Translational Seed Funding Grant - 2026

The project should represent a novel, genuine collaboration between two scientists: one from the field of basic cancer research and the other from the field of clinical cancer research. The two scientists must jointly address a significant question in translational cancer research that essentially requires their unique and complementary expertise. The project should represent a new scientific direction, rather than a continuation or expansion of already funded work. The call is open for researchers at Karolinska Institutet (including post-docs) and the research should be performed at KI. The scientist from the field of clinical cancer research should hold an MD and be clinically active within the applied research area. Projects involving different departments from KI will be viewed favorably. 

The grant is awarded for two years, amounts to SEK 975 000 including indirect costs per year, and can cover all project-related costs, except stipends. After the first year of funding, a progress report, as well as a final report at the end of the grant period, will be requested. 

Assessment criteria

The applications will be assessed and ranked by external reviewers for the following five criteria:

1. Scientific quality, including adequacy of design and proposed statistical analysis,.
2. Originality and innovativeness of the proposal.
3. The merits of the two applicants, in correspondence to career stage.
4. Collaborative aspect ensuring that both the project and the collaboration is new and not a continuation of an existing interaction between two research groups.
5. The translational aspect of the study design. 

Detailed application instructions

The application should be written in English and contain: 

• Research program (maximum five pages, including references), clearly describing the project’s aims and methodology, and explicitly detailing how the complementary expertise of both applicants will be integrated throughout the project.
• Gender and diversity: (maximum ½ page) Describe how gender and diversity aspects will be considered and integrated into both the research team and the research process.
• Short CV (maximum two pages) for both principal investigators (including current funding).
• Publication list for the last eight years (2017-2025) presented in reverse chronological order for each applicant. Mark the five most important publications with an asterisk (*) and emphasize your own name in bold. Please categorize your publications (1. peer-reviewed original articles in international journals, 2. peer-reviewed conference contributions, 3. review articles/book chapters, 4. patents).
• Patient perspective describing how patient involvement will be incorporated into the project.
• Project budget, outlining planned use of the Translational Seed Funding grant. 

Submission information

Applications are to be submitted on https://prisma.research.se 

• Call opens: December 1, 2025
• Deadline: February 2, 2026
• Grant start: June 1, 2026