A call for European projects on the Interrelation of the Intestinal microbiome, Diet and Health.

The French National Research Agency launch, in partnership with 8 countries, the first HDHL-INTIMIC joint cofunded call for funding transnational research projects on “Interrelation of the Intestinal Microbiome, Diet and Health”.

The Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life” (JPI HDHL) (http://www.healthydietforhealthylife.eu/) has been established to coordinate research in the areas of food, diet, physical activity and health in order to achieve tangible societal and health impact and to strengthen European leadership and competitiveness in this field. Under this umbrella, the joint transnational call “Interrelation of the Intestinal Microbiome, Diet and Health” (HDHL-INTIMIC) is launched.

Aims of the call

The call aims to support multinational, collaborative research projects that address important research questions regarding the cause-and-effect relationships between diet, the intestinal microbiome and human health.

In particular, proposals should focus on at least one of the following areas:

• 1) the basic understanding of the gut microbiome and its causal role in human health and/or the onset of diseases including the dissection of underlying molecular mechanisms
• 2) the functional links between diet and/or dietary components on the composition and functioning of the gut microbiome and consequent physiological effects on the host, including individually tailored responses
• 3) the identification of novel microbiome-targeted strategies and food products for preventive and therapeutic applications including personalised diets and specific food for specific target groups that operate by influencing the gut microbiome.

Research proposals should be multi-disciplinary, combining different scientific approaches and methods. In addition, the following conditions apply:

• Proposals merely describing associations between the gut microbiome, diet and health without addressing the functional relationships are not within the scope of this call.
• Animal studies with clear relevance for human health are within the scope of this call.
• Proposals should make use of existing biobanks and/or cohorts, if applicable, or explain why existing biobanks or cohorts are not used.
• Proposals should avoid overlapping with the aims and objectives of the projects that are already funded through the previous JPI HDHL Joint Action ‘Intestinal Microbiomics’ (further information).

This call for proposals includes funding research organisations from 9 countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

Consortium composition

In general, joint transnational research proposals may be submitted by research groups working in universities (or other higher education institutions), non-university public research institutes, hospitals and other health care settings. Participation of private parties is encouraged as well as commercial companies, in particular small and medium-size enterprises. The eligibility of these organisations and institutions is subject to the national/regional regulations of the individual funding organisations and may therefore vary.
Only transnational projects will be funded: each consortium must involve a minimum of three partners and a maximum of six partners eligible for funding by organisations listed in this call (see above) from at least three different countries. No more than two project partners can originate from the same country.

Projects can be funded for a period of up to three years and according to individual funding organisations’ regulations. ANR funding will be limited to 250 000 € per French partner. In case if French team takes over the coordination of the project the maximum budget can be increased up to 300 000 €.

There will be a two-stage submission procedure: pre-proposals and full proposals. Both pre- and full proposals must be written in English and must be submitted to the JCS by the coordinator through an electronic submission system available on the website. No other means of submission will be accepted.

The deadline for proposal pre-registration is April 5th, 2017.
The deadline for proposal submission is July 7th, 2017.