Health - Biology

Emergence and maturation of projects in Technologies for health

The French funding agency, Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), launched a national call for "proof of concept" research projects in the fields of technologies for health. This call is open solely to public researchers.

This is the forth edition of such a call. The first one was open in 2005.

This call for proposal is open to academic projects before any industrial partnership is set up.

ANR expects to receive innovative projects, with a high economical potential. The projects must be based on a validation phase already obtained.

Industrial application, perspectives for an economical development and innovation will be among the selection criteria together with scientific excellence.

Emergence and maturation of projects in Biotechnologies

ANR launched a national call for "proof of concept" research projects in the fields of biotechnology. This call is open solely to public researchers.

This is the forth edition of such a call. The first one was open in 2005.

This call for proposal is open to academic projects before any industrial partnership is set up.

ANR expects to receive innovative projects, with a high economical potential. The projects must be based on a validation phase already obtained.

Industrial application, perspectives for an economical development and innovation will be among the selection criteria together with scientific excellence.

Public-private researches in Biotehnologies

ANR launched a national call for public-private partnership research projects in the field of biotechnology for health.

ANR expects to receive innovative projects corresponding to industrial research or experimental development in biotechnology for health. These projects have to bring together companies and research organisations and must be based on a validation phase already obtained.

Submitted projects should be highly innovative, at the industrial research or experimental development phase. They must bring together at least one company and one research organisation and their rational should be based on a validation phase already obtained

Industrial application, perspectives for an economical development and innovation will be among the selection criteria together with scientific excellence.

Public-private researches in technologies for health and autonomy

Together with the Caisse Nationale de la Solidarité pour l'Autonomie (CNSA), ANR launched a call for projects in the field of public-private partnership in technologies for health and autonomy.
This call is aimed to promote new technologies in the field of health and autonomy through research projects which will elaborate new concepts and important technological jumps. These projects will allow to strengthen expertise of laboratories and competitiveness of industry working in this field.

Projects could concern the following topics:
New technologies in :

• Instrumentation and biocaptors
• Medical and pre-clinical imaging
• Computer assisted medical and chirurgical monitoring
• I-medicine and I-health
• Tissues and biomaterials engineering

New innovative technologies and services for re-education, correcting or functional substitution of deficiencies.

Contaminants, Ecosystems, Health (CES)

The French funding agency, Agence Nationale de la Recherche launched a national call for research projects in the field of "Contaminants, Ecosystems, Health". Its objective is to reinforce the scientific knowledge through fundamental researches on the relationship between environment and human or animal health. The projects should mainly focus on the dynamics of contaminants, on their modification and their impact on the ecosystems, and on their effects on human and animal health.

Three fields are to be considered:

Production of knowledge to better assess the risks of contagion disrupting the ecosystems with risks on human and animal health

Contribution to the prevention of the possible negative impacts of contaminants on human and animal health, and elaboration of measures for the reduction of the exposures

Development of technological innovations in the field of the prevention, the substitution, and the reduction of the exposures due to the effects on the ecosystems and on human and animal health.
 

From genes to physiopathology, from rare to common diseases (GENOPAT)

Together with Association Française contre les Myopathies (AFM), ANR launched a national call for research projects in the field of the physiopathology of rare and common diseases.

This call has three main objectives:

1. To increase the research endeavour to better understand molecular, cellular and tissue-specific mechanisms in all human diseases (rare or common)
2. To trigger multi-disciplinary research in this field, and to increase partnership between basic and clinical research as well as academic and industrial research
3. To open up the research on human diseases by connecting skills, tools and knowledge that have been developed for rare diseases, on one hand, and for common diseases, on the other hand.

Infectious diseases and their environment (MIE)

Together with the Agence Inter-établissements de Recherche pour le Développement (AIRD), ANR launched a call for research in the field of infectious disease and their environment.

This call is aimed to increase the effort of research on infectious diseases taking into account the overall questions raised to these diseases, from basic studies to clinical research.

Three fields could be covered in the projects:

1. Pathogens microorganisms, environment and ecosystems
2. Microbes and infectious diseases
3. Knowledge of pathologies: understanding of the host - pathogen relationship.

Neurological and psychiatric diseases (MNP)

Together with Association Française contre les Myopathies (AFM), ANR launched a national call for research in the field of neurological and psychiatric diseases.

The main objectives of this call are:

1. To sustain efforts in basic and clinical research to better take into account neurological and psychiatric diseases, with a special attention to ageing-related diseases such as Alzheimer and Alzheimer-related diseases
2. To connect the different types of research in this field by triggering partnerships between basic and clinical research, as well as academic and industrial research.

