LF Experiment

About the grant 

Background

The Lundbeck Foundation’s ambition is to make Denmark leading in neuroscience research by funding relevant biomedical, health, clinical and other sciences in Denmark. The goal is to foster world-class research at Danish universities and Danish hospitals. At the same time, our grants must help provide an environment that stimulates the best graduates and scientists at all career levels.

The Lundbeck Foundation believes that diversity strengthens science and for this reason diversity, including, but not limited to, gender and ethnic origin, is encouraged. We especially encourage scientists from groups that have been traditionally under-represented in academia, including women and scientists of diverse ethnic backgrounds, to apply.

Research theme

Advancements in neuroscience often develop from cross-disciplinary interaction, leading to novel insights into biological mechanisms, trial design, emerging technologies, etc.

With this call, we invite applicants to submit proposals from any research field with potential benefit for the advancement of neuroscience and/or therapies for nervous system disorders. The term ‘neuroscience’ is used here in its broadest sense, including medical, technical, natural and social sciences as well as humanities.

Your project proposes ground-breaking ideas in their early phase, which hold the potential to fundamentally change its field of research. Your research may offer a transformative understanding of a research topic, pave the way for a new research field or create a new method or technology.

Previous LF Experiment grant holders.

Who can apply? 

Applicants must hold a PhD degree at the application deadline.

Where

 The research must be based at a non-commercial Danish research institution or hospital.

How much?

The Lundbeck Foundation is allocating up to DKK 50 million to this call, provided sufficient quality of the applications. You can apply for up to DKK 2 million for a period of up to two years. The budget may cover staff and non-staff costs related to the project

Please note:

• You cannot apply for PhD salaries
• If you are permanently employed scientific staff or on tenure track you cannot apply for your own salary.
• You may apply for funds to hire other academic staff provided:
    - you have at least four years of research experience after your PhD degree
    - the project period lies within the timeframe of your current employment contract
• Up to 10% of the budget can be reserved for project-related, indirect costs if appropriately justified  

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Application

How to apply?

You must submit your application, written in English, via the Lundbeck Foundation’s application system no later than 13.00 CET, 6 September 2023.

Your application must include the following:

• Project proposal- written in an anonymised form
• CV- only filename in an anonymised form

• Budget- written in an anonymised form
• Letter(s) of support from the Danish host institution, including a statement on the applicant’s length of employment - only filename in an anonymised form

Please see the applicant guide and the application form for further requirements and details.

Applications that do not follow the call text and the guidelines will not be considered and will be rejected administratively.

Since the review process is anonymised, it is of utmost importance that the research proposal and budget do not contain any indication of the applicant or affiliation.

You are welcome to contact Scientific Programme Manager Anette Høye or Scientific Programme Director Peter Thostrup if you have any questions regarding your application.

Evaluation process

All proposals will be reviewed in a three-step process.

Step 1:

The Grant & Prize department approve the application for review based on the fulfilments of the formal criteria. Applicants will be notified if their application is rejected.   

Step 2:

The second step is evaluation by the Lundbeck Foundation’s Talent Panel. The panel members will score the applications on the criteria below:

• Originality of the idea and fit for LF Experiment call:
  • The potential for a transformative understanding of a topic
  • The potential for paving the way for a novel method, technology, etc.
  • Likelihood of funding from conventional funding schemes
     
• Impact of the idea:
  • Potential impact on neuroscience and/or human health
  • The feasibility of the roadmap to impact

Each reviewer has the option to cast one decisive vote. The decisive vote is used for an extraordinary application that deserves to be funded regardless.

As anonymity of the applicant and their affiliation is essential to the review process, reviewers will be asked whether they are able to identify the applicant and/or the applicant’s research group from the application.

Applications will be ranked according to overall score, and applications with decisive votes will be ranked highest.

Step 3:

The Foundation’s Research and Prize Committee will approve the CVs of the applicants whose applications have been chosen by the Panel. This is to ensure that each applicant has the necessary qualifications to perform the research project. Applicants will be notified of approval or rejection of the application after the Research and Prize Committee’s review.

Applicants will not receive feedback on their proposals.
 

Important dates

• Deadline for application, 13.00 CET, 6 September 2023
• Rejection or approval of grants, medio December 2023
• The project can start at the earliest 1 January 2024 and must be initiated before 1 June 2024
• Opens in Q2, 2023

What are the grant conditions?

If your proposal is successful, you must accept by signing the Lundbeck Foundation’s general grant conditions, which will be sent to you. The current version can be seen here: https://www.lundbeckfonden.com/en/grants/terms-and-conditions-for-research-grants/

The purpose of the Lundbeck Foundation is to create powerful ripple effects that bring discoveries to lives through investing actively in business and science at the frontiers of their fields.