The Lundbeck Foundation gives grants worth DKK 97 million to young scientists

It is the lot of scientists the world over to spend many of their working hours on securing grants for the projects they are passionate about. It is hard work, and the less you are known in the research environment, the more grant applications you need to write.

The Lundbeck Foundation helps young biomedical scientists by regularly awarding so-called postdoc grants. These grants are given to particularly talented scientists, most of whom have a PhD and are hoping to specialise further.

The Lundbeck Foundation has now allocated the postdoc grants for 2019, to the tune of DKK 97 million.

‘These grants are much coveted, and we received 225 applications in all,’ says Professor Thomas Sinkjær, Lundbeck Foundation Grants & Prizes.

Applications are assessed by the Lundbeck Foundation Talent Panel, consisting of 15 leading international scientists from a wide range of countries, including Denmark. And although the applications received by the Lundbeck Foundation for postdoc grants are always of a high scientific standard, the standard this year was notably high. Thomas Sinkjær remarks:

‘Several of the foreign members of the committee paid particular credit to the high research standards of the applicants.’

A total of 46 projects will share the DKK 97 million earmarked by the Lundbeck Foundation for postdoc grants, and 24 of the 46 recipients are women.

Half of the 46 projects address various aspects of brain research, which is the Lundbeck Foundation’s special focus area. The other projects cover subjects such as diabetes, gene regulation in connection with changes in diet, stem cell therapies, PET scanning and pain research.

Peace to get the job done
A Lundbeck Foundation postdoc grant is usually between DKK 1.6 and 2.4 million. The grant is issued over a period of two to three years, covering research funding and salary to give recipients the peace they need to work on their research.

Thomas Sinkjær explains that the Lundbeck Foundation has designed the postdoc grant programme with a pronounced international perspective:

‘The international perspective is of the utmost importance to research and research collaboration. This is why we allow scientists from abroad to apply for postdoc funding to conduct research at Danish universities, and seven of this year’s 46 grant recipients come from outside Denmark. It’s also possible for Danish scientists to conduct research at a foreign university with the funding provided by a Lundbeck Foundation’s postdoc grant – and nine of this year’s grant recipients are doing this.’

30 of this year’s 46 postdoc grants are funding biomedical sciences research conducted by Danish researchers at Danish universities, hospitals or special institutions.