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ERS VISIT grant

European Respiratory Society

European Respiratory Society (ERS) Visiting Mid-Career Investigator Travel (VISIT) Grants offer mid-career investigators, clinicians and allied healthcare professionals who are transitioning to more established stages of their careers to visit an institution(s) outside of their home country for up to one month. The programme aims to enable participants to establish a professional relationship, network or collaboration as well as gain insights, strengthen competencies and knowledge to help improve clinical and research-related competencies.

This programme is not for clinical training or research projects. For these types of activities, please consider exploring the fellowship programmes instead.

Key deadlines and important information

Applications for the ERS VISIT Grant are open.

For information on calls, please refer to the information below.

Call opening:

13 July, 2026

Application deadline:

31 October, 2026

Notification of application decision:

Mid-February, 2027

Selecting a host institution

The responsibility for identifying the most suitable institution and supervisor for the application rests entirely with the applicant. In all instances, the choice of the host institution remains the candidate’s prerogative.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Strong relevance to respiratory research ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the highest-priority factor.

Competitive projects should clearly address:

Respiratory diseases
Pulmonary medicine
Lung biology
Respiratory physiology
Sleep and breathing disorders
Respiratory infections
Asthma/COPD
Interstitial lung disease
Pulmonary vascular disease
Thoracic medicine
Respiratory epidemiology
Respiratory public health

ERS explicitly lists relevance of the topic to respiratory research as a scored criterion.

2. Potential impact on patients and respiratory medicine ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ERS evaluates the potential impact of the proposed research, including:

Patient-related outcomes
Translational potential
Policy-making
Clinical practice
Healthcare delivery

Therefore, a strong proposal should clearly explain why the research matters and how successful results could improve respiratory health.

3. Novelty and innovation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Innovation is an explicit ERS scoring criterion.

Competitive proposals should demonstrate:

Original research questions
Novel hypotheses
New methodologies
Innovative technologies
New approaches to respiratory disease
Potential to challenge existing knowledge

A proposal should make clear what is genuinely new rather than simply applying established methods to a familiar question.

4. Strong methodology and research design ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ERS specifically evaluates:

Adequacy of approach
Methodology
Work plan
Feasibility
Quality of study design
Backup/contingency plan

A strong application therefore needs a technically convincing methodology and should anticipate potential problems rather than presenting an overly optimistic plan.

5. Strong applicant scientific record ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The applicant accounts for 40% of the fellowship assessment, making this nearly as important as the research project itself.

ERS considers:

CV quality
Publications
Previous grants
Scientific presentations
Overall ability to successfully conduct the project
Research potential

This means the application should present a coherent trajectory showing that the applicant is ready to undertake the proposed work.

6. Strong career-development plan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ERS fellowships are designed not merely to fund a research project but to develop the next generation of respiratory researchers and clinicians.

A competitive career plan should show:

Skills the applicant will gain
New techniques to be learned
How the fellowship fills a current training gap
How the experience advances scientific independence
Long-term career objectives

ERS explicitly scores the quality and feasibility of the career-development plan.

7. Strong host institution and supervisor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

For research fellowships, the host environment contributes 10% of the overall evaluation.

Important factors include:

Scientific expertise of the host institution
Technical capabilities
Appropriate supervisor
Access to methods/equipment unavailable at the home institution
Interaction with other researchers
Opportunity to develop new international collaborations

The Long-Term Research Fellowship specifically enables researchers to work at institutions outside their home country to gain research techniques and expertise unavailable at their home institution.

8. International collaboration and networking ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

ERS places significant emphasis on mobility and international collaboration.

Strong applications demonstrate how the fellowship will:

Establish new international collaborations
Provide access to specialist expertise
Expand the applicant's professional network
Facilitate future collaborative research
Create opportunities for knowledge exchange

ERS specifically considers the potential for the fellowship to create new international collaborations.

9. Ethics, dissemination and outreach ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

The research plan should address:

Ethical approvals
Participant protection
Appropriate animal-research principles where applicable
Dissemination of findings
Scientific communication
Outreach

ERS explicitly includes ethical processes and a dissemination and outreach plan among its research-project criteria.

10. Clear application strategy and exact programme fit ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

ERS has several different funding mechanisms, so applicants should select the programme that matches their career stage and research objective.

For example:

Short-Term Research Fellowship: 1–3 months
Long-Term Research Fellowship: 6–24 months
Clinical Training Fellowship: 1–6 months
VISIT Grant: up to 1 month
Clinical Research Collaboration: collaborative respiratory research networks

The current ERS portfolio explicitly differentiates these programmes by duration, applicant profile, mobility, and purpose.

Specialties

Pulmonology

Eligibility Requirements

The application for ERS VISIT Grant is open to clinicians, basic scientists and allied healthcare professionalswho have an active research programme or aim to set up clinical networks and are at the stage oftransitioning to developing independence as an investigator, but still actively developing their expertise.

Career and Academic qualifications

 The following career and academic qualifications requirements apply:

o Applicants must be qualified researchers, clinicians or allied healthcare professionals working inthe field of respiratory health/medicine.

o Applicants should be actively engaged in respiratory health research, practice and advocacy.

o Clinicians and researchers must hold a postgraduate degree such as PhD, MD(Res) or equivalent.

o Allied healthcare professionals must hold a minimum of an MSc, or equivalent degree at the timeof the application (e.g. BSc degree with evidence of continuous specialised training in therespiratory health).*

* Allied healthcare professionals interested in applying are encouraged to contact the ERS office inadvance to confirm their eligibility.

 Applicants must have adequate fluency in a language that permits effective communication at thehost institution.

 Applicants must be ERS active members for at least one year when applying for the ERS Mid-CareerInvestigator travel grant.

The application for ERS VISIT grant is open to those within 5 years of appointment to clinical oracademic equivalent of Associate Professor / Reader level (taking into consideration any work hiatusperiod which will be deducted).

 Applicants holding a professor title are not eligible to apply.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: European Respiratory Society

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 4 Avenue Ste-LuceCH1003

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