Want to apply for the EPND Call? Submit your research proposal to leverage biosamples (and data, if applicable) from neurodegeneration studies catalogued on our Platform, by completing a short form and questionnaire. We welcome Expressions of Interest across all neurodegenerative disease areas, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. We also encourage collaborative proposals, involving multiple investigators or groups.

Need to identify potential collaborators, biosamples and datasets? Explore the EPND Catalogue, which includes over 70 neurodegeneration research studies representing more than 240,000 research participants.

Read on to learn about the application procedure, study requirements and important deadlines!

Main objectives of the Call:

EPND is working to accelerate the discovery of diagnostics and therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, by facilitating data and sample sharing, and collaborative research. The EPND Consortium invites the neurodegenerative research community to bring promising research questions to EPND, to test the full suite of functionalities of the EPND platform. We are also asking applicants to complete a short feedback questionnaire. This will allow us to refine and adapt the platform to best meet the needs of neurodegeneration researchers.

The EPND platform includes the following elements:

• The Study Catalogue, which enables discovery of biosamples and datasets from over 70 neurodegeneration research cohorts across 12 disease areas
• Secure workspaces on the AD Data Initiative's AD Workbench, including tools, apps and software for data visualisation and analysis
• An array of support services to facilitate biosample and data sharing, such as ethical-legal guidance and assistance in meeting data protection, ethical and permissioning requirements.

Research areas covered by the Call:

To be eligible for this Call, researchers must leverage biosamples (and data, if applicable) from neurodegeneration research studies. We welcome Expressions of Interest across all neurodegenerative disease areas, including, but not restricted to, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. We also encourage collaborative proposals, involving multiple investigators or groups.

To identify potential collaborators, biosamples and datasets, we invite researchers to explore the EPND Catalogue which includes over 70 neurodegeneration research studies representing more than 240,000 research participants.

How to apply:

Download the application form and questionnaire and submit it to collaborate@epnd.org, no later than September 15, 2024. The application form asks for details on the samples and data to be analysed, as well as a brief project description. The questionnaire asks for feedback on the EPND platform and Catalogue, as well as information on any incentives, support & services that would help facilitate your research.

Who Can Apply:

We welcome applications from investigators in academia or industry, with a proven track record of publications in the neurodegenerative field, with proposals that meet the requirements outlined below. Young investigators are also encouraged to apply, provided they have a confirmed employment contract from their institution covering the duration of the analysis plan.

Key study requirements:

• Biosample & data discovery and access request through the EPND catalogue
• Agreeing to list the derived metadata in the EPND Catalogue, making them discoverable and requestable through the EPND user interface (data and results can be hosted centrally or remotely via a federated connection; permissioning processes can defined by the applicant)
• Leveraging secure EPND workspaces on the AD Workbench for data analyses, to the extent possible. If there is any analysis that needs to be performed in an external environment, please note that in your application with justification so that we can offer any support that may be needed.
• Compliance with the applicable legal requirements (including data protection laws)
• Compliance with European data sharing, permissioning, and access regulations
• Sufficient funding available to execute the study and analysis
• Communication of the results either jointly or through EPND’s communication channels

Collaborative proposals:

The platform encourages collaborative proposals, specifying the principal investigators and key collaborators. There is no limit to the number of collaborators.

Funding support:

EPND offers funding support in the range of EUR10,000 - EUR50,000 per case study for partial coverage of sample costs for academic applicants, contingent upon the identification of samples of interest from the EPND Catalogue. However, external funding must cover the core study and analysis process.

Evaluation and Review Process:

A committee of EPND partners will evaluate all the applications and select proposals that best test the functionalities of the platform and identify possible additional incentives that could be implemented in the next selection step.

Selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals (less than 4 pages) that will include possible additional incentives.

Successful applicants will have 18 months to complete the planned study and provide a report detailing the study results and various aspects of the EPND platform tested.

Key dates and deadlines:

Launch of Call: 23 July 2024

Deadline for Expressions of Interest: 15 September 2024

Notification of success / invitation to submit full proposal: 1 November 2024

Deadline for full proposals: 30 November 2024

Award Notifications: 15 December 2024

Contact information:

For any questions, please contact the EPND team at collaborate@epnd.org.

Download a Word version of the application form here (click File>Download>Microsoft Word), or email us at collaborate@epnd.org to receive a copy.

We look forward to receiving your applications!