Trond Mohn Research Foundation – Call for Research Proposals: Immune Dysfunction
TMF has allocated 24 million NOK for a reseach program on immune regulation and dysregulation. In collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, UiB.
Main content
Background
The prevalence of conditions associated with dysregulation of the immune system is increasing. Such conditions affect many age groups, negatively impact quality of life and participation in work and social life, and pose a significant burden on healthcare resources.
Major knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of the mechanisms that drive immune dysregulation and eventually cause disease. Emerging, sophisticated research methods could facilitate the development of preventive strategies, improved diagnostic tools, and future targeted treatments for conditions rooted in immune dysfunction. Moreover, many new therapeutic modalities exert their effects by altering immune function. Novel interventions may interact with the immune system in complex and unpredictable ways, producing effects that can be therapeutic, adverse, or mechanistically ambiguous.
Taken together, these factors underscore the need for continued, multidisciplinary research to clarify the processes that underlie immune regulation and dysregulation. Strengthening the knowledge base in this area is essential for improving our understanding of immune‑related conditions and to address their growing impact on society.
The foundation has allocated up to NOK 24 million for this research program.
Purpose of the Initiative
The vision of the Trond Mohn Research Foundation (TMF) is to make a substantial contribution to the development of research environments aiming to reach the highest international level.
The overarching purpose of this initiative is to advance fundamental and translational research on immune regulation, thereby strengthening the University of Bergen’s position within immunological research. A major aim of the call is to encourage participation from researchers in the early stages of their careers. Through support for high-quality research projects and the development of a collaborative network, the allocated funding will strengthen and position the local research environments as a unified, visible, and competitive hub for immunological research.
Thematic Scope
The initiative supports projects addressing key aspects of immune dysfunction, including research spanning basic immunology, disease mechanisms, biomarkers, diagnostics, prevention, and treatment. Emphasis is placed on translational approaches linking mechanistic insights to human-relevant data and advances knowledge towards clinical application. Projects may examine factors influencing immune function and disease susceptibility, strategies to restore immune balance, long-term consequences of immune perturbation, or variation in immune responses across populations and disease contexts. Overall, broad, innovative approaches that deepen understanding of immune regulation and support transition toward improved health outcomes fall within the scope of this call. Research proposals with a primary emphasis on infections leading to chronic disease or primarily focused on cancer pathogenesis fall outside the scope of this call.
Eligibility and Requirements
In addition to the thematic focus outlined above, proposals must meet the following requirements:
- The project must be led by a dedicated Principal Investigator (PI) of high academic standing or a promising track record
- The PI must hold a permanent academic main position (professor, associate professor, researcher) at the Faculty of Medicine, UiB, during the project period in its entirety.
- The inclusion of relevant national and international research partners is strongly encouraged.
- Project PIs and participants are expected to contribute to overarching activities that promote scientific quality and strengthen overall competence in immunology at the UiB.
Funding Framework
Each project may be awarded funding for a period of three or four years. The maximum grant per project is NOK 6 million, and minimum grant per project is NOK 3 million.
All funding from TMF must be matched by contributions of approximately equal value from the participating institution(s). Contributions can be partially in-kind, e.g. personnel time, access to equipment, administrative or technical support, but the co-funding must also include a specified proportion of direct financial contributions.
For further information: Please consult Sections A to C.
Section A – How to apply for funding under this program
There will be a two-stage application process:
Stage 1: Prequalification
Stage 1 will be organized and implemented by The Faculty of Medicine, UiB. Eligible proposals will be evaluated by an international expert panel appointed by The Faculty of Medicine, UiB. At the end of stage 1, top-ranked proposals will be invited to the second stage.
Stage 1 Proposals must be written in English and contain the following:
- The research plan.
- The budget sheet
- A commitment letter from the host department describing the nature and level of its contribution to the project and its willingness to host the project. The letter must be signed by the head of the host department at The Faculty of Medicine.
- In cases where departments or institutions other than the host department are expected to contribute with resources to the project, a letter signed at the appropriate level of the contributing institution should be included. The letter should describe the nature of the resources to be committed and confirm institutional support of the proposal and its budget.
Questions regarding the prequalification stage and required documentation/attachments can be directed to Margarethe Bittins (margarethe.bittins@uib.no). The application deadline for stage 1 proposals is 30.04.2026 at 12:00 (noon). One copy of the proposal and the required attachments, compiled into one (1) PDF file, is to be submitted through this link: application form.
Proposals that are submitted after the deadline and/or that do not meet the formal requirements will not be evaluated.
Following the stage 1 evaluation, principal investigators of successful stage 1 proposals will receive an invitation from TMF with information on how to proceed with the stage 2 applications.
The evaluation criteria listed in section C will be the basis for evaluation of proposals in both Stage 1 and stage 2.
Stage 2 Final
Stage 2 – final - will be organised and implemented by TMF. Eligible stage 2 proposals will be evaluated by an international panel of experts appointed by the TMF. The expert panel will make recommendations to the TMF board, which will make the final decision regarding financing.
