The Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation (GMSI) was launched in collaboration with the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in October 2012. The new call GMSI 2014 is now open for applicants.

Objective: The innovation grant will be awarded to support promising translational research projects by academic researchers to improve understanding of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for the ultimate benefit of patients.

Research topics: Potential research topics that could be funded through the GMSI include:

- MS pathogenesis,

- Response to treatment and prediction of MS subtypes,

- Identification of predictive or surrogate markers to allow better clinical decisions using currently available treatments,

- Any potential new treatments,

- Innovative patient support programmes, mobile health devices, or patient-reported outcomes.

Eligibility: Academic researchers from around the world may apply for the innovation grant if they are involved in innovative translational research projects associated with MS and the research topics mentioned above. Applicants must have preliminary data to support their proposal.

Evaluation criteria:

- Relevance to clinical practice

- Innovative research

- Scientific rationale

- Feasibility

- Practical utility

Application procedure: As first application step, applicants should send an e-mail expressing their interest to gmsi@merckgroup.com. They will then receive an automatic reply inviting them to complete a questionnaire and to provide a brief description of their research project, including supportive data.

Amount: A total grant of up to €1,000,000 will be awarded to one or more selected projects.

Deadline for application submission at VHIR: February 21st, 2014.

Official deadline: February 28th, 2014.

Further information: HERE