The Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Programme 2027 is seeking leading researchers to form interdisciplinary research consortia capable of addressing a major global health challenge: the development of next-generation antimicrobial resistance (AMR) diagnostics for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs).

LRTIs cause substantial hospitalisation and mortality worldwide, while approximately 20–30% are associated with antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Existing diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing can be too slow or inaccurate to guide timely treatment, contributing to inappropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The challenge is particularly significant in low-resource settings, where few rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing technologies can currently replace conventional bacteriology.

The programme is therefore seeking early-stage proof-of-concept research that can lay the scientific foundation for rapid, minimally invasive and affordable point-of-care testing for LRTIs in global settings.

PURPOSE OF THE CHALLENGE

The goal is to support research that can ultimately enable:

• Rapid diagnosis of LRTIs
• Minimally invasive testing
• Direct-from-specimen diagnosis
• Faster identification of pathogens.
• Faster determination of antimicrobial susceptibility.
• Affordable and practical deployment.
• Technologies that can ultimately be globally deployable, including in low-resource settings. 

The Foundation is looking for fundamental knowledge that is highly creative, innovative and potentially transformative for the LRTI and AMR diagnostics field.

RESEARCH AREAS SUPPORTED

The guidelines identify several areas of research that may be supported.

1. Improving Respiratory Sample Collection & Processing

Projects may develop technological advances such as:

• Microfluidics
• Optics
• Biosensing
• Other promising technologies

to improve respiratory sample collection or processing and enable rapid pathogen separation and/or concentration.

2. Minimally Invasive Sampling & Biomarkers

Research may focus on establishing the scientific and clinical validity of minimally invasive techniques and identifying relevant biomarkers from proxy samples.

Potential sample types include:

• Breath
• Blood
• Urine
• Upper respiratory samples

Research may involve:

• Transcriptomics
• Metabolomics
• Proteomics
• Host-response analysis
• Pathogen identification
• Antibiotic susceptibility. 

3. Host & Pathogen Biomarkers / Biometrics

Projects may discover host or pathogen analytes or biometrics that help distinguish between:

• Commensal organisms
• Disease-causing pathogens

Methods may include:

• Supervised machine learning.
• Mining existing datasets.
• Mining sample biobanks.
• Antibody-response analysis.
• Antigen detection.

The aim is to identify signals that can support prediction of LRTI and/or its aetiology.

4. Genotype–Phenotype Correlations for AMR

Research may advance predictive capabilities of antimicrobial susceptibility gene testing by establishing and optimising accurate genotype–phenotype correlations.

WHAT A STRONG PROJECT MUST DEMONSTRATE

Proposals must clearly explain how the research outputs will produce significant improvements in LRTI diagnostics compared with currently available technologies.

The guidelines give examples such as:

• Dramatically reduced turnaround time for pathogen identification.
• Faster susceptibility profiling.
• Practical deployment in low-resource settings.
• Improved sampling techniques. 

Projects must also describe how they will support diversity, including considerations such as:

• Gender.
• Career level.

They must also consider the settings and populations affected by the disease within the assembled consortium.

IMPORTANT — WHAT IS OUT OF SCOPE?

The guidelines specifically exclude:

• Projects mainly focused on surveillance.
• Projects focused primarily on establishing or maintaining infrastructure.
• Projects mainly focused on clinical trials.
• For-profit product development projects. 

This is an important distinction: the funding is for early-stage proof-of-concept research, not for commercially developing or optimising an existing product.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Consortium Requirement

Applications must be submitted as a consortium consisting of:

2–4 research groups

made up of:

• 1 Main Applicant
• 1–3 Co-applicants. 

Main Applicant

The Main Applicant must be:

• An independent tenured or tenure-track researcher.
• Leading their own research group.
• Employed at a European university, hospital or non-profit research organisation.

For this call, European means:

European Union + Schengen Area + United Kingdom.

The host institution will administer the grant.

The Main Applicant must also:

• Be employed at the host institution with at least 75% commitment.
• Have their salary guaranteed for the entire project period. 

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION

This is an important feature of the call for the Innovation Bridge audience.

Co-applicants

Co-applicant institutions may be located anywhere in the world.

Therefore, researchers and institutions outside Europe can potentially participate as co-applicants in a qualifying European-led consortium.

Mandatory Danish Connection

At least one applicant — either the Main Applicant or a Co-applicant — must be employed at least 75% and have their research group at a Danish university, hospital or non-profit research organisation at the time of submission.

This means the opportunity is genuinely international in its collaboration model, but it is not an open standalone international grant.

For example, an African university or research institute could potentially participate as a co-applicant, but the consortium must still satisfy the European Main Applicant requirement and the mandatory Danish research-group connection.

INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

Industry collaboration is allowed.

However:

Industrial partners cannot receive funding from the grant.

This allows companies to contribute expertise, technology or collaboration without being the funded grant recipient.

GEOGRAPHIC ELIGIBILITY

Main Applicant

The Main Applicant must be based at an eligible research institution in:

• EU Member States
• Schengen Area countries
• United Kingdom. 

Co-applicants

Co-applicants may be based anywhere globally.

Mandatory Danish Participation

At least one applicant must have their research group at a:

Danish university, hospital or non-profit research organisation at the time of submission.

PROJECT APPROACH

The Challenge is deliberately interdisciplinary.

The guidelines specifically identify the need for close collaboration between fields such as:

• Microbiology
• Clinical science
• Physics
• Computer science
• Other life-science disciplines. 