Applications must be written in English and contain the following:
- The project description (template to be provided by TMF)
- The budget sheet (template to be provided by TMF)
- A commitment letter from the host institution describing the nature and level of its contribution to the project and its willingness to host the project. The letter must be signed at the appropriate institutional level.
- In cases where departments or institutions other than the host department are expected to contribute with resources to the project, a letter signed at the appropriate level of the contributing institution should be included. The letter should describe the nature of the resources to be committed and confirm institutional support of the proposal and its budget.
Please note: any documents / information not specifically asked for, will not be made available to evaluators.
How to submit Stage 2 proposals:
The application deadline for Stage 2 proposals is 31.08.2026. One copy of the proposal and the required attachments, compiled into one (1) PDF file, is to be submitted to grants@mohnfoundation.no. Receipt of submitted applications will be confirmed by email.
For questions concerning Stage 2 proposal preparations, please contact
- Oddveig Åsheim: phone +47 416 63 164, oa@mohnfoundation.no
- Anja Hegen: phone +47 46469416, ah@mohnfoundation.no
- Linn Knudsen: phone: + 47 404 98 272, lk@mohnfoundation.no
Section B – Project funding and project grant agreements
As mentioned above, it is a prerequisite for funding that any TMF contribution is matched by resources (in-kind and cash) from the participating institutions at approximately the same level. The overall budget of each project should allow for the establishment of a research team and for collaborative and/or cross- disciplinary research to take place.
Each project may be granted TMF funding for either three or four years. The maximum contribution from TMF is 6 million NOK (for projects lasting 4 years) or 4,5 million NOK (for projects lasting 3 years). The minimum grant for any project is 3 million NOK.
Matching resources from the host institution may include salaries, consumables, equipment, overhead related to positions and facility rental costs ("leiestedskostnader", e.g. the use of labs / equipment).
Funding from the foundation may not be put towards overhead and/or other expenses not directly incurred by the project. For this program, TMF funding may not cover the salary nor buy-out ("frikjøp”) of the project leader (PI). Exceptions may be made for PIs in clinical positions.
In the event a grant application is successful, a project grant agreement will be entered into by TMF and the host institution, in which their respective responsibilities will be detailed in full.
In conjunction with the grant agreement, consortium agreements between the collaborating institutions must be put in place before the initiation of the project.
Section C – Evaluation criteria
Stage 1 evaluation:
In the stage 1 evaluation, proposals will be evaluated in the following categories:
- Scientific Excellence : Originality of the overall aim relative to the state-of-the-art in the field, relevance of scope and ambitions, strength of the theoretical and methodological approach. The extent to which the chosen objective and approach may lead to progress beyond the current state-of-the-art.
- Relevance: The extent to which the proposed project contributes to the chosen subject area and the quality of its expected broader impact.
- Feasibility: The feasibility of the project in light of the expertise of the PI, the research environment, required infrastructure and available resources.
Each evaluator will be asked to score each proposal in the three categories on a scale from 1 to 7. Evaluators may provide comments for the funder. The proposals will be ranked according to the average score. The final decision for inviting proposals to the second stage will be made by the Faculty of Medicine in consultation with the stage 1 evaluators.
In cases where applications proposals are assessed to be of equal scientific quality, preference may be given to applicants in the early or mid-stages of their academic career.
Stage 2 evaluation
The basic reference for the evaluation is as follows, with scientific quality as the most important criterion:
| Assessment Criteria | Description |
| Scientific quality | Originality relative to the state-of-the-art in the field The strength of the theoretical and methodological approach Is the scientific scope and ambition of the project well defined? Are the overall aim and the underlying research questions, hypotheses and objectives clear and adequately specified? |
| Significance | The extent to which the chosen objective and approach may lead to progress beyond the current state-of-the-art. |
| Feasibility | How may the proposed research activities contribute to realization of the described goals and the subject area. The extent to which the conceptual framework, design, methods, and analyses are appropriate for the aims of the proposed research. |
| Environment and consortium | The extent to which the available resources, the institutional commitments, and any other unique features, will contribute towards the success of the proposed research. The quality of the consortium (incl. complementarity / balance). Extent of uniqueness of expertise on the proposal topic. |
| Investigators | The extent to which the investigators’ experience, track record, training, preliminary data and/or past progress may contribute towards the success of the project. |
| Scientific leadership | The extent to which the need for strategic leadership is addressed. Plans for recruitment of young research talents and building collaborative capacity. |
| Innovation and translation | The suitability of the described approach towards translation and innovation. Is there an identifiable potential to improve methods, the utilization of equipment/data and /or clinical practice? |
| International cooperation | The extent and quality of the international cooperation activities set out for the project.
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| National cooperation | The extent to which the project will make use of national research expertise and help to promote national network building. |
| Value added | How the proposed project may contribute to:
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| Dissemination and outreach | Plans for scholarly publication, dissemination, and other communication activities. Plans for increased and improved communication with local stakeholders, users (including patients) and the public, as well as end-users. |