Purpose

The Novo Nordisk Foundation wishes to make significant contributions to the sustainability of society and the environment. The Emerging Investigator grant supports the upcoming and highly promising research leaders within Industrial Biotechnology and Environmental Biotechnology in the Nordic countries. The intention of the grant is to enable excellent scientists to establish their own research group or to further strengthen their recently started group.

The proposed research should address major challenges within industrial biotechnology or environmental biotechnology with a clear and strategic outlook to improve sustainability and provide high-impact solutions at a large scale.

The proposed research must involve a clear element of biotechnology^*, have an outlook to scaling potential(s) while contributing to productivity and sustainability. The research projects should preferably include one or more of the following topics:

• Use or engineering of biological/biotechnological tools and systems for synthesis and production of valuable products (e.g., chemicals, proteins and materials)
• Development of technologies and processes that can be utilized directly for bioproduction
• Improvement of the efficiency of biomanufacturing
• Use or engineering of biological/biotechnological tools and systems to protect or improve the environment
• Understanding, protection or manipulation of natural or industrial ecosystems related to application of biotechnology
• Data science promoting research within industrial or environmental biotechnology, including related ecosystems research

Projects with a focus on pharmaceuticals and therapeutics should submit their application to the Novo Nordisk Foundation Committee on Bioscience and Basic Biomedicine.

^*For the biotechnology requirement, the OECD short definition of biotechnology will be used as a reference for assessments. The OECD single definition of biotechnology is: the application of science and technology to living organisms, as well as parts, products and models thereof, to alter living or non-living materials for the production of knowledge, goods and services.