image: HFSP Secretary-General Pavel Kabat and Research Council of Norway’s Managing Director, Mari Sundli Tveit agreed that Norway would join HFSP to advance frontier life science research in Norway and worldwide. view more
Credit: HFSP and Research Council of Norway.
"We are thrilled to see Norway as a full member of HFSP and look forward to quickly engaging with their extraordinary scientific talent to pioneer the best in frontier life science,” said Kabat. “Norway has played a vital role in important research particularly in the areas of neuroscience and pharmacology in the past, and we look forward to the full range of their creative investigations going forward.”
“The outstanding quality of Norwegian scientists and research institutions will make an important difference in international collaborations, and we are excited that Norway will take an active role in participating and developing new investigations at the frontiers of life science,” said Nagata.
The announcement today comes following the endorsement by the HFSPO Board of Trustees. Membership offers Norway significant benefits as HFSP is the premiere global organization that fosters and supports top research grants and fellowships in frontier, curiosity-driven life science with a focus on “high-risk, high-gain” ideas and in a strictly international collaborative context. Specifically, Norway will have representation on the Board of Trustees, the Council of Scientists, and the Review Committees that select the best proposals for science and fellowships. Norwegian researchers will now be able to serve as Principal Investigators on research grant teams and early career scientists will be able to apply for a fellowship in a host lab anywhere in the world. Researchers of non-member countries are only permitted to join teams hosted by Member countries.
“HFSP promotes international cooperation and basic research that focuses on achieving the highest possible degree of utilization of research results for the benefit of humanity. I am very pleased that Norway is a member of HFSP, and I hope many Norwegian researchers will apply for HFSP's proposals in the future," says Mari Sundli Tveit, Managing Director of the Research Council of Norway.
HFSP is the only international organization that supports research grants and fellowships specifically for cutting-edge basic research for which there are no preliminary studies or data. We assume that failure may ensue, but we’re willing to take high risks for the possibility of high rewards. This is how we define frontier life science research, and this is what we fund. Also, all HFSP programs are fully internationally collaborative, which provides access for researchers to participate in, and contribute to, the most advanced thinking from the world’s most brilliant minds working on the newest frontiers of the life sciences.
Since the organization’s inception in 1989, 28 HFSP-supported scientists have gone on to win Nobel Prizes in just over 30 years. HFSP scientists regularly win other top international awards as their investigations pioneer new knowledge, discoveries and ground-breaking innovations in the life sciences domain. Membership for Norway will become effective immediately and researchers and fellowship candidates will be able to apply this spring for 2024 awards.
“The accession of Norway to HFSPO will strengthen the global presence of our organization,” said Kabat. “We will honor the scientific strength, diversity and inclusiveness of scientific research in the country. Together, we will support successful efforts for innovation and capacity building globally.”
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The Human Frontier Science Program was founded in 1989 to advance international research and training at the frontier of the life sciences. Its aims are to promote intercontinental collaboration and training in cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research focused on the life sciences. HFSP receives financial support from the governments or research councils of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK, the USA, as well as from the European Commission. With its collaborative research grants and postdoctoral fellowships, the program has issued over 4,500 awards involving more than 7,500 scientists from all over the world. Since the beginning of the Program, 28 HFSP awardees have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.