Topic: basic research

Basic research, technological advances and clinical observations can converge to produce major therapeutic breakthroughs. Examples from lung cancer, spinal muscular atrophy and hemophilia illustrate how curiosity-driven science contributed to medicines including osimertinib, risdiplam and emicizumab. The lecture follows discoveries across the decades between initial biological insights and effective treatments, examining the persistence, unexpected findings and collaboration across disciplines that made these advances possible. It considers how biological, clinical and technological research c

Three-year fellowships develop basic research on plant function at whole-organism and smaller scales. Applicants either bring expertise from another discipline into plant biology or acquire new methods with a mentor outside plant biology. One or two mentors may participate; with two mentors, at least one must research plants. Awards start between July and October 2027. Applications are due by noon Eastern time on 3 December 2026.

ESPRIT supports independent, innovative basic research and career development for early postdoctoral researchers across all disciplines at Austrian research institutions. A mentor supports scientific and professional development. 36 months of principal-investigator salary at the senior postdoc rate plus EUR 45,000 project costs, increasing to EUR 75,000 on a justified request. These amounts are project costs, not the total award. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Investigator-led basic research across disciplines supports defined scientific questions and research groups for up to 48 months. Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis.

Support for early independent neuroscientists addressing significant questions about the brain, including basic research with potential clinical translation. Up to ten awards provide USD 225,000 over three years from 1 June 2027, paid as USD 75,000 annually. Research expenses are supported; indirect costs are excluded. Applications are due 3 November 2026 at 17:00 Central time; reference letters are due 24 November. The application includes a research proposal, diversity and inclusion statement, CV, other-support information, publication links and three references.

Methodology for understanding the basic phenomena of life can be done in vitro or in vivo, under tightly-controlled experimental conditions designed to limit variability. However stringent the protocol, these experiments do not occur in a cultural vacuum and they are often subject to the same societal biases as other research disciplines. Many researchers uphold the status quo of biased basic research by not questioning the characteristics of their experimental animals, or the people from whom their tissue samples were collected. This means that our fundamental understanding of life has been b