Paweł Dłotko, Gracjan Michlewski and Bartłomiej Wacław will each set up a research group in Warsaw. They prevailed against 24 applicants from all over the world and have been selected as the new Dioscuri leaders in the second call published by the Max Planck Society and the National Science Centre Poland.

The scientists will start establishing their respective research groups in the second half of 2020. Coming from different scientific backgrounds, the three of them share similar career paths: after completing their studies and PhDs in their native Poland, they went abroad for postdoc positions at prestigious research institutions. Each of them has held a position at a British university for the past few years, and will now be returning to build up a centre of scientific excellence in Warsaw – striving to conduct top-class internationally competitive and innovative research.

Starting next year, Paweł Dłotko will establish the Dioscuri Centre in Topological Data Analysis at the Institute of Mathematics, Polish Academy of Sciences. He will be supported in his endeavours by his partner in Germany – Dmitry Feichtner-Kozlov from the Institute of Algebra, Geometry, Topology and its Applications at the University of Bremen. The aim of this interdisciplinary research group is to develop and implement tools of Topological Data Analysis as well as to bring them to the various disciplinary communities. “We will find mathematically correct solutions to practical problems”, says Dłotko. “We will build new rigorous and explainable data shape descriptors in data science, analyse time series from cancer biology, climate research and economics, examine medical images of neurons, airways, spongy bone, and search for the best performing materials for CO2 capture and more“, adds the 35-year-old mathematician. Dłotko has been working as a Senior Lecturer in mathematics at Swansea University (UK) since 2017.

Another Dioscuri Centre will be launched by Gracjan Michlewski. The RNA biologist will establish the Dioscuri Centre for RNA-Protein Interactions in Human Health and Disease at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw. His partner in Germany is Juri Rappsilber from the Institute of Biotechnology at the Technische Universität Berlin. Together, they will investigate the cellular roles and structural characteristics of novel RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and RNA-protein interactions. The major focus of their investigations will be on the RNA-protein interactions in innate immune response to RNA viruses including influenza, commonly known as the flu. “RNA viruses have already caused several epidemics in the 21st century; the emergence of a new influenza pandemic or a viral bioterrorism attack could have catastrophic consequences on public health and the world economy. Thus, a detailed molecular understanding of host-virus interactions is imperative in order to know how best to inactivate the virus and prevent major disruptions”, says Michlewski, who is currently working as a Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh Biomedical School, University of Edinburgh (UK) and Associate Professor at the Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (China).

As for the third of the three new leaders, Bartłomiej Wacław will establish the Dioscuri Centre for the Physics and Chemistry of Bacteria at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences. Arne Traulsen from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön will support him as the German partner. The Dioscuri Centre will use experiments, computer simulations and mathematical theory to create data driven, quantitative models of bacterial growth and evolution in complex environments: the interior of animal cells and animal secretions such as mucus. Research performed at the Centre will contribute towards the understanding of bacterial infections and the evolution of antimicrobial resistance in animal and human hosts. The theoretical physicist explains: “While the focus of the Centre will be on basic research in simple in vitro models, the long-term goal is the creation of quantitative, predictive models of bacterial infections that could be applied to develop new antimicrobial therapies.” Wacław is currently working as an Associate Professor at the Institute for Condensed Matter and Complex Systems at the University of Edinburgh (UK).

Group Leaders of three new Dioscuri centers: Paweł Dłotko, Gracjan Michlewski and Bartłomiej Wacław (left to right). @private

The Dioscuri Programme, which was initiated by the Max Planck Society, is jointly managed with the National Science Centre Poland (NCN) and aims to establish internationally competitive research groups in Poland. Together with the two Dioscuri Centres established already, five of the ten planned Dioscuri Centres in Poland have now been selected. Each of the centres is financed with up to 1.5 million euros for a period of five years. The costs are shared equally between the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW), while the host institutions in Poland provide the infrastructure.

The third call for Dioscuri Centres was published in December 2019 and is open to applicants from all scientific disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, life sciences and natural sciences, until 23 March 2020. For more information, please visit https://ncn.gov.pl/dioscuri/dioscuri3

We are pleased to announce that two projects involving Polish researchers have been awarded funding in the JPI-EC-AMR call for transnational research projects on antimicrobial resistance.

Within the Joint Call on Diagnostics and Surveillance 2019 over EUR 12,1 million have been granted to 12 research projects addressing the development of diagnostic and surveillance tools, technologies and methods to detect antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Complete list of the projects recommended for funding

Polish projects awarded within the call:

• IDAREMS: Concomitant IDentification and Antibiotic REsistance profile of bacteria in one hour with an adaptive targeted single Mass Spectrometry analysis. Polish Principal Investigator: prof. dr hab. Marek Tomasz Gniadkowski, National Medicines Institute. The project will involve research teams from France, Canada and Thailand.
• AntiRYB: Yeast-based biosensors for the specific and accessible detection of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. Polish Principal Investigator: dr Alicja Kuch, National Medicines Institute. The project will involve research teams from Norway and Sweden.

