Deadline: 12-Jan-2026
The Emerging Investigator Grants Programme provides support to the upcoming and highly promising research leaders within plant science, agriculture and food biotechnology in the Nordic countries.
The proposed research should tackle major challenges in plant, agricultural, and food sciences to promote sustainable agriculture and food production. It must be fundamental, strategic, and potentially high-risk, aiming to advance knowledge beyond current frontiers within life science disciplines.
Priority areas focus on developing plants with high yield, resilience, and resource efficiency; harnessing microorganisms to boost sustainability throughout the production chain; advancing agricultural, food, and forestry systems to enhance productivity, circularity, and biodiversity; creating sustainable ingredients and foods derived from plants, microorganisms, and fungi with superior functionality and sensory quality; utilizing resources from precision fermentation, algae, insects, fungi, and cellular agriculture; and developing cutting-edge methods and data-driven technologies to support sustainable agriculture and food production.
Funding of up to DKK 12.50 million is available for a 5-year grant period, covering expenses such as salaries, PhD tuition fees, operating costs, equipment, conferences, travel, and publication costs. The Foundation will not provide funding for commercial activities, overheads, or projects with budgetary overlaps.
The program does not support research primarily focusing on livestock, livestock commodities and feed; research focusing on aquaculture; research with the main research component on nutritional uptake and clinical studies or projects focusing on pharmaceuticals and therapeutics, which should be directed to other Novo Nordisk Foundation committees.
Researchers from across the world at the level of senior postdoc, senior researcher, assistant professor, or recent 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 are eligible to apply.
The grant is aimed at researchers who are ready to start their own independent group or strengthen a recently established one, typically with 4–8 years of post-PhD experience. Applicants must demonstrate a strong track record with publications, key conference contributions, or important technological developments.
Applications are evaluated by the Committee on Plant Science, Agriculture and Food Biotechnology based on the scientific quality and impact of the project proposal, the applicant’s merits and leadership potential, and the project’s societal relevance.
Applicants must demonstrate independence and ownership of the proposed project, particularly in collaborative contexts. The research should commence no earlier than May 2026 and must begin by April 2027.
For more information, visit Novo Nordisk Foundation.