Novo Nordisk Foundation expands Challenge Programme outside of Denmark for the first time
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has announced the latest edition of its annual Challenge Programme, where for the first time it is inviting researchers from outside Denmark, in the European Schengen area, Cyprus, Ireland and the UK, to lead collaborations applying for grants to study four major themes.
May 7, 2025
The expansion of the Programme is part of the ongoing internationalization of the Foundation’s activities, it states.
“Through the Programme, we wish to support projects that have the potential to create new valuable knowledge and results that can make a difference for public health and for our planet both now and in the long term,” says Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO, Novo Nordisk Foundation.
The four themes for 2026
The Challenge Programme is the Foundation’s largest open competition grant programme and supports ambitious research projects that focus on creating new knowledge on major global challenges based on annually selected themes. This year, the budget for each grant has been increased by 25% to up to DKK 75 million (EUR 10 million) over six years, bringing the overall budget to DKK 600 million (EUR 80 million).
The four themes for the 2026 edition are:
- Harnessing biology for climate-resilient and healthy soils
- Unravelling the pathways of human invasive fungal diseases
- Modelling human cardiometabolic disease
- Biological systems under non-equilibrium conditions
The Challenge Programme calls for applications in open competition. Expressions of interest are invited by 8 October 2025, with the final awards announcement expected in May 2026.
Published: May 7, 2025
