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Committee on Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Programme 2026 – Unravelling the pathways of human invasive fungal diseases

The Committee implements the Board of the Foundation’s decision to award the Foundation’s Challenge Programme grants that supports research within annually decided research themes. In 2026 the theme within Infectious Diseases is: Unravelling the pathways of human invasive fungal diseases.
The Board has established a grant budget of DKK 600 million for the entire Challenge Programme in 2026, for large programme grants, each of DKK 45-75 million.
The Board selects the committee members among international experts in the fields of the annual research theme in accordance with the general rules covering the Foundation’s committees.

The current members of the Committee are listed below.

Elizabeth R. Ballou

Committee Chair

Project Researcher, Clinical Mycology, University of Exeter, UK.

Tobias M. Hohl

Committee Member

Attending physician, Infectious Diseases and Allergy Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, USA.

Dennis M. Dixon

Committee Member

Previously the chief of the mycology branch at NIAD, NIH and director of the Mycology Reference Laboratory, New York.

Nelesh P. Govender

Committee Member

Professor, Clinical Microbiology And Infectious Diseases, The University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa.

Christina A. Cuomo

Committee Member

Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Brown University, USA. 

Rita Oladele

Committee Member

Professor, Medical Microbiology, University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Anuradha Chowdhary

Committee Member

Medical mycologist and physician scientist, National Reference Laboratory for AMR in Fungal Pathogens, University of Delhi, India.

Carol A. Munro

Committee Member

Professor and leader of the Microbiology & Immunity Research, The University of Aberdeen, UK.