FY 2026 Advanced International Collaborative Research Program - Adopting Sustainable Partnerships for an Innovative Research Ecosystem (ASPIRE) [8th Call (Alignment) ]

Research　Area	Project size (excluding indirect costs)	Research period	Expected number of projects to be selected
Individual Differences and Disease Onset Mechanisms	Up to total 380 million yen per project*1 (for 5-year research)	FY2026 to　FY2031 (5 years)	0-5 project (s)
Maintenance and Disruption of Biological Systems
Control, Creation, and Reconstruction of Biological Functions

^※1 Total budget for the entire research period

 

Research areas

1. Individual Differences and Disease Onset Mechanisms
This research area focuses on elucidating individual differences and mechanisms of disease onset at the molecular and cellular levels, considering interactions among the genome, epigenome, genetic factors, and environmental influences.
Examples: Innovative cancer medicine; genomic medicine; genome, epigenome, transcriptome analyses; statistical genetics; biomarkers; epidemiology; etc.
 
2. Maintenance and Disruption of Biological Systems
This research area focuses on elucidating the mechanisms by which biological homeostasis is maintained, as well as the mechanisms by which homeostasis is disrupted during disease development.
Examples: Immunity; inflammation; aging; infectious diseases; microbiome research; antiviral drugs; novel antibiotics; antimicrobial resistance; liquid biopsy; etc.
 
3. Control, Creation, and Reconstruction of Biological Functions
This research area focuses on understanding, controlling, creating, and reconstructing biological functions—leveraging approaches such as regenerative medicine and bioengineering to explore the dynamics of living systems.
Examples: Regenerative and cell therapies; gene therapy; stem-cell-based therapies; gene editing and synthesis; synthetic biology; multimolecule control; bioengineering; inter-organ communication; drug discovery and design; molecular targeting; cross-disease regulatory mechanisms; neuroscience; brain-inspired intelligence; etc.

Partner-country research team

(1) Partner countries and regions
United States, European Union, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Australia, Korea
※In cases where an EU country not listed above is to be designated as the partner country, please contact the ASPIRE Secretariat in advance via email at amed-aspire“AT”amed.go.jp.
 
(2) Principal Investigator for the Partner Country
The researcher for the partner country must meet either of the following conditions (i) or (ii), and it is required that a basic agreement has been reached regarding the implementation of the joint research project and the acceptance of visiting researchers.

(i) The researcher is already receiving support under a program of funding agency or research organization, etc. in the partner country.
(ii) The researcher has applied to a program of a funding agency or research organization, etc. in the partner country, and the result of the selection process will be determined by June 23, 2026.

In the countries and regions covered by this program, it is also possible to conduct joint research in collaboration with researchers from institutions in multiple countries or regions. In such cases, the partner-country researchers from each country or region involved in the joint research must satisfy the conditions stated above.
 
Please prepare documentation demonstrating the agreement with the partner-country researcher (see Section 4.1.1 “Documents Required for Application” in the call text).
 
Partner-country researchers are encouraged to contact in advance the funding agencies or other relevant organizations from which they receive support.
 
Please note that if the partner-country researcher is not receiving support from any program of a funding agency, research organization, etc. in the partner country, or if their proposal is not selected for funding, the application will not be subject to review under this program.
 
If you have any questions regarding funding agencies or research organizations in the partner country, please contact the ASPIRE Secretariat by email at amed-aspire“AT”amed.go.jp.
 

•  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.
• In cooperation with funding agencies in Japan and the partner country, this program provides strategic support for international joint research with flexible research budgets and support periods.
• 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”.

10/16/2026,10/17/2026 (tentative)

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).