Donation request submission

The Helmut Horten Foundation supports projects that conduct innovative research with clinical relevance primarily in the fields of oncology and/or immunology. Two project categories are envisaged: project funding for young researchers and funding for consortia projects.

In addition to scientific excellence, applications must meet the following criteria:

Project funding of young researchers

• Applicants must be employed as independent group leaders at a Swiss university or research institute for the entire duration of the project.
• The start of the project is no later than ten years after the applicant has obtained his/her highest academic degree. For clinical researchers who have achieved the status of a medical specialist, this deadline is extended to 15 years after the attainment of the highest academic degree in order to compensate for the time spent on clinical training.
• Partial or supplementary project support is not granted.
• As a rule, purely clinical studies are generally not supported.
• The maximum duration of project support is 3 years. 
• The maximum funding amount for the total duration is CHF 400'000.-

Funding of consortial projects

• Consortial projects are interdisciplinary. They combine clinical and basic scientific (experimental and computational) approaches to a matter of high medical importance and necessity.
• Projects based exclusively on preclinical models or on the basic investigation of mechanisms are not funded.
• The application should contain a direct clinical application reference and/or a translation for the benefit of the patient (preferably a translational clinical study/application in/on the patient should be included).
• A maximum of 5 applicants are represented in a consortium project. These are independent group leaders at a Swiss university or research institute.
• One lead applicant represents the consortium and is responsible for the project. At least one applicant must be a medical scientist with appropriate clinical responsibility.
• The duration of funding for consortium projects is generally 3 years and can be 4 years in justified exceptional cases.
• The maximum total funding amount is CHF 1 million per year.

The application evaluation takes place in two steps:

Project outlines for donation applications for the year 2023 are to be submitted using the form below.

• By 15 February 2023, only project funding applications from younger researchers will be accepted. 
• Consortium applications will be accepted by 15 May 2023.

The application must comply with the Foundation's purpose and the above-mentioned criteria. All deviating submissions will not be considered. As a rule, other foundations will not be supported with grants.

The following information must be included in the project outline for donation applications:

• A one-page project outline (max. one DIN A4 page) with project objective, procedure, project staff, duration, desired contribution.
• CV of the lead applicant (and in the case of consortia projects, of the collaborating applicants).
• List of publications of the main applicant(s).

The Foundation examines the submitted short proposal/project outline for completeness and selects the best-qualified proposals in the cross-comparison (this usually takes place within 4 weeks). Subsequently, the applicants are informed and the best-qualified are asked to submit a complete proposal according to the official research proposal form.

As a rule, this must be submitted within two months of being informed by the applicant(s). A final assessment is usually made within three months. In the case of consortia projects, a hearing may also be integrated into the evaluation. The evaluation period may be extended accordingly.