A proposal therefore needs more than a strong diagnostic technology alone. The consortium should collectively be able to address the scientific, clinical and implementation dimensions of the challenge.

FUNDING

The Challenge has a total available budget of:

Up to DKK 150 million

Individual grants will range between:

DKK 30 million and DKK 75 million

with projects lasting:

6 years.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The application is conducted in two stages.

Stage 1 — Expression of Interest

Applicants submit an Expression of Interest of up to:

10,000 characters

together with a preliminary budget.

After the initial evaluation, shortlisted applicants are invited to Stage 2.

Stage 2 — Full Proposal

Shortlisted applicants submit:

• A comprehensive application.
• Detailed research proposal.
• Detailed budget.

The Stage 2 project description may contain up to:

30,000 characters.

Applicants will also be invited to present and discuss their proposed research with the review panel in an online meeting during Stage 2.

SUBMISSION PLATFORM

Applications must be submitted electronically through the Novo Nordisk Foundation's:

NORMA application and grant-management system

Applications sent by email or other means will not be accepted.

Application Language

The application and all additional materials must be submitted in English.

APPLICATION CONTENT

Stage 1

The Expression of Interest should cover:

• The proposed research.
• Relevance to the Challenge theme.
• Clearly formulated hypotheses.
• Originality and ambition.
• Expected outcomes.
• Scientific approach and methodology.
• Research team structure.
• Roles and expertise.
• Access to facilities and equipment.
• Leadership and collaboration plan.
• High-level timeline.
• Key deliverables and milestones. 

Stage 2

The full proposal should include:

• Purpose and background.
• Significance of the research.
• Expected scientific and broader societal impact.
• Experimental design.
• Feasibility.
• Methodology and work streams.
• Ethical permissions.
• Research groups, roles and expertise.
• Facilities and equipment.
• Leadership, governance and organisational structure.
• Plans to foster the next generation of researchers.
• Timeline.
• Deliverables and milestones. 

CO-APPLICANTS

There must be 1–3 co-applicants.

Co-applicants must:

• Actively participate in the project.
• Have clearly defined roles.
• Receive an allocation of the grant.
• Have their roles and budget allocations clearly described in the application. 

The co-applicants must be invited through NORMA.

Only the Main Applicant can submit the final application.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Applications are evaluated by an independent, international panel of scientific experts.

The primary criteria are:

Scientific Quality & Impact

The scientific quality, originality and potential impact of the proposed work.

Scientific Approach

The strength and appropriateness of the proposed research methodology.

Scientific Environment & Collaboration

The strength of the research environment and the value of the collaboration between research groups.

Investigators' Track Record

The capabilities and research track records of the investigators.

The applicants' financial situation and prior obligations may also be considered where these could compromise their ability to dedicate themselves to the project or affect the quality of the proposed work.

ELIGIBLE COSTS

The grant can support directly related project costs.

Personnel

Funding may cover salaries for:

• Technicians.
• Analysts.
• Technical assistance.
• Laboratory administrators.
• Postdoctoral researchers.
• PhD students.
• Employees or project consultants.
• Project management. 

The Main Applicant and Co-applicants cannot receive funding for their own salaries.

Operations & Research

Eligible costs include:

• Materials.
• Consumables.
• Animals.
• Services.
• High-end computing.
• Essential equipment.
• Required infrastructure.
• Subcontractors.
• Bench fees. 

Collaboration & Dissemination

The grant may support:

• Workshops.
• Meetings.
• Research exchanges.
• Seminars.
• Collaboration activities.
• Travel.
• Publication.
• Communication and outreach.
• PhD tuition fees of up to DKK 80,000 per year. 

Administration

Direct administrative costs may be included up to:

5% of the overall budget.

IMPORTANT FUNDING EXCLUSIONS

The Foundation will not fund:

• Salary for the Main Applicant or Co-applicants.
• Commercial activities.
• General overhead/indirect costs such as rent, electricity, water and maintenance.
• Double funding or overlapping project costs. 

If an applicant has received or applied for other funding relating to the proposed project, this must be disclosed in the budget/application.

GENERAL APPLICATION RULES

Applicants may submit only one proposal as Main Applicant across all four Challenge Programme 2027 calls.

A Main Applicant cannot simultaneously act as a co-applicant on another Challenge Programme 2027 proposal.

A named co-applicant may participate in a maximum of two applications across the four calls.

Existing and previous recipients of Novo Nordisk Foundation research grants are eligible to apply.

KEY DATES

Call Opens: 22 April 2026

Stage 1

Deadline: 7 October 2026 at 14:00 CEST

Notification: December 2026

Stage 2

Deadline: 10 February 2027 at 14:00 CET

Notification: June 2027

Project Start

Earliest: 1 August 2027

Latest: 31 July 2028.

IMPORTANT PRACTICAL REQUIREMENT

A new administrating institution can take up to five working days to register in NORMA, and the application cannot be submitted until that institution has been registered. Applicants are therefore advised not to leave institutional registration until immediately before the deadline.

Similarly, co-applicants should be invited well in advance of the submission deadline because their registration and participation in the system can take time.

Click HERE to visit the official website. 

• South Africa
• Kenya
• Nigeria
• Ghana
• Rwanda
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Ethiopia
• Egypt
• India
• Brazil
• United States
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• Denmark
• Germany
• France
• Netherlands
• Sweden
• Norway