1. Objectives of the HFSP Accelerator Grants

The aim of the Human Frontier Science Program is to promote, through international cooperation, basic research focused on the elucidation of the sophisticated and complex mechanisms of living systems, for the benefit of all humankind. It aims to complement, not duplicate, the frontier life science programs of the countries that financially support HFSPO.

HFSPO attaches highest importance to novelty, scientific merit, internationality, and interdisciplinarity. The aim of this new instrument is, to make HFSP supported research more inclusive by integrating scientists working in countries that have been less well represented in HFSP grants, into a working team, and through the team into the larger HFSP community. The new accelerator team members support both the growth of the HFSP research community, becoming more inclusive, equitable and diverse, and the integration of researchers from underrepresented countries while still upholding the rigor of the HFSP review process. Complementarity of the research team, synergy of expertise and activities and added value for the HFSP project will be important aspects in the selection of awardees.

The call for Accelerator Grants 2027 is restricted to HFSP Research Grant teams – Program or Early Career awarded in March 2026. They are invited to apply for an HFSP Accelerator Grant allowing the integration of one additional member into the project. The new member must be working in a research institution in one of the following countries: (India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa). Only scientists working in one of these eligible countries can be invited to join an existing HFSP grant team.

If awarded, the accelerated teams will receive 100 000 USD per year in addition to the awarded Research Grant sum, for the years 2 and 3 of the grant. The team will be asked to decide about the exact distribution of the enlarged award sum keeping in mind that the accelerator team member should have the means to also develop their laboratory and purchase the instrumentation required to do the proposed work.

2. Summary of the application and review process

HFSP developed a new application and review process for this new grant; applications are to be submitted through the HFSP application site Proposal Central by the PI of a newly awarded grant team, on behalf of the entire team (for more details, a PC guide is available here). If other members of the team have established or hold the contact to the new member, they can be given access to edit the application. 

The proposal has to contain an abstract and a research plan describing the new sub-project, outlining how this research and the new member will add value to the project. In addition to contributing to the research plan, the accelerator team member needs to provide information (CV and publications, in the same format as regular team members did in the Research Grant proposal) and sign the application together with the PI of the team. A signature from an institutional official of the new member’s institution is also required.

The application deadline is 22 September 2026. Applications will be evaluated by the Research Grant Review Committee, which will discuss and rank them at their regular meeting in January 2027. The HFSPO Board of Trustees will take a funding decision before the end of March 2027, and when awarded, the accelerator team member joins the team starting with year 2 of the original Research Grant period. The team is awarded an additional 100 000 USD per year. 

3. The scientific scope of the application: New expertise, new perspectives

The new sub-project should be well defined, clearly connected to the original project but distinctly different from the other sub-projects. The aim is for the new sub-project to add new expertise or bring innovative, cutting-edge technology to the team. Optimally, the Accelerator team member will contribute a completely new dimension to the research topic. Please give sufficient detail on methods and experimental plans as well as the expertise of the new team member for the reviewers to evaluate the sub-project. Feasibility is not an evaluation criterion, but if the new sub-project entails risk, please comment on it and explain a mitigation strategy. Publications listed in the application should allow reviewers to judge the expertise of the new team member, which has relevance to the proposed project.

Distribution of funds among team members

The HFSP Accelerator Grant is awarded to the team and thus, the award sum is added to their annual budget from the second year onwards. While the team will be asked to decide about the distribution of the funds, as in the first year, it is expected that the accelerator team member will be treated equally to the other team members. Somewhat uneven distribution of funds may be acceptable, for instance if one member needs to purchase equipment in one year, if a jointly supervised student is paid by one institution or in similar cases but will have to be approved by the Director of Research Grants.

6. Award conditions, agreement and use of funds

The same award conditions as for the regular Research Grant apply. An agreement will have to be signed by the accelerator team member and their institution. The same general rules as for the Research Grants apply, including for overhead (max 10% of the direct costs). Scientists in for-profit organizations may not receive any funds. Scientists working in institutions with mixed status can receive funds. If the institution has a mixed status and receives both public and private funds, it is necessary that the HFSP project does not overlap with a project sponsored by a private company and that there is a project-by-project accounting.

