Funder: Novo Nordisk Foundation
Due Dates: January 13, 2027, 2:00 pm CET (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to DKK 12.50 million over 5 years; up to DKK 25 million available overall
Summary: Supports established Nordic research leaders advancing fundamental life science research for sustainable agriculture and food production.
Key Information: Applicants must lead their own research group at associate professor level or equivalent; professors, including MSO professors, cannot apply.
Description
The Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Ascending Investigator grants support the development and consolidation of excellent research leaders in plant science, agriculture and food biotechnology in the Nordic countries. Individual grants fund original, ambitious, fundamental life science research with a strategic outlook towards sustainability. Projects should significantly extend knowledge beyond the state of the art and may involve high-risk research.
Supported areas include plants and microorganisms that improve productivity, resilience and resource efficiency; circular agricultural, food and forestry systems; microbial applications for a circular economy; and food components derived from plants, microbes, insects and cellular agriculture. Research may address food functionality, safety, technological properties and interactions within food matrices. Methods and technologies, including data-driven approaches, are also supported when a significant proportion of the research explores their intended application.