Congratulations to all funded research teams.

On the 13th of December, the National Science Centre hosted another "round table" meeting, during which researchers and NCN officials debated how to facilitate cooperation between the NCN and the research world.

The purpose of the meeting was to analyse the grant application processes, as well as project implementation and accounting, and to identify areas where legal provisions or NCN policy measures create requirements that unnecessarily impede or protract them. Round table participants took an especially close look at the terms and conditions, procedures and agreements that require researchers or host institutions to take superfluous administrative steps.

The meeting was attended by Polish researchers and research organization authorities that had previously submitted their postulates to the NCN. After listening to their experiences and suggestions, the director, the Council and the leaders of grant-handling NCN units, in cooperation with their guests, went on to consider possible improvements that would streamline the proposal review process and subsequent project administration. Issues on the table included, for instance, a number of proposed changes to the structure of proposals, the review procedure, the call portfolio, reporting, cost estimates and project accounting.

Some of the topics brought up during the meeting, e.g. a call to support Polish researchers applying for ERC grants, have already been discussed extensively at the NCN.

The National Science Centre (hereinafter: “NCN”), in cooperation with the JPI Urban Europe network, announces the call for international research projects under the ERA-NET Co-fund Urban Accessibility and Connectivity (EN UAC) call for proposals, concerning subjects related to the development of modern cities and urban areas. The detailed scope of research is described in the call announcement.

Funding proposals may be submitted by international consortia composed of at least 3 research teams from at least 3 countries participating in the call. The principal investigator of the Polish research team must hold at least a PhD degree.

Countries participating in the call: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Latvia, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and Italy.

Application process:

• International level: the Polish research team prepares a joint proposal in English in cooperation with its foreign partner and submits it via the electronic submission system of the French Funding Agency (ANR): https://aap.agencerecherche.fr

• national level: the Polish research team prepares an NCN proposal covering the Polish part of the project and submits it to the NCN via the ZSUN/OSF electronic submission system. Instructions for submitting proposals in the OSF/ZSUN submission system is available here.

Call schedule:

• Submission deadline for joint pre-proposals: 17 March 2020, 3 p.m. CET
• Invitation to submit joint full proposals: May 2020
• Submission deadline for joint full proposals: 22 September 2020
• Submission deadline for NCN proposals in ZSUN/OSF: September 2020
• Call results: December 2020

In the EN-UAC call, funds may be awarded to cover remuneration for the research team, remuneration and scholarships for students and PhD students, purchase or construction of research equipment and for other costs crucial to the research project.

The total funds allocated by the NCN for the tasks to be performed by Polish research teams in the call amount to EUR 500,000.

Please read:

• call documents available on the JPI Urban Europe website (applies to all applicants in the call);
• detailed information for applicants below and annexes hereto (applies only to entities applying for NCN funding).
  MORE ABOUT THE CALL

We are pleased to announce that three projects involving Polish researchers have been awarded funding in the JPco-fuND 2 call for multinational research projects on personalised medicine for neurodegenerative diseases. Within the JPco-fuND 2 over EUR 29,3 million have been granted to 18 research projects.

Complete list of the projects recommended for funding

JPco-fuND 2 has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 825664.

Polish projects awarded within the call:

1. NMJ-on-a-Chip: Humanized high-throughput co-culture system for motor neuron diseases. Polish Principal Investigator: prof. dr hab. Józef Dulak, Jagiellonian University in Cracow. The project will involve research teams from France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands
2. OligoFIT: Oligomer-Focused Screening and Individualized Therapeutics to target Neurodegenerative Disorders. Polish Principal Investigator: dr Piotr Hańczyc, University of Warsaw. The project will involve research teams from Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Portugal, United Kingdom
3. Gums&Brains: Alzheimer’s disease as a co-morbidity of chronic periodontitis with Porphyromonas gingivalis as a causative link between both diseases. Polish Principal Investigator: prof. dr hab. Jan Stanisław Potempa (Project Leader), Jagiellonian University in Cracow. The project will involve research teams from Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Norway

Congratulations to all the laureates.

This is already the fourth edition of SONATINA and the eighth of ETIUDA. Polish researchers are invited to vie for funding for research projects and doctoral scholarships. The total budget of the two calls is PLN 30 million.

SONATINA 4 is targeted at applicants who have earned their PhD within 3 years prior to the proposal submission year or will be awarded a PhD degree by the end of June 2020. The purpose of the call is to enable young researchers to find employment and conduct research at Polish research institutions. The conditions of the grant stipulate that the principal investigator must be employed at the host institution based on a full-time employment contract for the whole duration of the project. A new condition introduced in fourth edition of the call specifies that employment must be planned for the principal investigator, in another institution than the one from which the principal investigator has earned a PhD degree. SONATINA 4 also gives young researchers an opportunity to gain experience through fellowships in foreign research institutions. Projects may take either 24 or 36 months to complete, while foreign fellowships may last from 3 to 6 months. SONATINA 4 researchers will each receive from 6 to more than PLN 18,000 per month to cover their living expenses in the country of the fellowship, and up to PLN 10,000 toward travel costs. The total budget of the call equals PLN 20 million.

