zukunft.niedersachsen: Innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to combat rare diseases

Illustration mit Wissenschaftlerin, der ein Roboter einen Erlenmeyerkolben reicht, im Hintergrund ein springendes Pferd

Important dates

June 30, 2024, 11:59 PM CET Deadline

A large number of different rare diseases impair the quality of life of many of those affected. Little is usually known about the individual diseases. The funding program enables researchers to better understand, diagnose and treat rare diseases.

area of research: rare diseases, personalised medicine, biomedicine, biotechnology, bioinformatics, data sciences
type of funding: collaborative and individual projects
up to 5 years
up to 7.5 million euro for collaborative projects; up to 3 million euro for individual projects
target group: professors and postdocs at universities and non-university research institutions in Lower Saxony

The aim of the call is to provide new impetus to research on rare diseases. Interdisciplinary extensions of the research design are strongly welcome. Research projects on rare diseases are also encouraged to place a particular focus on childhood manifestations. In principle, projects dedicated to previously undiagnosed diseases that could be rare diseases according to the definition, are also eligible for funding.

Projects can focus on the following areas:

High-throughput sequencing and genotyping of existing and possibly still to be expanded cohorts and other longitudinal health data, including the identification of (predictive) biomarkers (candidates)
Understanding new challenges in law and ethics regarding medical and research data in the context of rare diseases
Strengthening interdisciplinary perspectives using AI, machine learning and innovative imaging
xRNA-based therapeutic approaches, e.g., in the context of antisense oligonucleotide therapies
Innovative approaches to the acquisition and processing of biomedical data, e.g., through AI/ML, neural networks
Development and testing of innovative diagnostic approaches and further development of procedures that were previously very complex due to exclusion diagnostics
Proof of concept projects for the development of gene therapeutics
Proof of concept projects for the use of (multi-)omics approaches in the research of rare diseases

More information on the funding offer

Information for applicants (PDF, 261.4 KB)

How it works: From application to decision

Terms and conditions

Please read the "Information for Applicants" carefully and familiarize yourself with the application conditions.

Information for applicants "rare diseases" (PDF, 261.4 KB)

Prepare your application

Here you will find further documents for preparing your application.

Submit application

Submit your application in electronic form via the application system.

Application system

Decision

The assessment is organised by the office of the Wissenschaftliche Kommission Niedersachsen. Successfully reviewed projects can be funded from 1 April 2025.

Contact

Andreas May
Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture
Email: andreas.may@mwk.niedersachsen.de
Tel.: +49 511 120 2508

For questions on the application system:
Simone Künnecke
Volkswagen Foundation
Email: kuennecke@volkswagenstiftung.de
Tel.: +49 511 83 81 – 255