Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Vaccines are a critical component needed to bring infectious disease pandemics under control. The availability of effective vaccines that are able to induce a strong and durable immune response are critical to respond to health threats caused by infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. A proactive approach to understanding the factors that affect vaccine durability and strength is necessary to ensure development of effective vaccines for future infectious disease outbreaks.
Proposals should aim to improve the global vaccine research and development pipeline for emerging and re-emerging viral infections, and to strengthen the current leading role of the EU in vaccine development, and therefore contributing to the work of the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).
Proposals should study vaccine-induced immunity in the general population and vulnerable groups. Proposals should look both at the magnitude and breadth of initial immune responses and the duration of immunity after vaccination with different vaccine types (mRNA, vector, inactivated, subunit, attenuated,…). Proposals should assess how sex (e.g. male vs female, pre- vs postmenopausal), age (childhood vs adolescent vs elderly) and/or lifestyle (e.g. obesity, drug addiction, diet, sport) affect the immune response. Proposals may also examine genetic and other molecular factors that may influence immune response in humans. Proposals should pursue a multi-omics approach in order to foster a deep understanding of vaccine induced immunity. Proposals should identify correlates of protection that can be used to develop vaccines against viruses meeting the criteria for pathogens with high pandemic potential as identified by HERA. Proposals should also assess how pre-existing conditions or chronic infections influence the immune response.
100%
Contribution per project: between €7,00 and €8,00 million
In recognition of the opening of the US National Institutes of Health’s programmes to European researchers, any legal entity established in the United States of America is eligible to receive Union funding.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia
P.O.Box 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Email Address: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Persons:
George Christou
Scientific Officer
Email: gchristou@research.org.cy
Ioannis Theodorou
Scientific Officer
Telephone: +357 22 205 038
Contact Email: itheodorou@research.org.cy
(Publish Date: 09/02/2023-for internal use only)
European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/research-and-innovation_en#contact