GRANTS & PRIZES

The Lundbeck Foundation’s ambition is to make Denmark a frontrunner in the field of neuroscience, by funding Danish-based research that promotes an improved understanding of the brain, and better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders. The Foundation also supports activities to improve collaborations between research and business.

Total grants (DKKm)

550

Number of grants

151 Support for brain research (DKKm)

430 Number of full time employees funded 652

In 2022, the Foundation continued its support of outstanding biomedical research, with a strong commitment to talent development and research in basic and clinical neuroscience. The Foundation used a wide range of funding types to support researchers at different career levels and from different research fields.

In 2022, four new grant types, as well as a new prize, were awarded for the first time:

■ Early-Career Clinician Scientist Grants

■ Start-up Grants

■ Frontier Grants

■ Diversity Grants

■ The Scientific Enrichment Prize

Alongside research grants and prizes, the Foundation supported various activities to strengthen and facilitate networks between scientists, as well as to increase awareness about the brain and the importance of brain health among the Danish population.

The total grant sum amounted to DKK 550m, versus DKK 803m in 2021. The grant sum reflected the commitment to the ordinary programmes. Discussions are ongoing with Danish universities and hospitals on larger initiatives to strengthen infrastructures supporting translational research in neurology, and strategies to develop biological and clinical psychiatry.

GRANTS SUPPORTING TALENT DEVELOPMENT IN BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH-RELATED SCIENCE

Grants in this category support the development of talented researchers in all aspects of biomedical and health-related science. A total of DKK 99m was awarded, including salaries for 141 full-time equivalents. The major grants were:

■ Early-Career Clinician Scientist grants aim to support talented medical doctors who, concurrent with their clinical specialisation, want to retain an active research career. DKK 21m was awarded to nine medical doctors and three of the projects were in neuroscience (mental health, food addiction and Parkinson’s disease).

■ LF Fellows are talented, young researchers who wish to establish or expand their own independent research groups in Denmark. DKK 70m was awarded to seven scientists: three in neuroscience (neurotransmitter transporter structures, brainwaves in memory, and dopamine and serotonin signalling in humans), and four in other areas (immunotherapy, fatty liver disease, chromatin structure and microRNA in cancer).

Grants Supporting Research With The Potential To Benefit Neuroscience

Grants in this category support research or technologies broadly where the applicant can propose a potential benefit for neuroscience, and therapies for nervous system disorders. A total of DKK 163m was awarded, including salaries for 197 full-time equivalents. The major grants were:

■ LF Postdoc grants support postdoctoral scientists who wish to strengthen their research development through changes in research environment or topics. DKK 50m was awarded to 22 postdocs, of which, 12 bring international experience to Denmark, and seven gain international experience by studying outside Denmark.

■ LF Ascending Investigators are independent researchers leading smaller groups with projects to build the groups or redirect their research. DKK 54m was awarded to 11 investigators (four professors and seven associate professors).

■ LF Experiments focuses on funding high-risk, groundbreaking research ideas. DKK 49m was awarded to 25 projects.

Grants Supporting Research In Neuroscience

Grants in this category support research aimed at solving a fundamental problem in neuroscience or research into brainrelated diseases. A total of DKK 190m was awarded, including salaries for 242 full-time equivalents: environments and programmes in Denmark. The grant is awarded every second year and the next round will take place in 2023.

■ LF Collaborative Projects focuses on complex, basic or clinical neuroscience projects that require collaborative efforts. DKK 174m was awarded to seven projects. For four of these, DKK 114m, was awarded to professors at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Copenhagen University, all of whom are engaged in international collaborations with world-leading investigators.

■ LF & NIH BRAIN Initiative grants support collaborative projects between Danish research groups and research groups supported by the NIH Brain Initiative programme. DKK 6m was awarded to two projects in 2022.

■ Start-up grants support the recruitment of scientists to Denmark, or from industry to academia. One grant of DKK 10m was awarded in 2022 to strengthen biomarkerresearch in mental disorders.

