Deadline: 12-Jan-2026
The Novo Nordisk Foundation is accepting applications for its Emerging Investigator Grants Programme to support upcoming and highly promising research leaders within Industrial Biotechnology and Environmental Biotechnology in the Nordic countries.
The proposed research should tackle major challenges in industrial or environmental biotechnology through fundamental studies with a strategic focus on scalability, sustainability and productivity.
It must clearly involve biotechnology and may include areas such as engineering biological systems or microorganisms for production, developing bioproduction technologies, improving biomanufacturing efficiency, using biotechnology to protect or enhance the environment, studying or manipulating ecosystems, and applying data science to advance research in these fields.
Grants can support research activities for up to DKK 12.50 million over a five-year period. Funding can be used for the applicant’s salary, salaries for employees, PhD tuition fees, operating expenses, bench fees, equipment, conference participation, travel, and publication costs. The research must begin no earlier than May 2026 and no later than April 2027.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation Emerging Investigator Grant aims to support talented scientists at the career level of senior postdoc, senior researcher, assistant professor, or newly employed associate professor with the academic potential to establish an independent research program at a university or other non-profit research institution in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden.
The grant seeks to nurture future leaders in biotechnology who will contribute to solving pressing industrial and environmental challenges through innovative research. Applicants should have 4–8 years of post-PhD research experience, a strong publication record, and demonstrated research leadership potential.
Applicants must provide a hosting letter from the head of department confirming institutional support, including infrastructure and administrative facilities. The research leader and team must be employed at the administrating host institution throughout the grant period. Co-applicants are not permitted within this call, and applicants may submit only one application per call.
The assessment of proposals will focus on scientific quality, impact, and societal relevance, as well as the applicant’s research track record and leadership potential. The evaluation will consider both the project’s scientific merit and the applicant’s capacity for independent research and innovation.
For more information, visit Novo Nordisk Foundation.