Multidisciplinary programme in physics, chemistry and health sciences (PCV)

Together with the Institut National du Cancer (INCA), ANR launched a call for projects in the field of multidisciplinary research in physics, chemistry and health sciences. 
 
This call is aimed to stimulate multidisciplinary approaches for a better understanding of the living mechanisms. Innovative tools for research, diagnosis, therapy and technologies based on basic knowledge in the field of biology and health are encouraged to apply to this call.

Complex systems and mathematical modelling (SYSCOMM)

SYSCOMM is a multi-disciplinary national call for research projects that aims at simplifying models, at improving understanding the complex systems, and at reducing the use of heavy numerical simulations. To reach these objectives, SYSCOMM triggers the integration of applied mathematics, statistical physics and theoretical computer science together with experimental data.
By providing new approaches, this multi-disciplinary call for research projects involves systems with multi-scale perspective as well as systems interacting with different environment.
SYSCOMM is widely opened to all scientific fields among them, for example, ecosystem dynamics, systems biology, geophysical pattern formation, etc… In addition, all complex systems will be considered from manmade (engineering, avionics,…) to natural ones.

Transnational programm on the Ambient Assistance Living (AAL 169)

ANR together with the Art-169 action AAL169 http://www.aal169.org/, launched a call for projects in the field of "prevention and management of chronic diseases" in April 2008. 

Transnational programme on neurodegenerative diseases (NEURON)

Together with the Era-NET NEURON http://www.neuron-eranet.eu/, ANR launched a call for projects in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.  

The main purpose of the call is to generate joint European research and development activities. Joint projects, with a minimum of 3 ERA-NET PARTNER countries, and a maximum of five partners, will include participants from both academia and clinics or industry. PARTNER countries include Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Luxemburg, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweeden, UK,Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.  

The aim of the call is to enable transnational, collaborative research projects that will address important questions relating to human neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system. Cerebrovascular diseases (e.g. stroke) are not included in the present call. The call may receive proposals within the breadth of research from understanding basic mechanisms of disease through to proof-of-concept clinical studies in man. The ERA-Net NEURON funding organisations particularly wish to promote multi-disciplinary working and to encourage translational research proposals (from bench to patient bedside) that combine basic and clinical approaches.

Research proposals should cover at least one of the following areas:

1. Fundamental research on the pathogenesis and aetiology of neurodegenerative diseases. This may include the development of innovative or shared resources and technologies. The relevance of the research to disease must be clearly indicated. 
2. Research to develop new strategies for (early) diagnosis, therapy, and rehabilitation procedures for neurodegenerative diseases.
   Projects may include, for example, identification, characterisation and validation of biomarkers, biological targets, development of innovative screening systems, generation of novel model systems, gene or cell therapies. Clinical studies are eligible up to the point of proof of concept.
   The individual components of joint applications should be complementary and contain novel, ambitious ideas. There should be clear added value in funding the collaboration over the individual subprojects.

Transnational programme on applied pathogenomics

Together with the Era-NET Pathogenomics http://www.pathogenomics-era.net/index.php, ANR launched a call for projects in the field of 'applied pathogenomics: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of infectious diseases in humans".  

The main purpose of the call is to generate joint European research and development activities. Joint projects, with a maximum of 7 participants from a minimum of 3 ERA-NET PARTNER countries will include participants from both academia and clinics or industry. A proportion of the funding will be reserved to support projects headed by young scientists.
PARTNER countries include Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.

Aims of the call are to develop collaborative projects based on a division of labour with a high degree of innovation and scientific and technical risk. Project proposals should focus on prevention, diagnosis, treatment or monitoring of diseases caused by bacterial and fungal pathogens of humans.

Potential topics of the proposals could include:

• new tools for the prevention of infectious diseases and secondary pathologies, development of new vaccines, use of pre-/probiotic potential of microorganisms,
• development of new tools or strategies for diagnosing infections, development of new procedures for faster/more cost-efficient diagnostics,
• development of new therapies, validation/lead identification of potential new therapeutics, studies on mode of action/mode of side effects, investigations of the role of micro-organisms in secondary pathologies (e.g. in chronic diseases),
• new tools or strategies for monitoring infectious diseases,
• development and application of new technologies (e.g. new sequencing methods, high-throughput methods, new animal models, bio-assays, in vivo imaging technologies, in vivo screening methods) to develop new diagnostics or therapeutics.

Transnational programme on Systems Biology

ANR together with the Era-NET EraSysBio (12 partners) http://www.erasysbio.net/, will launch a call for projects in the field of Systems Biology in Summer 2008.