Funding

Find funding, fuel discovery

Explore a comprehensive overview of funding opportunities for neurodegenerative disease research, featuring both Swiss and international sources. The platform offers detailed information on project grants, fellowships, awards, and mobility grants, while highlighting active calls to help researchers, institutes, and startups in securing vital financial resources. Key funding partners driving progress in neurodegenerative disease research are also featured.

Ongoing Calls

ERC Consolidator Grant

Agency:

Category: Project funding

Focus: Supports researchers (7 to 12 years experience after PhD) to consolidate their independence by establishing a research team in any field of research.

Amount: € 2 million up to 5 years

Eligibility: Researcher

Deadline: 14.01.2025

Personalized Approaches for Understanding, Assessing and Improving Gait in Parkinson’s Disease Research Program

Agency:

Category: Project funding

Focus: Funds clinical testing on personalized approaches for understanding, assessing and improving gait in Parkinson’s disease.

Amount: $250,000 - $2,000,000 2 to 3 years

Eligibility: Researchers, clinicians

Deadline: 14.01.2025

SNSF Starting Grants

Agency:

Category: Fellowship

Focus: Provides researchers the opportunity to lead and manage their own projects and research teams in Switzerland. This funding is open to researchers across all disciplines and topics.

Amount: Up to CHF 1 million (maximum for project funds), with potential salary coverage for those without guaranteed salaries

Eligibility: Researchers with 2 to 8 years of post-PhD experience or 5 to 12 years after medical degree, who have not yet led independent research in Switzerland.

Deadline: 15.01.2025

Sleep Contributions to Neurodegeneration (SCN) Grant Program

Agency:

Category: Project Funding

Focus: Supports research investigating the biological basis of sleep disturbances in neurodegenerative diseases. Projects should aim to uncover how sleep-related mechanisms influence disease progression, risk, and clinical symptoms, as well as identify distinct sleep signatures within and across these conditions.

Amount: $200,000 to $500,000 up to 2 years

Eligibility: Researchers at academic institutions, small companies, nonprofit organizations, and small for-profit organizations.

Deadline: 29.01.2025

Academic Excellence Fellowship (UZH)

Agency:

Category: Fellowship

Focus: Supports early career researchers to conduct a research project at UZH.

Amount: 100'000 CHF

Eligibility: UZH ealry career researcher

Deadline: 31.01.2025

Alzheimer’s Association Funding Program for Global Real-World Data Platforms (ALZ-RWD)

Agency:

Category: Project funding

Focus: Supports the advancement and expansion of Real-World Data platforms to evaluate Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

Amount: $100,000 - $1,000,000 for 1-2 years

Eligibility: Researcher

Deadline: 31.01.2025

Postdoc.Mobility (SNSF)

Agency:

Category: Mobility grant

Focus: Supports researchers who have completed their doctoral studies and are looking to advance their careers by pursuing research abroad.

Amount: The amount of the fellowship depends on the cost of living in the country of residence.

Eligibility: Early career researchers (before 3 years after PhD)

Deadline: 01.02.2025

Age-Stiftung Förderantrag

Agency:

Category: Project funding (German speaking part of Switzerland)

Focus: Supports diverse project initiatives that benefit older people and enable the implementation of sustainable solutions, with particular emphasis on approaches that address people in vulnerable life situations or fragile phases.

Amount: varies

Eligibility: Applied research, institutions, communities, projects

Deadline: 03.02.2025

Small Research Grant Program for the Next Generation of Researchers in AD/ADRD Research

Agency:

Category: Project Funding

Focus: Supports innovative research projects in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD). The program targets early-career researchers and established investigators who have not yet led major projects in this field, fostering novel approaches to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and caregiving for AD/ADRD.

Amount: Up to $100,000 for max. 2 years

Eligibility: Early-career researchers and established investigators without major prior AD/ADRD funding.

Deadline: 16.02.2025

UniBe Doc.Mobility

Agency:

Category: Mobility grant

Focus: Supports UniBe doctoral students in conducting research abroad, typically for 6-12 months, as part of their scientific development.

