Funding Cycle XXV – Letters of Intent Submission in October 2010

In the funding cycle XXV, the Roche Organ Transplantation Research Foundation (ROTRF) has awarded 8 grants worth over 2 million Swiss francs. The focus in this cycle, as in the previous two since the announcement of the new 5-year plan, was on clinical research.

The ROTRF received 103 eligible Letters of Intent (LOIs) up to the submission deadline (1st October 2010) from prospective applicants around the world. North American teams submitted 51.5% of all LOIs (USA 45.6%, and Canada 5.8%). European proposals accounted for 36.9%: mostly from UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands (6.8% each) and French and German researches accounted or 3.9% each. One LOI was received from Egypt and one from Argentina (1% each). Based on the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) review, the Board of Trustees invited 21 applicants to submit Full Paper Applications (FPAs), of which 8 received the award.

The research funded in this cycle focuses on clinical issues affecting organ transplantation patients, including the role cytokines in graft rejection; identification of lung allografts at risk of rejection; viral kinetics after transplantation; specificity and mechanism of B cell graft rejection; predictors of EBV-associated PTLD; and novel HCV therapy. Abstracts of all funded projects are available on the ROTRF homepage