ETIUDA 8 is targeted at applicants at the outset of their research career, i.e. doctoral school students or individuals who have initiated PhD dissertation proceedings at a Polish research institution authorized to award PhD degrees. Young researchers are eligible to receive scholarships of PLN 5,000 per month over a period of 6 to 12 months. Not unlike in the SONATINA scheme, ETIUDA funding can be used to finance a 3- to 6-month fellowship at a foreign research institution, which can be completed during the period in which the scholarship is collected or within a year from its end. The amount awarded to cover foreign living expenses can be from PLN 6,000 to PLN 18,000 per month, over and above PLN 10,000 for travel expenses.

ETIUDA 8 researchers must earn their PhD degree within 12 months of the scholarship end date and not earlier than 6 months from the scholarship start date. The funding of the doctoral scholarship will start on 1 October 2020 and the total budget of ETIUDA 8 equals PLN 10 million.

The calls we announced today are designed to help young people make their first steps in the world of research and support them in gaining experience in different, especially international, research environments The ETIUDA and SONATINA calls offer competitive salaries and scholarships. We have introduced several changes compared to previous editions so as to round out the offer available to young researchers in doctoral schools. To do so, we opened the call to those doctoral school students who have not yet initiated their official PhD dissertation proceedings, emphasizes Zbigniew Błocki, NCN Director.

Proposals under calls announced by the National Science Centre may be submitted via the ZSUN/OSF system (https://osf.opi.org.pl) until 16 March 2020 at 4 p.m.

Proposals will be reviewed in two stages by NCN Expert Teams consisting of outstanding researchers specialized in the discipline at hand, supported by external, sometimes international, experts.

The results of SONATINA 4 and ETIUDA 8 will be announced in the autumn of 2020 at the latest.

SONATINA 4 CALL ANNOUNCEMENT

ETIUDA 8 CALL ANNOUNCEMENT

The third call for the establishment of up to three centres of scientific excellence in Poland is now open.

After the first two Dioscuri Centres have been established this autumn, the Max Planck Society and the Polish National Science Centre are now opening the third call for Dioscuri Centres in Poland. In this round, outstanding researchers from all scientific disciplines are invited to submit their application for a Dioscuri Centre by 23 March 2020.

Going beyond the scope of a project grant, a Dioscuri Centre is built around a distinguished researcher position. It is awarded to excellent scientists capable of establishing and leading an outstanding, highly visible research group. The research group will be funded with 300,000 euros annually for initially five years. It will be set up at a Polish university or a research institute capable of supporting the Centre with appropriate infrastructure, scientific equipment, supplementary funds, and a long-term perspective for its leader.

The Dioscuri Programme aims to strengthen and expand scientific excellence in Central and Eastern Europe and is being implemented in Poland as a first step. The funding for the DCs is shared equally between the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

The detailed call and further information about the Dioscuri Programme are available at https://ncn.gov.pl/dioscuri/dioscuri3/call-announcement

The National Science Centre, in cooperation with the CHIST-ERA network, announces the call for international research projects in the area of: 1. Explainable Machine Learning-based Artificial Intelligence, 2. Novel Computational Approaches for Environmental Sustainability.

Announcement

Funding proposals may be submitted by international consortia composed of at least 3 research teams from at least 3 countries participating in the call. The principal investigator of the Polish research team must hold at least a PhD degree.

Countries participating in the call: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Israel, Canada (Québec), Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden (first subject), Turkey, Hungary, United Kingdom (first subject) and Italy.

Application process:

• International level: the Polish research team prepares a joint proposal in English in cooperation with its foreign partner and submits it via the ESS electronic submission system available on the programme’s website: CHIST-ERA;
• national level: the Polish research team prepares an NCN proposal covering the Polish part of the project and submits it to the NCN via the ZSUN/OSF electronic submission system.

Call schedule:

• Submission deadline for joint short proposals: 14 February 2020, 5 p.m. CET
• Invitation to submit joint full proposals: April 2020
• Submission deadline for joint full proposals: June 2020
• Submission deadline for NCN proposals in ZSUN/OSF: June 2020
• Call results: October 2020

In the CHIST-ERA Call 2019 funds may be awarded to cover remuneration for the research team, remuneration and scholarships for students and PhD students, purchase or construction of research equipment and for other costs crucial to the research project.

The total funds allocated by the NCN for the tasks to be performed by Polish research teams in the call amount to EUR 500,000.

The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) will shortly launch a new multinational call for proposals for “Novel imaging and brain stimulation methods and technologies related to Neurodegenerative Diseases”.

This call, expected to be launched in early January 2020, with a likely pre-proposal submission deadline in March 2020. Further details will be provided with the launch of the call.

Further details are provided at the programme website.

Contact:

• Małgorzata Hasiec, tel. 12 341 9153
• Anna Kotarba, tel. 12 341 9091