Applications call for Merck Foundation Research Grants 2020

In 2020, Merck Foundation is offering a series of research grants to stimulate innovative research in challenging areas of future importance. Grants of 100,000 EUR – 500,000 EUR per year for up to 3 years are available in the areas of

• Drug discovery.
• Bioreactor design for cultured meat.
• Next-generation machine learning.
• Pandemic preparedness/fighting new emerging viral infectious disease.

Eligibilities 

The Merck research grants program is open to scientists in all career stages who are affiliated with any research-based institution, university, or company. Applicants submit their application for the focus topics containing non-confidential information only. Candidates may apply for more than one focus topic. If the application is successful, candidates will be invited to submit a full proposal and join a deep-dive workshop with the other finalists in 2020. Submissions are accepted by scientists in all countries all over the world.

Application 

To submit an application, investigators must first register with our online portal. On the first visit, candidates will need to register (click “register” in the online form) with a valid email address. The registration link will then be forwarded to this email address. Refer to this link for details.

Submissions will be accepted until 31 August 2020 23:59 CEST for the Drug discovery, Bioreactor design, Next-generation machine learning topics. For the Pandemic preparedness topic, there is no fixed deadline, since applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis so that we are able to provide a quicker response in these challenging times.

Additional Details 

The deep-dive workshop for the Drug discovery, Bioreactor design, Next-generation machine learning topics will take place November 3rd- 5th, 2020 in Darmstadt, Germany. Finalists will work together with Merck managers and scientists to jointly optimize submitted project proposals. The culmination of the symposia will be the selection of the research grant winners.

The applications due to 31st August 2020 Central European Summer Time.