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Seed Funding

The strategic research area SFO EpiHealth (Epidemiology for Health) at Lund University supports early-career researchers in epidemiology by announcing a call for seed funding aimed at developing new project ideas that will form the basis of a future research grant application. A total amount of SEK 1,000,000 is allocated for up to five proposals, each receiving SEK 200,000 during 2026.

Eligibility
Eligible applicants are postdoctoral researchers and doctoral candidates in their final year who are affiliated with SFO EpiHealth at Lund University through the research portal LUCRIS. Applicants must be employed by Lund University or Region Skåne and must not hold any awarded research funding for projects other than their ongoing postdoctoral or doctoral project.

Review Panel
Applications will be evaluated by a panel appointed by the EpiHealth Coordinator. Conflicts of interest within the review panel will be considered for each individual application.

Evaluation Criteria
The scientific quality of the application will be assessed according to three core criteria from the Swedish Research Council’s guidelines for evaluating project applications (see: https://www.vr.se/soka-finansiering/bedomning-av-ansokningar/kriterier-…):

  • Scientific quality of the project
  • Novelty and originality
  • Feasibility

Based on these criteria, the review panel will assign an overall score. In the ranking of applications, the following aspects will also be taken into account in addition to scientific quality:

The strategic relevance of the research project for SFO EpiHealth, in accordance with its strategic plan for 2026–2030 (see: epihealth.lu.se)
Potential for the applicant to develop an independent research trajectory
International collaborations
Plans for future research funding

Priority will be given to applicants who have not previously received seed funding from SFO EpiHealth, provided that applications are otherwise of similar quality.

General Conditions

  • The grant administrator of funded applications will receive SEK 200,000.
  • The funding covers both direct and indirect costs.
  • Funds may not be used to cover expenses in other projects.
  • The project must begin in 2026 and be completed by 30 June 2027.
  • Scientific and financial reports must be submitted to SFO EpiHealth no later than 31 August 2027.
  • Unused funds as of 30 June 2027 must be returned to SFO EpiHealth.

 

Application

The application must be written in Arial, font size 11, with single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins. It must be written in English and include a title page, project description, CV, and publication list:


Title page (1 A4 page)

Project title
Name of applicant, employment details, email, phone number
Grant administrator and cost centre
Popular science summary (max. 250 words)
Keywords (max. 6)

Project description (max. 3 A4 pages, including figures but excluding references)

Overall aim
Plan for developing the project idea and future applications
Plan for new collaborations
Novelty
Added value for the applicant
Strategic importance for SFO EpiHealth
Future development opportunities of the project

CV (max. 2 A4 pages)

Publication list (max. 5 A4 pages)

Application Period
All components of the application must be combined into one PDF and submitted to Maria Löfstedt at
maria [dot] lofstedt [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (maria[dot]lofstedt[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se) no later than 31 March 2026.

Last updated: 10 Feb 2026 | maria [dot] lofstedt [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se