The National Science Centre and the Medical Research Agency are intending to cooperate on calls of the MRA. On 4 July, representatives of the two agencies met in Krakow.
The Medical Research Agency (MRA) is a state agency responsible for development of scientific research in the field of medical and health sciences. The agency has been in business for 5 years. In its future calls for research funding, the MRA will use the expertise of the National Science Centre, including its experience in the organisation of the calls for proposals and work of the expert teams.
The first meeting to discuss the cooperation was held on 4 July in Krakow, and the next will take place this month in Warsaw.
“The NCN coordinators will provide support in the organisation of expert panels which will enable MRA’s grant evaluation system to be harmonised and strengthened. The call for translation research we are planning to launch in December will also require a reliable and objective review of basic research components. The support we may get from foreign reviewers and NCN experts experienced in project evaluation will be invaluable. We can only hope that the call will enable the best research teams to translate their discoveries from bench to bedside,” says Prof. Wojciech Fendler, President of the Medical Research Agency since July.
From its very beginning, the NCN has awarded almost 30 thousand grants for a total of nearly 16 billion zlotys. “The Medical Research Agency aims to support health care innovations with particular focus on the development of non-commercial clinical research and research experiments. The collaboration between the National Science Centre and the Medical Research Agency may soon result in joint initiatives and the best system of basic and experimental medical research. It is equally important to coordinate the efforts to ensure the highest standards of evaluation and selection of grant proposals,” says Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, NCN Director.
Prof. Wojciech Fendler, Dr inż. Zuzanna Nowak-Życzyńska and Krzysztof Górski attended the meeting on the part of the Medical Research Agency, while the National Science Centre was represented by Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, Prof. Anetta Undas, Prof. Piotr Skarżyński, Prof. Barbara Klajnert-Maculewicz, Dr Marcin Liana and Dr Anna Wiktor.
Prof. Wojciech Fendler, Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, Prof. Anetta Undas, Prof. Barbara Klajnert-Maculewicz, Prof. Piotr Skarżyński