Grants Supporting Collaboration Between Research And Business

Frontier Grants serve a dual purpose by supporting advanced research ideas to a stage where they can become attractive for investors, while, at the same time, supporting the training of the lead scientists. One grant of DKK 5m was awarded to explore a novel approach to treating Parkinson’s disease.

Other Grants

Pioneer Centres is an ambitious national programme, initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, to attract the very best researchers to establish three-to-four world class research centres specialising in artificial intelligence and climate/energy. Pioneer Centres is a collaboration between the Ministry, the Danish National Research Foundation,

■ LF Professors supports the very best neuroscience researchers, thereby helping to build excellent research

“In order to benefit from diversity and create strong results, it is important to build a culture of trust so everyone feels comfortable enough to put their thoughts and ideas on the table, and gets used to doing so, even though they may not be an expert in the field. This also produces strong social cohesion and a good working environment, which are extremely important if we want to retain our young research talents.’’

Professor Anja Groth

Carlsberg Foundation, Lundbeck Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation and Villum Foundation. In 2022, the Lundbeck Foundation awarded DKK 43m out of DKK 300m to a centre specialising in Power-to-X technology.

Prizes

The Brain Prize is the world’s largest international neuroscience prize, dedicated to scientists who have made an outstanding contribution to neuroscience. The Brain Prize 2022, of DKK 10m, was awarded to Professors Silvia Arber (Switzerland), Martyn Goulding (USA) and Ole Kiehn (Denmark) for having revolutionised understanding of the neuronal cell types and circuits that control movement.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik presented The Brain Prize to the 2022 winners at a celebration ceremony in Copenhagen.

The Scientific Enrichment Prize is a personal prize of DKK 100,000, awarded for the first time in 2022 to Professor Anja Groth, Copenhagen University, for her systematic approach to using diversity in her research group as a means to improve her research in epigenetic regulation in cancer.

The Young Investigator Prize of DKK 1m, for promising researchers under the age of 40, was awarded to Professor Christoffer Laustsen of Aarhus University for his research to make hyperpolarised magnetic resonance scanning applicable in clinical practice.

Five Talent Prizes for promising young researchers under the age of 30, of DKK 300,000 each, were awarded to MD and PhD Student Karen Ruben Husby, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital (uterine prolapse), postdoc Leonardo Bonetti, Aarhus University (music to understand cognitive processes), MD and PhD student Cecilie Siggard Jørgensen, Aarhus University, (bedwetting and children’s quality of life), MD and PhD student Mats Lassen, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital (heart disease) and postdoc Robert Seaborne, University of Copenhagen (gene regulation in skeletal muscle cells).

Scientific Outreach Activities

In 2022, the Foundation increased its international scientific outreach activities to strengthen communications about neuroscience and brain disorders.

Brain Prize

Brain Prize outreach activities bring the outstanding science behind each year’s Brain Prize to the scientific community. Six webinars on ‘Circuits for Movement’ were organised and chaired by the Brain Prize winners, together with 18 other leading scientists who provided in-depth insights. A series of Brain Prize plenary lectures were also given at several international meetings. A film collection on the winners’ scientific journey, patient case stories, and educational films were also produced.

Neurotorium

Neurotorium is an open, online platform launched in 2022 and aimed at clinicians and educators of clinicians, covering topics within psychiatry, neurology and neuroscience. The scientific content is governed by a board of international renowned neurologists and psychiatrists. The platform contains comprehensive slide decks covering selected indications, videos, illustrations and a three-dimensional brain atlas.

Science Education And Communication

The Foundation supports science education projects at high school level and above, which help to promote a better understanding of the brain and brain disorders, as well as science communication projects to promote a better understanding of brain disorders and their consequences. In 2022, the Foundation granted DKK 25m to 20 projects, including the podcast Brainstorm and Bloom, and the Hearts and Minds festival. The Foundation also provides five scholarships for medical students to study for one year at Stanford University or the University of California, San Francisco, USA. In addition, more than 30 scholarships were awarded by seven scientific societies, through grants totalling DKK 6m.