Eligibility

The Steno North American Fellowship only applies to researchers affiliated to one of the partner institutions. Further, the applicant must apply for a fellowship “across the Atlantic”, meaning, researchers affiliated at one of the three North American institutions (Joslin Diabetes Center I BIDMC, University of Toronto, University of Michigan) can apply for a fellowship at one of the five Steno Diabetes Centers in Denmark, and vice versa.  

The successful candidate 

• Is a senior postgraduate researcher/ Postdoc/ Researcher/ Senior Researcher/ Assistant Professor/ Associate Professor/ Professor. 
• Has solid, documented experience and deep interest in diabetes research. 
• Is excited to take this opportunity to boost his/her own career and expand the research network. 
• Is employed at one of the partner institutions: 
  – Joslin Diabetes Center/ BIDMC
  – University of Toronto
  – University of Michigan
  – Steno Diabetes Center North Denmark
  – Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus
  – Steno Diabetes Center Odense
  – Steno Diabetes Center Zealand
  – Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen

Funding 

Structurally, the Steno North American Fellowships are ‘flexible’ grants in the sense, that the applicant, in agreement with both the partner and the home institution, decides the length of the fellowship. Further, the applicant must make sure that both the partner institution and home institution approves the budget in the application. Please note, it is not possible to add new budget posts after receiving a grant. 

A total of up to DKK 6.5 million for Round 1 and Round 2 2024 is available for grants lasting from 3 months up to 1 ½ years. A maximum of DKK 1.5 million can be applied for per grant, corresponding to a maximum of DKK 500,000 for a 6-month period. 

Applicants may apply for funding for the following types of expenses: 

• Salary for the applicant, including pension and holiday, according to current agreements and regulations. 
• Operating expenses directly related to the project, e.g. consumables and minor equipment. 
• Conference participation that is directly related to the project, including registration and travel, max. DKK 50,000 per budget year. 

• Publication expenses of results deriving from the fellowship, max. DKK 50,000 per budget year.  
• Travel and relocation costs; max. DKK 50,000 per year for recipient and possibly family. 
• Living abroad expenses for health insurance, visa, etc. for recipient and possibly family, max. DKK 50,000 per year abroad. If traveling with children an additional DKK 50,000 per year can be included.  
• Direct administrative expenses of up to 5% may be included in the budget. For the budget to be submitted in NORMA the direct administrative expenses must not exceed 5% for each individual budget year.  

Bench fee can be included in the budget for support of individual researchers to cover expenses needed to conduct the proposed research. 

Bench fee is calculated per academic employee actively working on the project and may only be used for expenses that are related to the research project and which cannot be included within another individual budget category. Bench fee may account for maximum DKK 8000 per month per FTE working on the project, and the budget must specify the expenses covered by the bench fee, which may include: 

• Common or shared laboratory expenses and consumables 
• Laboratory utilities (electricity, gas, water)  
• Maintenance of essential equipment  
• Service contracts  
• Technical and IT support 

Note, that bench fee cannot cover rent, administrative support, representation, social contributions etc. To include a bench fee in the budget, the fee must be a part of the general expense policy of the administrating institution, and it must apply for all employees independently of funding source.  

Documentation that the administrating institution has a general bench fee policy should be included in an Official Document or Hosting Letter from the partner institution enclosed as a link or appendix. An unspecified bench fee without documentation will not be accepted.  

Administrative support may account for a maximum of 5% of the total budget and must be included therein. The administrative support: 

• can cover expenses such as for accounting, payment of salaries, purchasing, hiring, as well as auditing and financial reporting on the project.  

• cannot cover administrative expenses that are not directly related to the project.  
• can via the host institution be shared between the institutions of the main- and co-applicant(s), as detailed in the application budget.  
• is not automatically included in the grant, and must be stated/applied for in the application budget, but should not be specified in detail. 

NNF will not award funding for:  

• commercial activities 
• overhead 

Language 

The application and any additional uploads must be written in English. 

Application process 

Before applying 

The applicant must establish contact with a Principal Investigator (PI) at the desired partner institution, who will be the applicant’s primary research contact for the duration of the fellowship. This should ensure placement for the potential grant recipient at a hosting institution. The applicant should work with the host PI from the partner institution on the research proposal in the application. And the partner institution should provide a Hosting Letter stating commitment to hosting the applicant, and endorsement of the research project. The applicant must also confirm their home institution’s support through a Letter of Support, signed by the management at the home institution. The applicant should ensure that the home institution agrees to administering the entire grant should the applicant be selected.

The Foundation will not claim ownership of or rights to any intellectual property generated by the activities the Steno North American Fellowships supports. 

Applying 

The application must be completed and submitted using NNF’s online application and grant management system, NORMA, which can be accessed from: https://norma.novonordiskfonden.dk 

When all applications have been assessed, applicants will be notified about whether or not they have been awarded a grant. The notification e-mail will be sent from [email protected] to the e-mail address entered on initial registration. 

Applying for visas 

If selected for a grant it is recommended to start the application process for visas early to give yourself extra time to gather all needed documents. It is the grantees responsibility to apply for visas.