Announcement of the Natvantage Grant
a funding initiative of the Wilhelm Doerenkamp-Foundation, Chur
This research grant invites scientists in Europe to conduct research based on natural compounds or phytoextracts. The focus is on pharmacological preclinical and clinical research aiming to establish new indications and improved therapies.
The NATVANTAGE GRANT is being awarded yearly to up to 3 researchers or research teams, who have submitted inspired and promising project applications for a nature-based research topic aiming at therapeutic use.
A scientific Advisory Board evaluates the potential projects with special emphasis on their consideration of a medical unmet need, their scientific standard, clinical relevance, innovation potential and feasibility.
In addition to promoting solution-oriented research, the grant encourages knowledge-sharing and networking among the grant recipients and within the scientific community.
The grant amount depends on the respective country and institute involved and reaches up to 80.000 Euro per annum per applicant for a maximum duration of 3 years (240.000 Euro maximum aggregate grant amount per applicant).
The financial commitment of the Foundation is made for one year only. The prolongation (like the grant itself) is subject to the sole discretion of the Foundation and the Advisory Board based on the progress of the project in the previous year(s).
The current submission period ends on 15th February 2024.Â
Guidelines
- To be eligible, Applicants hold a university degree, are employed by a recognized healthcare or healthcare-related institution or university in Europe for the duration of the project and have the approval and support of this institution to apply for the NATVANTAGE GRANT and carry out the project if funded.
- Only projects from the research area and research phase described above will be considered (no basic research, no projects on dietary supplements).
- For research projects that are being conducted by a team, the submission needs to be made by the leading team member.
- The potential research projects submitted may not be supported by any other foundation or similar organization.
A scientific Advisory Board consisting of the following members
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Susanne Alban (Kiel, Germany),
Prof. Dr. Veronika Butterweck (Romanshorn, Switzerland), and
Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Michalsen (Berlin, Germany)
and/or any other suitable member as designated by the Foundation (Advisory Board) will evaluate the potential projects.
If project proposals are positively evaluated, grant awards further require a written agreement between the Applicants, respectively their institution and the Foundation.
Grant recipients commit themselves to
- the rules of good scientific practice and conducting clinical studies according to good clinical practice;
- submitting a first project status report after 6 months' project term;
- submitting yearly status reports including evidence of the application of funds as prerequisite for potential further funding;
- participating in annual project review workshops (at the Foundation’s expense);
- making a final scientific and financial report on their project and submitting the research results to a scientific journal for publication.
Applications must be submitted online at www.natvantage.ch.
The current submission period ends on 15th February 2024.
The deadline is met if all of the following information is submitted in the form and with the content specified below as at the above date at latest.
Please complete the grant application form provided with the following information in English or German (Application Documents):
- project title;
- key words on plants/substances, scope of application and methods;
- summary of the research project (max. 300 words);
- background and motivation (max. 400 words);
- hypotheses and specific aims (max. 400 words);
- description of hypotheses testing experiments to be carried out within the funding period; the active substances used in the project have to be precisely defined (max. 400 words);
- "novelty" and potential application (max. 300 words).
Please allocate the contents of your application exactly to the individual fields and avoid redundancies.
Further please upload the following documents as PDF files:
- milestone plan;
- project budget;
- CV;
- short publication list;
as well as any other relevant documentation.
The Applicants assure that they are the owners of all rights to the Application Documents and entitled to the submission of such according to these guidelines.
Participants of the grant will be informed about the outcome in June of the respective year.
The Advisory Board and the Foundation will not communicate any reasons for acceptance or rejection of the Grant applications.
Should you have any questions, please contact grant@natvantage.ch