Human Frontier Science Program

Status: Closed

Find out information about the aims, funding, key dates, resources and contacts for the NHMRC Human Frontier Science Program Grants.

Aim

The Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) supports international and interdisciplinary collaborations in basic research, focusing on complex mechanisms of living organisms. Australia is a member of the HFSP through the NHMRC, which allows Australian researchers to lead applications for HFSP grants.

Funding schemes include:

• Research Grants, which are for teams of researchers. Emphasis is placed on novel collaborations that bring together scientists from different countries and preferably from different disciplines (eg from chemistry, physics, computer science, engineering) to focus on problems in the life sciences. The research team is expected to develop new lines of research through the collaboration. Young Investigators' Grants are for teams of researchers within the first five years after obtaining an independent laboratory. Program Grants are for teams of independent researchers at any stage of their careers.
• HFSP Postdoctoral Fellowships, which encourage early-career scientists to broaden their research skills by moving into new areas of study while working in a new country. HFSP fellowships are for three years. Fellows may choose to stay for up to three years in the host country or use the last year of their fellowship to return to their home country or to move to another HFSP member country. Long-Term Fellowships are reserved for applicants with a PhD in a biological discipline to embark on a new project in a different field of the life sciences, within an outstanding laboratory in a different country. Preference is given to applicants who propose an original study in biology that marks a departure from their previous research. Cross-Disciplinary Fellowships are open to applicants with a PhD from outside the life sciences eg in physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering or computer sciences who have had limited exposure to biology during their previous training. Applicants for the CDF should propose a significant departure from their past research by changing eg from material science or physics to cell biology, from chemistry to molecular biology, or from computer science to neuroscience.
• Career Development Awards, which fund HFSP fellows who return to their home country or move to an HFSP member country to establish an original research program and their independent laboratory. It is the primary funding mechanism offered by HFSP that aims at encouraging repatriation of postdoctoral researchers after the fellowship tenure abroad. The three-year award provides initial support during a critical period of career development. Host institutions are expected to contribute additional resources in support of the awardees and their independent research program. The CDA is open only for former HFSP Fellows. Candidates are encouraged to select research institutions that are different from their PhD institutes to facilitate their scientific independence.

See information provided in the HFSP guidelines (see Resources below).

Research Grants: Applicants must submit a letter of intent to apply for a research grant via the HFSP web site with a deadline at the end of March. After review, selected teams will be invited to submit a full application.

HFSP Postdoctoral Fellowships: Applications for both types of Fellowships normally open in June and close in August or September each year.

Career Development Awards: Applications normally open in June and close in November each year. Eligible HFSP Fellows receive information from the HFSP early August about the coming application cycle.

Faculty processes

Guide for NHMRC Applicants on Macquarie Approvals Process Through PURE

Research Grants

• Information and Guidelines
• FAQs
• Review Procedures
• Other Resources

HFSP Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Information and Guidelines
• FAQs
• Review Procedures
• Other Resources

Career Development Awards

• Information and Guidelines
• Review Procedures

MQ Resources

• Pure Research Management System
• MQ Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research
• Application Checklist

Contacts

Contact us for more information about strategic advice and information and compliance.