Joint Translational Call 2021 for Multinational Research on Neurodevelopmental disorders

The ANR launches in collaboration with the ERA-NET NEURON and the European Commission a joint call to support multinational, collaborative research projects addressing disorders of the nervous system arising during development and affecting the acquisition and execution of intellectual, motor and/or social functions. The present call is limited to disorders having shown their first manifestations before the end of the adolescence. A lifetime perspective is allowed only if addressing the consequences of disorders starting before the adolescence.

This call is supported by 21 agencies located in the following countries: Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey.

The focus of this call is on research addressing neurodevelopmental disorders from the basic research to the proof of concept clinical studies perspective; with potential for translation into diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Research proposals should cover at least one of the following areas:

a) Fundamental research addressing the pathogenesis, aetiology, susceptibility, and resilience mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders. This may include the development of innovative or shared resources and technologies that are relevant for neurodevelopmental disorders.

b) Clinical research to develop novel strategies for prevention, diagnosis, patient stratification, therapy and/or rehabilitation for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Appropriate access to relevant, well-characterized patient populations or suitable biomaterial collections must be demonstrated. The establishment of large patient cohorts will not be funded by ERANET NEURON, but the use of existing cohorts, brain banks and exploitation of existing data sets are encouraged.

Applicants should demonstrate that they have the expertise and range of skills required to conduct the study or that appropriate collaborations are in place. The development of new animal or cell models is only allowed if an appropriate model is not available and must be justified. The consideration of gender differences in the studies is mandatory. If relevant, it is highly recommended to get in contact with appropriate European infrastructures early in the planning of the projects, in particular EATRIS-ERIC (focused on translational medicine), BBMRI-ERIC (focused on biobanking) and ELIXIR (focused on data sharing). Different platforms can be found via the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures in Europe - ESFRI (www.esfri.eu). 

The following research areas are excluded from this call:

• Neurodegenerative disorders that are addressed by the EU Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) : Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative dementias, Parkinson’s disease (PD) and PD-related disorders, Prion disease, Motor neuron diseases, Huntington’s disease, Spinocerebellar ataxia, Spinal muscular atrophy.

The ERA-NET NEURON seeks to strengthen patient engagement in research. Applicants are expected to engage patients, their parents or carers where appropriate in the research process. Meaningful patient engagement can occur at the level of research planning, conducting research or the dissemination of research results. Patient representatives and a panel of experts specializing in ethical aspects of research will participate in the review of the selected full proposals and provide feedback on patient engagement and ethical aspects.  All applications should include a description of expected outcomes with potential relevance for patients.

The proposals should be submitted by consortia composed by a minimum of three and a maximum of five research groups, from at least three different countries. The inclusion of consortium partners from the following underrepresented countries Latvia, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, and Slovakia increases the maximum allowed number of partners to six. No more than two research groups should be from the same country. Only the French parties of each selected consortium will be funded by the ANR.

Selected projects can be funded for a duration up to three years. Funding is expected to start early 2022.