Calls for Proposals FY 2024 Advanced International Collaborative Research Program - Adopting Sustainable Partnerships for an Innovative Research Ecosystem（ASPIRE）[3rd Call（Alignment）]

Research Type	Research　Area	Project size (excluding indirect costs)	Research period	Expected number of projects to be selected
ASPIRE-B	Cellular Structure and Function	Up to total 115 million yen per project※1 （for 5-year research）	FY2024 to FY2029 （3-5 years）	0-3 project（s）
	Complex Systems of Living Organisms
	Human Life Stages

※1　Total budget for the entire research period
ASPIRE-A is not offered for this call.
 

Research areas

1.Cellular Structure and Function 

This research area focuses on cellular structure and function. As imaging and analysis technologies have advanced, various phenomena have been observed, such as the dynamic state of organelles in cells and the liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins and nucleic acids. This research area also covers protein structure analysis and prediction using cryo-EM and AI, which can be used in drug design, for example. 

2.Complex Systems of Living Organisms
Our understanding of complex systems, including cell-to-cell and tissue-to-tissue interactions, pathogen-host interactions, and even human-human social relationships, is being enhanced by non-invasive biomedical measurement methods and AI technologies for analyzing large-scale complexity. This research area aims to clarify the mechanisms of maintenance and breakdown of biological functions caused by such interactions. As a result, new medical innovations will be developed for controlling them. 

3. Human Life Stages 
In this research area, research based on life stages such as human development, maturation, and aging will be studied. It also includes research on phenomena specific to each life stage. Research using age cohorts and birth cohorts, as well as experimental animals and cultured cells that model human life stages, are also actively studied. Within this research area, aging research and healthy longevity research are particularly important issues in a super-aging society and are research themes of global interest. 

Participating funding agencies and researchers in counterpart team

（1）Participating funding agencies (FA)

※Participating funding agencies (ERC/EU、ZonMw/The Netherlands、RCN/Norway、BHF/UK) added after 1^st Alignment Call　　

Country※2	Partner funding agency	Type of participation	Notes
Australia	Australian Research Council（ARC）	Existing grant	Please contact arc-international”AT”arc.gov.au※3 for more information.
	National Health and Medical Research Council（NHMRC）	Existing grant	NHMRC-funded researchers interested in this opportunity should contact the NHMRC Research Help Centre   help”AT”nhmrc.gov.au※3 for further information.
Canada	Canadian Institutes of Health Research（CIHR）	Existing grant	Please contact CIHR if you have any questions or require further information.
	Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat（TIPS）	Existing grant	Targeted programs：Canada First Research Excellence Fund（CFREF）/ Fonds d’excellence en recherche Apogée Canada, Canada Excellence Research Chairs（CERC）/ Chaires d’excellence en recherche du Canada Please contact TIPS if you have any questions or require further information.
European Union	European Research Council （ERC)	Existing grant	Researchers do not need to contact ERC before becoming part of a collaboration, but they must ensure any collaboration does involve research within the scope of the ERC-funded grant
France	French National Research Agency（ANR）	Existing grant
	French National Cancer Institute（INCa）	Existing grant
Germany	German Research Foundation（DFG）	Existing grant	Contact point for German researchers interested in this activity: Raoul Wagner  raoul.wagner“AT”dfg.de※3
The Netherlands	The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development （ZonMw）	Existing grant
Norway	Research Council of Norway （RCN）	Existing grant	RCN-funded researchers partnering with Japanese teams should inform their contact person in RCN upon ASPIRE application.
Sweden	Vetenskapsrådet - Swedish Research Council（SRC）	Existing grant
	Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education（STINT）	Existing grant	Swedish researchers partnering with Japanese team should contact STINT upon application
	Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF)	Existing grant	Swedish researchers partnering with Japanese team should contact STINT upon application
	Vinnova	​Existing grant + chance of additional grant	Swedish researchers partnering with Japanese team should contact Vinnova upon application.
Switzerland	Swiss National Science Foundation（SNSF）	Existing grant + chance of additional grant	Researchers funded by the SNSF who are interested in collaborating with Japanese partners under this call can contact International Cooperation SNSF （international“AT”snf.ch）※3 Collaboration with Japan: AMED & JST “Alignment Calls” (snf.ch）
United Kingdom	British Heart Foundation (BHF)	Existing grant	BHF-funded researchers are requested to declare new collaborations established under the ASPIRE programme by contacting InternationalResearch“AT”bhf.org.uk※３, but do not need prior BHF consent to enter the collaboration. Please direct any questions about the programme to the same email address.
	Cancer Research UK	Existing grant
	National Institute for Health and Care Research（NIHR）	Existing grant	Information about all NIHR funded awards can be found at fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk. UK researchers partnering on an application with a Japanese team should inform the NIHR by emailing  international”AT”nihr.ac.uk※3
	UK Research and Innovation（UKRI）	Existing grant	Applicants do not need to contact MRC, however, if they wish to discuss the application or have queries, contact  international”AT”mrc.ukri.org※3
	Wellcome Trust	Existing grant	Researchers do not need to contact Wellcome before becoming part of a collaboration, but must ensure any collaboration does not put their Wellcome-funded research outcomes at risk. If you have any queries, please contact fundingsupport”AT”wellcome.org※3
United States of America	National Institutes of Health（NIH）/ National Cancer Institute（NCI）	Existing grant	It is encouraged that NIH-awarded investigators inform their POs upon ASPIRE application.
	National Institutes of Health（NIH）/ National Institute on Aging（NIA）	Existing grant	It is encouraged that NIH-awarded investigators inform their POs upon ASPIRE application.
	National Institutes of Health（NIH）/ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease（NIAID）	Existing grant	It is encouraged that NIH-awarded investigators inform their POs upon ASPIRE application.
	National Institutes of Health（NIH）/ National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases（NIAMS）	Existing grant	It is encouraged that NIH-awarded investigators inform their POs upon ASPIRE application.
	National Institutes of Health（NIH）/ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development（NICHD）	Existing grant	It is encouraged that NIH-awarded investigators inform their POs upon ASPIRE application.
	National Institutes of Health（NIH）/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases（NIDDK）	Existing grant	It is encouraged that NIH-awarded investigators inform their POs upon ASPIRE application.
	National Institutes of Health（NIH）/ National Institute of Mental Health（NIMH）	Existing grant	It is encouraged that NIH-awarded investigators inform their POs upon ASPIRE application.
	National Science Foundation（NSF）	Existing grant	It is encouraged that NSF-awarded investigators inform their POs upon ASPIRE application.

