The Fund for scientific research in rheumatology launches a call for research into rheumatic diseases. The research should focus especially on clinical and multidisciplinary or multicenter programs, either in academic or non-academic Belgian institutions, that respond to a clearly identified need of patients and/or caregivers.
Projects that are open to collaborations with other interested centers and which cannot easily be supported through other existing national or international programs are especially invited. For clinical research, the relevance of the project and the potential impact of the results on diagnosis/treatment/quality of care have to be clearly defined.
Seeding money for innovative translational or basic research can also be requested, in a preparative phase for more established funding opportunities.
A total budget of € 150.000 has been allocated to this call, in order to support different projects (target amount per project: € 30.000 max). Maximum 20% of this total budget can be dedicated to translational research.
Who is it for?
The call is open to researchers/research teams within academic or non-academic Belgian institutions.
Trainees in rheumatology and young rheumatologists are particularly encouraged to submit an application.
The application should be formally supported by a confirmed researcher (e.g. holds PhD or clear research experience).
Laureates of previous calls may reapply if they have submitted all activity reports related to the previous call(s) as required by the agreement.
Collaborative projects involving researchers as well as clinicians and patients are encouraged.
Multicenter research is encouraged (i.e. with a proof of collaboration between researchers from different centers regarding the content of the research, inclusion of patients and logistic cooperation).
