ERA-EDTA RESEARCH CALL
 
The deadline has expired on July 1st, 2009
BACKGROUND:
  
• ERA-EDTA was established in 1964 to promote and support renal research in Europe.
  
• The ERA-EDTA relevance has greatly increased in the recent years. The improved scientific level of the ERA-EDTA annual congresses, the exponential increment of the ERA-EDTA CME Courses, the New Activities of the ERA-EDTA Registry including the EU funded Nephro-Quest, the four ERA-EDTA journals (NDT, NDT Plus, NDT Educational and Follow us) have greatly contributed to achieve a higher Scientific level.
  
• The ERA-EDTA established in 2005 the Fellowship Programme to grow interest in renal research among young European investigators.
  
• The ERA-EDTA is now launching a new initiative to support scientific exchange and collaboration between European Research Institutions and Clinical Nephrology Centers with the aim of promoting the visibility of the scientific European potential in research in nephrology performing concerted investigations.
  
• Research networks of excellence are being organized in Europe, however there is a need to help less powerful centers to participate in this network, such as peripheral centers of Western European Countries and centers in Eastern Countries.
  
• It is widely recognized that in Europe there is great expertise in the field of clinical trials (CT) for treatment of renal diseases. Several of the most relevant results in the last decades have been obtained thanks to collaborations among European Nephrology Centres, usually from the same country. The spontaneous trials are going to be overwhelmed by the industry supported CT, which pay a sum for each patient enrolled, having high cost monitoring systems damping all enthusiasm of organizing a non-industry driven CT. The support of ERA-EDTA to non-industry based CT would have a potentially great benefit for renal patients.
  
  

ERA-EDTA RESEARCH PROGRAMME:

  
Two types of Projects can apply for support, please note that other financial supports may be necessary for ambitious programmes, however the programme will appear under the ERA-EDTA logo.
  
The ERA-EDTA Research Programme will be settled to contribute to the establishment of high-level European networks of Research in Nephrology including:
  
1. Translational Research Projects. 
2. Clinical Research Projects (Collaborative Clinical Trials (CT) or Observational Studies).
  
A) Translational Research Projects
  
AIM:
To contribute to the establishment of networks of high-level research centres throughout Europe aiming at developing translational research in the major fields of interest of the renal community. They should include both basic and health care-driven research centres  
  
Multinational Composition of the Network is required. In cases of large Networks it will be possible that a single country can have more than one research group but never can exceed the 20% in the composition of the Network.
  
The composition of the Network should be balanced including strong and consolidated research groups (60 -75%) as well as emerging research groups (25-40%), as defined in Appendix 1.
  
The network will propose a coordinate research project (defined in Appendix 1) in which the need, role and responsibilities of each group should be clearly defined. The Network should have a Principal Investigator and Coordinator responsible for the Project. They can have also a Subcoordinator.
  
The Network applying should clearly demonstrate they can constitute a feasible and real coordinated Network able to deal with the type of research proposed.
  
A combined budget for funding the projects Including Public and/or Private (Foundation, Associations, Societies) Research Institutions, Universities or Other Research Related Bodies will be allowed.
  

B) Clinical Research Projects:
Collaborative Clinical Trials (CT) or Observational Studies (OS)
  
AIM:
To create a Network of Nephrology Centres willing to perform non-industry supported clinical trials (CT), with potential benefits for many patients in Europe and all over the world.
  
To contribute to perform CTs enrolling patients from different Countries in Europe establishing a true active clinical trials network among European Centres of Clinical Nephrology.
  
To facilitate the interaction among Nephrological Centres and the production of common results of relevance in the field of treatment of renal disease.
  
To show up the expertise of European Clinical Nephrology Centres in CT
  
  

HOW TO APPLY: Deadline July 1st, 2009

You can download here the Application Form to fill in and send, by mail or fax, to:
ERA-EDTA Operative Headquarter
Research programme
Via Spolverini 2
43126 PARMA
ITALY
Fax: +390521 959242
  
  

STRATEGY TO FOLLOW
  
There will be one public call every year. The call will be advertised in the web and by letters to ERA-EDTA Members and the proposals should be presented using specific forms (Appendix II).
  
A) Translational research projects will be selected on the basis of adequacy, high quality, level of coordination and complementation, and other add-on values such as those combining both basic and clinical-epidemiological research and Eastern-Western collaborative Projects.
B)Clinical research projects will include Observational Studies as well as Collaborative Clinical Trials (CT). The call is open to spontaneous CT in Europe, which can be co-sponsored by the industry but not industry driven. CT can be newly designed or been already approved by a national ethical committee, but still striving to gather a sufficient number of patients.
  
The duration of both projects will be minimum 2 years and maximum 4 years. The budget approved will be for the whole project. The payment will be annual after receiving the annual report.
  
  

SELECTION OF THE PROPOSALS
  

The proposals will be scored following 2 steps:
  

First step: The proposals will be forwarded to the SAB, for selection of a panel of external reviewers expert in the topic of the project (Scientific and Technical Board). They will evaluate and score the project.
  

Second step: a more detailed project will be asked for final selection.

  

Third step: after the scientific and technical evaluation, the projects considered “approved” and suitable for ERA-EDTA support will be reviewed by the Council.
  
In case of need (doubts about feasibility, to decide among best ranked pre-selected projects…)  the principal investigator may be asked to present “face to face“ the project in order to have more information to decide. 
  
  

EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS AND PROGRESS OF THE PROPOSAL
  
Annual report (Necessary to authorize the next payment).
  
Final reports at the end of the action.
  
All the reports should include number and impact factor of publications, progress in shared publications and exchanged fellows during the action. The report of this proposal will be open for further 3 years after the end of the action to include other posterior achievement of the proposal.
  
All publications should clearly state and acknowledge the ERA-EDTA support.
  
All kind of positive achievements in the different centres involved in the Network as a result of the supported action should be communicated.
  
  

ERA-EDTA RESEARCH PROGRAMME APPENDIX 1: DEFINITIONS
  

Clinical-epidemiological research:
In this type of research patients are the main subjects of the proposal and a strong epidemiological component is anticipated.
  
Translational research:

This type of research can be done in isolated molecules, cells, animals or patients but it is aimed at understanding the molecular and cellular basis of disease, with the compromise of establishing a potential therapeutic benefit for patients.

  

Research group:

A team of investigators of different levels and functions generally led by one group leader and doing research on one or more lines of research, whether or not with an applied orientation. This team has generally other elements of cohesion such as laboratory space, sources of funding and most important of all a proven common experience in research, reflected by a common scientific output: publications, patents, grants, etc.

  

Consolidated research group:

This alludes to a research group led by one or more IPs with more than 10 years of continuous scientific output. It should reflect a significant contribution to a field in terms of widely referenced publications, whose impact is beyond doubt, not only regarding metrics but also, public recognition of the scientific community. The size of this type of groups is typically between 8-15 members.
  

Emerging group:

This alludes to a research group, generally led by one IP who has started its independent position within the last 5 years. It should reflect contributions of high quality even when not numerous. The significance of the subject of research, momentum and potential should be generally agreed by investigators of the same area. The size of the group is typically 4-6 members.
  

IPs leading these groups do not have and are not expected to have high Hirsch indexes.

  

Coordinate research project:
In this type of projects the participation of several independent teams is anticipated. The project should aim at the resolution of difficult problems with resources of high calibre and which cannot be undertaken by each individual group. The principles of complementarity in approaches and techniques as well as of cohesion between consolidated and emerging groups should preside the conception of the project.