（As of March 8, 2024）
^※2Country: Alphabetical order　
^※3Replace “AT” with @

（2）Researchers in counterpart team
Counterpart researchers need to meet either criteria i）or ii）：

i）already be receiving research support from an eligible funding agency in their country; or 
ii）are currently applying for research support from an eligible funding agency in their country, with the outcome known by no later than the end of May 2024.

A prior agreement must be in place regarding the implementation of joint research and the acceptance of the traveling researcher
between Japan and counterpart teams.

Note：
- Application will not be accepted if the partner country researcher has not received a grant for the project from their FA, or if their proposal under evaluation has been rejected. 

- If you would like to collaborate with a researcher who receives support from a funding agency in Europe and North America other than the agencies listed above, please contact amed-aspire“AT”amed.go.jp（Replace “AT” with @）in advance. AMED may or may not be able to provide support through this program depending on the funding agency in question.

Eligibility

Japan-based applicants

Eligible applicants for this program are Principal Investigators who are affiliated with a research institution in Japan for the duration of the R&D period and who are responsible for formulating R&D implementation plans and compiling results with regard to the R&D proposal for which they have applied. 
A researcher who does not belong to a specific research institute in Japan or who belongs to a research institute outside Japan may also apply as a Principal Investigator. However, he/she must belong to a research institute in Japan by the date of the contract conclusion or December 1, 2024, and must be able to conduct the research for the entire R&D period. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled in principle. 

• Adopting Sustainable Partnerships for Innovative Research Ecosystem (ASPIRE) aims to provide sufficient funds for large-scale collaborative joint research projects in cutting-edge fields, to be conducted at the initiative of the Japanese government in collaboration with advanced countries with high standards of science and technology. 

• Under the cooperation of funding agencies in between Japan and partner country, this new fund will support international joint research strategically by enabling flexibility to set the research budget and support period. 

• Through this international research collaboration, Japanese researchers will be encouraged to join the world’s leading scientific community. The exchange and connection of excellent young researchers from Japan and partner countries will also be strengthened. This will promote international talent mobility and circulation, and contribute to long-term collaborative networks. 

• Proposal solicitation, evaluation, adoption, support, etc. in this program will be conducted by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), and AMED will support research projects in the field of “Healthcare”.

19th September, 2024

Candidate proposals that are selected for interview will be notified by e-mail to the Principal Investigator of the proposal at least one week prior to the interview. If the proposal is not eligible for an interview, or if the interview itself will not be conducted, we will not contact you. Please wait until you are notified of the acceptance or rejection of your proposal.

Not implemented

Full proposal documents must be submitted on the Cross-ministerial Research and Development Management System (e-Rad).