No. Applications must be posted on the web-based application service managed by Altum proposalCENTRAL by the published deadline.
Yes. The Fondation Leducq has established the following rules for participation in multiple networks of the Transatlantic Networks Program:
- Network coordinators cannot participate concurrently in any other Leducq network, in any capacity.
- Network members may not participate in more than two Leducq networks concurrently. (This rule applies only to the 5-year term of the grant, and not to the no-cost extension period that networks may choose to implement).
Investigators may not submit more applications than the number in which they could participate if all applications were successful. Practically, this means that in any given year:
- Applicants for the role of coordinator cannot have their name on any other application submitted to the foundation.
- A member of a current Leducq network, which is expected to continue the following year, can be included in only one application to the foundation.
- An investigator not currently participating in a Leducq network can submit a maximum of either one application where his/her role will be that of coordinator, or two applications for that of member.
For more details, please refer to the Transatlantic Networks of Excellence Program Description.
Yes. The rules would preclude your applying as a coordinator only if you were a bona fide member of a Leducq network, that is, you received funding under a Leducq Research Agreement. If you are a member of a Leducq network in that sense, then you would be ineligible to apply as a coordinator in upcoming application cycle.
Post-doctoral fellows can receive funding under this program, and can be included as members of the network in the sense that they are allocated a budget, and can participate in management decisions. Technically, the Research Agreement signed between the Fondation Leducq and the network parties makes the institutions, and not the individual investigators, members of the network. The easiest case, therefore, would be where a post-doc fellow is working at an institution where there is another more senior member of the network. If, however, the post-doc is affiliated with an institution where there is no other senior investigator participating in the network, then the post-doc will have an independent budget. Importantly, arrangements must be made to prepare for the eventual departure of the post-doc from his or her home institution at the conclusion of the post-doc period. In short, the answer is yes, but the details would need to be worked out at the time the Research Agreement is signed.
No. There is no limit on the number of letters of intent or full applications in which an institution may participate, and there is no advantage or disadvantage in applying from an institution that is submitting multiple applications. There is no restriction on the number of grants or grantees that a single institution may have.
No. The applications process is open to researchers in North America and Europe, provided that they meet the qualifications set out in the Transatlantic Networks of Excellence Program Description. In an effort to make researchers aware of available funding opportunities, the Fondation Leducq may sometimes send out notices using particular mailing or institutional lists which may not reach every researcher. This is not meant to restrict the field of applicants.
Not directly. All Transatlantic Network Program support is provided to institutions for the benefit of named individual investigators affiliated with those institutions. The institution would not have the option to use Leducq funding for persons other than the named investigator in the application, and in the event that that investigator were to leave the institution, the foundation’s support would follow the investigator.
Researchers who are affiliated with an academic research center are eligible to participate in the Leducq program regardless of the for-profit or not-for-profit status of the institution with which the researcher is affiliated.
Under the terms of the Transatlantic Networks of Excellence, applications are accepted from teams of researchers, of which there must be at least three in the network, at least one of whom is based in Europe and one in North America. Applicants must have demonstrable expertise in research pertaining to cardiovascular or neurovascular disease and an affiliation with a major academic medical center. The network may include members from fields outside of cardiovascular and neurovascular research, such as other medical specialties, physics, engineering or information technology, where such members bring a needed expertise to the network. Members from outside of Europe and North America may be included under certain conditions (see below).
Fondation Leducq will generally allow the participation of members from institutions located outside of Europe and North America. Nevertheless, investigators from such institutions are not eligible to be network coordinators, but may be proposed as network members, without prior consideration from the Fondation Leducq, under the following conditions:
- The institution with which the investigator is affiliated is able to agree to and abide by the financial, intellectual property, and reporting terms of the network Research Agreement.
- The network can demonstrate a clear benefit from the participation of the proposed investigators.
In the consideration of whether a country is or is not a part of Europe or North America, conventional geographic classification will obtain.
The foundation has indicated in the description of the Transatlantic Networks of Excellence Program that conventional geographic borders will pertain in making determinations of eligibility for coordinator roles. Since part of Russia is considered to be a part of Europe, the foundation will accept Russian investigators–from anywhere in Russia–as European coordinators.
No. All applicants should be sure to demonstrate the advantages gained through collaboration. Networks that are widely dispersed geographically should address the logistical challenges of communication and meetings, and will have space to do so in detail on the full application.
No.
There is no formal policy regarding the distribution of funds between basic and clinical research. However, historically, most of the programs supported have been oriented more towards basic and/or translational science. The high cost of clinical research makes it less likely that the foundation can expect a significant impact from the financial support it offers. That said, it is conceivable that a clinical application can capture the attention of the reviewers, especially if it can be shown that an international collaborative network would allow for significant advantages in carrying out the project. Another approach would be to include both clinical and basic research–each of which informs the other–in one network program.
Fondation Leducq encourages networks to use Transatlantic Networks Program funding to support early career investigators, some of whom would benefit from exchange within the network. Foundation funds can be used to support Ph.D. students or post doctoral fellows within the network. The selection committee would likely not, however, look favorably on using the funds to support an entire training program.
Members should be selective with the publications to be inserted in their CV/Biosketch. They must be relevant to the project. If your proposal is selected for a full application, then prospective members will be able to provide more detailed information.
The grant support to include is only that relevant to the proposed project. It can be included in a separate sheet. For purposes of brevity, smaller amounts can be consolidated. All of this can be amplified in the application process at a later date if necessary.
No budget information is requested at the letter of intent stage. Should you be asked later to submit a full application, a complete budget will be requested at that time.
Electronic signatures, like those on a PDF of a scanned document, are accepted. No hard copy is requested at this stage of the process.
For more details, please refer to the Transatlantic Networks of Excellence Program Description.
Currently the Fondation Leducq operates on an annual funding cycle. Awards are announced in June, and at that time, decisions are made about the funding program for the next year. All necessary information is posted promptly on the Fondation Leducq website shortly after the June Board of Director’s meeting. At the same time, Fondation Leducq contacts the offices of sponsored research at universities in North America and Europe, as well as individual investigators on its mailing list, with information about the availability of grants for the next cycle. To receive calls for applications, please join the mailing list through the Contact Us link.