Funding Cycles XIX and XX – Letters of Intent Submission in October 2007 and April 2008

The Roche Organ Transplantation Research Foundation (ROTRF) is very pleased to announce that in Cycles XIX and XX grants have been awarded to 12 conventional and 6 clinical research applications, including 2 conventional grants and 1 clinical grant for the joint ROTRF/JDRF grant award competition. In Cycle XIX, 1.85 million Swiss francs were allocated to 10 research projects, whereas in Cycle XX, 1.95 million Swiss francs were distributed to 8 projects.

The ROTRF received 130 Letters of Intent in Cycle XIX up to the submission deadline (1 October 2007) from scientists around the world. Of the applications, 32.3% were received from Europe, the major countries being Germany and The Netherlands (each 5.4%), UK (4.6%) and France, Switzerland and Spain (each 3.1%). The majority of the applications was received from North America (53.9%): United States (50.0%) and Canada (3.9%). Australia/New Zealand (9.2%), Asia (2.3%) and South America (2.3%) accounted for the remaining 13.9% of the applications. Based on the reviews of the SAC, the Board of Trustees invited 25 applicants to prepare Full Paper Applications. After a thorough review of the 24 received applications, grants were awarded to 10 research projects, including 2 from the ROTRF/JDRF Joint Initiative.

In Cycle XX, 156 Letters of Intent were received up to the submission deadline (1 April 2008). Applications from Europe accounted for 36.5% and those from North America for 58.3% of all applications received. The European submissions were received mainly from Germany (8.3%), France (7.7%), UK (5.8%) and Italy (4.5%). Applications from the USA and Canada accounted for 52.6% and 5.8% of applications, respectively. The remaining applications were received from Australia/New Zealand (3.9%), Asia (0.6%) and South America (0.6%). Following review by the SAC, the Board of Trustees invited 25 applicants to prepare Full Paper Applications and after reviewing the 22 received applications, grants were awarded to 8 research projects, including 1 from the ROTRF/JDRF Joint Initiative.

The research funded in these two cycles will focus on clinical and scientific aspects of organ and islet transplantation, such as induction of tolerance, viral infection, imaging and diagnostic techniques for the detection of graft rejection, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, islet cell isolation and survival, and the role of histocompatible stem cells in transplantation. Abstracts of the projects are available on the ROTRF homepage.