identified collaborator. Projects with cross-disciplinary elements are encouraged and collaborators from outside the field, such as in the physical sciences, are encouraged, as are industry partners.