Research Grants - Early Career

Research Grants - Early Career

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Human Frontier Science Program
Last Updated: February 05, 2026

Summary

The Human Frontier Science Program offers Research Grants for Early Career scientists, focusing on innovative basic research in biology that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and lead their own research group, fostering scientific exchange across borders. The program supports teams exploring complex biological questions without requiring preliminary results, while emphasizing risk management and mitigation strategies in research proposals.

Overview

Note:  An explanation of deadlines is as follows: Compulsory initiation of a Letter of Intent (pre proposal deadline above)Submission of Letter of Intent (Letter of Inquiry deadline above) Distinguishing Features of the HFSP Research Grant Program HFSP Research Grants support innovative basic research into fundamental biological problems with emphasis placed on novel and interdisciplinary approaches that involve scientific exchanges across national and disciplinary boundaries. Participation of scientists from disciplines outside the traditional life sciences such as biophysics, chemistry, computational biology, computer science, engineering, mathematics, nanoscience or physics is recommended because such collaborations have opened up new approaches for understanding the complex structures and regulatory networks that characterize living organisms, their evolution and interactions. Research grants are provided for teams of scientists from different countries who wish to combine their expertise in innovative approaches to questions that could not be answered by individual laboratories. Preliminary results are not required and applicants are expected to develop new lines of research through the research collaboration. It is understood that such research inherently contains risks and HFSP expects that teams of applicants address the risks and outline mitigation strategies for their research in case of failure and how they intend to achieve their goals. Applications for applied research, including medical research typically funded by national medical research bodies, will be deemed ineligible. Research Grants - Early Career (Former Young Investigators) All team members are expected to direct a research group (however small) and must have a doctoral degree (PhD, MD or equivalent). They must be in a position to initiate and direct their own independent lines of research. The HFSP award is not intended to create scientific independence, this is a decision of the research institute prior to the application.

Eligibility

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