Merck 350th Anniversary Research Grants 2018, Germany

Publish Date: Feb 01, 2018

Deadline: Aug 15, 2018

Merck 350th Anniversary Research Grants

In celebrating its 350th anniversary, Merck offers a series of research grants to stimulate innovative research in challenging areas of future importance. Merck intends to provide several research grants of up toEUR 350,000 per year for 3 years in various research areas with the option of extension or expansion. Merck is a vibrant team of specialists in Healthcare, Digitalization, Life Science, and Performance Materials. 

RESEARCH AREAS

  • HEALTHY LIVES / DRUG DISCOVERY

Drug discovery has made significant progress in recent years with immune checkpoint inhibitors revolutionizing the treatment of cancer or the emergence of completely new therapeutic approaches such as genetically engineered T-cells just to mention a few examples.At the occasion of our 350-year anniversary we are launching a call for research proposals on projects to identify and characterize the next game-changing molecule or technology to help cure cancer or autoimmune disease.

What are new breakthrough enabling technologies for drug discovery, which molecular targets or pathophysiological pathways have tremendous untapped potential to deliver the next big therapeutic breakthrough? How can translation from and predictivity of preclinical models to the clinical situation be enhanced?

  • MATERIAL & SOLUTIONS

You will look into the future for new generations of Intelligent Materials that will react and adapt to their environment, to bring exciting new properties and applications. Such materials would be designed or molecular engineered to react to an external stimulus and change their physical properties in a defined way. Examples could include self-healing materials that can automatically repair damage at a molecular level, sensing materials that change optical or electronic properties under defined stimuli, or materials that change shape or physical appearance under environmental changes (such as light, heat, electromagnetic field, pressure, chemical interaction, and so on). We look for ground-breaking materials science, but also for innovative applications that can bring these Intelligent Materials into real world use.

  • LIFE REIMAGINED / SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY

Understanding and harnessing the microbiome has the potential to impact the world around us and revolutionize human health, agriculture, and environmental restoration. However, understanding how we can harness and accelerate the promise of the microbiome is one of the toughest challenges in life science. The Merck 350 Research Grant recognizes the need for microbiome specific tools and methods to enable and translate microbiome research. This award would support the development of workflow tools, predictive models, culturing and imaging techniques, omics and informatics that enable technical advancements for deciphering the microbiome.

  • DIGITALIZATION / COMPUTING

Deep learning has led to spectacular advances in computing over the last years, conquering fields which previously seemed to be reserved  for human intelligence and creativity – for example, mastering the game of Go, recognizing images, or imitating the painting style of an artist. How can similar algorithms be applied to predictm the properties and behaviour of new chemical substances or to suggest substances that would fit a given purpose?

In ‘traditional’ in-silico research the simulation of a molecule is a difficult task due to the quantum nature of its particles, which leads to a very large number of degrees of freedom for the system. In quantum computing all information is stored in Q-bits, which behave inherently in a quantum-mechanical way. Is it possible to exploit this analogy and create super-efficient algorithms to simulate molecules?

WHO CAN APPLY?

Researchers from around the world may apply for the grants.

The research proposed for the grant must not: 

  • involve any of Merck’s product 
  • involve interventional clinical research 
  • involve the testing of competitors' products

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Fill out the Application Form with your research proposal, use only non-confidential information by August, 15th, 2018. Please make sure you have read and accepted the terms and conditions before you submit the application form.

All selected applicants will be invited to a three day workshop after signature of a confidential disclosure and workshop participation agreement to discuss and optimize a more detailed confidential research proposal further together with Merck scientists.

At the end of the workshop participants will present their optimized research proposal and the winning applicants will be selected by Merck. Merck will then enter into bilateral collaboration agreements with the winning recipients to enable pay-out of the research grant and project start in 2019.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below. 


This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

https://www.merckgroup.com/en/research/open-innovation/350anniversaryactivities/researchgrants.html

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Disciplines

Biology

Digital Humanities

Health

Material Sciences

Study Levels

Research

Opportunity Types

Grants

Eligible Countries

International

Host Countries

Germany