Amount: PhD salary 2nd year, including social and insurance benefits.

Eligibility: UniBE PhD students

Deadline: 01.03.2025

Drug Development

Agency:

Category: Project funding

Focus: Supports non-clinical studies and early-phase clinical trials that test promising pharmacological interventions and devices for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. 

Amount: Up to $ 5'000'000

Eligibility: Universities, start ups, companies, nonprofit organisation

Deadline: 03.02.2025

Neuroimaging and CSF biomarker program

Agency:

Category: Project funding

Focus: Support for advancing and validating established biomarkers to address clear clinical needs in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Amount: Up to $ 600'000

Eligibility: Universities, start ups, companies, nonprofit organisation

Deadline: 03.02.2025

Prevention

Agency:

Category: Project funding

Focus: Supports studies on cognitive symptoms linked to health conditions, comparative effectiveness research, and epidemiological investigations examining how drug use or choice influences the risk of dementia or cognitive decline.

Amount: Up to $ 5'000'000

Eligibility: Universities, start ups, companies, nonprofit organisation

Deadline: 03.02.2025

SPARK (SNSF)

Agency:

Category: Project funding

Focus: Supports innovative, high-risk research ideas that are distinct from ongoing projects.

Amount: 50'000 - 100'000 CHF for 6 - 12 months

Eligibility: Researcher

Deadline: 04.03.2025

ERC Proof of Concept Grant

Agency:

Category: Project Funding

Focus: Supports the validation and development of innovative ideas stemming from ERC-funded projects, extending their impact beyond the original research scope

Amount: € 150,000 for 18 months

Eligibility: All Principal Investigators holding an ERC Frontier Research Grant (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy).

Deadline: 13.03.2025

Practical project for a better life with dementia

Agency:

Category: Project Funding

Focus: Supports applied projects that improve the quality of life for people living with dementia and their caregivers. It focuses on practical solutions to everyday challenges, fostering independence and promoting well-being. Projects must involve the cooperation of at least two organizations and address significant needs, such as providing lifelong support for people with dementia and their families—from symptom recognition and diagnosis to advanced stages of care, whether at home or in institutions. Additionally, the foundation prioritizes initiatives tailored to individuals with dementia from migrant backgrounds and their caregivers.

Amount: Depending on the project

Eligibility: Organizations that collaborate with at least one other organization to implement applied projects aimed at improving the lives of people with dementia and their caregivers.

Deadline: 14.03.2025

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Swiss funding agencies

Age Stiftung

supports projects focused on practical solutions for improving housing, care and quality of life for elderly.

Dementia Research Switzerland - Synapsis Foundation

supports research on neurodegenerative diseases and related fields, including basic, translational and clinical research.

Innosuisse

supports the development and commercialization of innovative ideas by providing funding, coaching and networking opportunities.

Smarter medicine

supports research that identifies and reduces the overuse of medical interventions in Switzerland.

Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences

supports various research initiatives in the medical field.

Vontobel Stiftung

supports researchers by funding social, scientific and dialogue-enhancing projects that focus on social welfare, nature and science, medical research and cultural initiatives. The foundation aims to support early-career researchers working at established research institutions. Funding covers salaries for PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers, as well as justified material and laboratory costs. Projects initiated by other foundations are not supported.

International funding agencies

Alzheimer Association

supports research worldwide on Alzheimer's disease and other dementia.

Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation

supports global research on novel drugs for Alzheimer's prevention, treatment and cure.

Chan Zuckerberger Initiative

funds projects focused on neurodegeneration mechanisms, cellular neuroscience, sleep biology and circuit mechanisms underlying learning, memory and cognition.

Cure Alzheimer's Fund

support research with the potential to accelerate a cure or disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

European Research Council

funds researchers to run projects based across Europe.

Federation of European Neuroscience Societies

offers grants and stipends in a wide range of activities: to attend scientific meetings, for higher education or for outreach activities.

Michael J. Fox Foundation

funds promising research with a goal to significantly improve the lives of people with Parkinson's.

National Institute on Aging

supports basic, clinical, social and behavioral research on aging and the special problems and needs of older adults.