Health Research

Support research that sets out to find answers to unmet needs and social challenges in healthcare.

Progress in medicine doesn't just appear out of thin air: every stride forward is preceded by long and expensive years of research. Hard work that opens the door to new interventions that stand to benefit both patients and those around them. Thanks to the resources made available by philanthropists, the King Baudouin Foundation is able to support health research at both the Belgian and European level, on top of government investments and in partnership with both public and private actors.

Our actions

  • We support health research and award grants to researchers active in a range of fields: rare illnesses, cancer, neurology, cardiology, rheumatology and much more.
  • We encourage research into rare illnesses, thanks in part to the significant resources made available by the Generet Fund. Every year, this Fund awards a prize of one million euros to a pioneering researcher.
  • We encourage niche research that is not financed by other partes, with a particular focus on innovation and added value.

Health research is part of the programme Health

Calls for projects

Springboard grant for applied research in primary care

Springboard grant to help talented postdoctoral researchers in applied research in primary care to launch their research career

Ongoing

Fundamental research on the mechanisms of pediatric cancers

Call for fundamental research on the mechanisms of pediatric cancers with clinical translation

Selection announced

Generet (Fund)

A prestigious award of 1 Million euros to encourage groundbreaking research in rare diseases in Belgium for a better quality of life of patients.

Selection announced

Grantees

Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen

Steun aan het onderzoeksproject "Is isolated REM-Sleep-without-Atonia (iRSWA) a very early biomarker of Parkinson’s disease?" dat zal worden gerealiseerd door prof. dr. D. Crosiers / Soutien au projet de recherche "Is isolated REM-Sleep-without-Atonia ...

Project realised by David Crosiers: REM sleep behavior disorder is a common and specific prodromal symptom of Parkinson's disease and Multiple System Atrophy. In this study, we w…

Dutch Cancer Society (KWF)

Research project by Dr. Rogier Voermans: “Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of the Biliary Tract for Malignant Biliary Obstruction in Patients With Incurable Biliary Tract Cancer.”

Erasmus MC

Improving early diagnostics in clinically uncertain MSA and other parkinsonian syndromes

Events

Award ceremony - laureates 2022 Funds for health research

05/10/2023 10:30 until 05/10/2023 12:30

Award ceremony - Laureates 2022 of the Funds for health research

Funds and philanthropic tools

Fund for mental health research

The fund will support mental health research.

Yvette Stassin (Fund)

Support to humanitarian aid, research and aid for burn victims and their families.

Fund Moïse and Paul Blaimont

The Fund promotes research in bone surgery and orthopedics

Press Releases

1 Million Euros for Research into Early-Onset Dementia. Prof. Dr. Patrik Verstreken Receives Generet Prize for Rare Diseases

28 02 2025

The second Rousseeuw Prize for Statistics awarded

30 07 2024

The international and independent jury, appointed by the King Baudouin Foundation, has selected the pioneering work on the False Discovery Rate (FDR) as the recipient of the pres…

Mental Health Research Mapping

KBF releases 4 million euro for mental health research

16 02 2024

The KBF is setting up the Fund for Mental Health Research to map mental health research in Belgium.

Stories

From asthma research to better treatment for cystic fibrosis complications?

Health Research

"When we see a patient whose cystic fibrosis is deteriorating, it is often hard to identify the cause. There is a need for better diagnosis of allergic reactions to fungi."
Dr Eva Van Braeckel
Pulmonologist (UGent and UZ Gent)

Pancreatic cancer: gradually untangling a complex knot

Health Research

“In families where there are more cases of pancreatic cancer, we are also seeing an association with colon and breast cancer.”
Prof. Kathleen Claes
UGent, Lab for Cancer Predisposition and Precision Oncology

New perspective on DNA variations leads to explanation for rare disease

Health Research

“We have shown that it is also worthwhile to look at the variants just before and just after genes.”
Prof. Eric Legius
Head of Centre for Human Genetics UZ Leuven