A budget is not required. The following information is provided to allow new team members to understand which expenditures are permitted in case an award is made. 

Equipment
Purchase of larger equipment is possible but must be essential for the proposed project. 

Materials and supplies
Costs of reagents, animals, disposables, computer software necessary for the scientific collaboration.  

Services  
Consulting services and computer services specific to the project, including rental fees (fees for computer or telephone networks may be included in the indirect costs). 

Salaries 
No salary support (including summer salaries) for the Principal Applicant, Co-Applicant or other faculty, institutional staff such as secretaries or laboratory managers, and no student tuition fees may be paid. Salaries may be provided for research assistants (post-doctoral scientists, graduate students, technicians) essential for the new collaborative project. 

Communication expenses  
Publication costs (including open access fees), article translations, mail, express courier services.

Travel and per diem  
   - Travel costs and per diem allowances (up to three months each year), for team members and their personnel visiting other team members. 
   - Travel costs and per diem allowances for fieldwork or visits to research facilities.
   - Scientific meetings or training courses related to the HFSP project. 
   - Costs for attending the annual awardee meeting organized by the HFSPO. 

Indirect costs (overheads)
No more than 10% of the direct costs of the award, at each research institution, may be used for indirect costs. 

7. Ethical considerations

Awardees must observe the highest ethical standards in conducting all research supported by the Program. If awarded, all team members have to agree to conform strictly to the national and institutional codes of practice, regulations and laws, which govern the ethical conduct of scientific research in their own institution. Institutions must inform HFSPO if national or institutional codes of practice, regulations, or laws have been infringed in the performance of the award. All awardees must also agree not to undertake any research jointly with scientists in another country where experimental procedures, which are forbidden in their own laboratories/institutions are permissible. Examples of national guidelines can be found via links on Good Scientific Practice or HFSPO’s policy on scientific misconduct available on the HFSP website.

 8. Intellectual property rights and publications

HFSPO will not claim any intellectual or commercial property rights that may be generated through the research it sponsors. HFSPO will not become involved in any dispute which may arise about the ownership of such rights. The assignment of any such rights (and any income arising from them) is to be determined by the procedures and regulations which apply in the laboratory/institution in which the research is conducted.

In considering the possible commercial importance of discoveries which arise from research sponsored by the Program, all awardees must agree that submission of manuscripts for publication of these discoveries in scientific journals will not be delayed for more than 45 working days after the manuscript is completed. An acknowledgement of support by the Human Frontier Science Program must be included in all publications resulting from work carried out under the grant.

9. Reports

The accelerator team member, as all Grant team members, has to submit a final financial report at the end of the grant period. Awarded teams will include the project component added through the HFSP Accelerator Grant and the new team member in the annual scientific reports and in the final scientific report, and accelerator team member will be requested to fill specific sections in these reports.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Exceptional novelty ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Novelty is arguably the single most important HFSP characteristic.

HFSP seeks projects that challenge existing paradigms and extend the frontiers of life science through novel approaches and techniques. Preliminary results are deliberately not required, because HFSP wants to encourage genuinely new lines of investigation.

A competitive proposal should answer:

What fundamentally new biological idea are we testing?

It should not merely apply an established technology to an established biological question.

Strong

New biological principle + unconventional approach + potentially unexpected discovery

Weak

Existing hypothesis + standard technique + incremental improvement

HFSP explicitly states that obvious next steps and incremental advances are unlikely to succeed.

2. Fundamental biological question ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a critical eligibility/fit factor.

HFSP supports fundamental research aimed at understanding the complex mechanisms of living systems. Research may range from genes and molecules through cells, tissues, organs, organisms, cognition, populations, and ecosystems.

A project should therefore focus on:

• How biological systems work
• Fundamental mechanisms
• Emergent biological behavior
• Cellular communication
• Organismal processes
• Neural/cognitive mechanisms
• Evolutionary processes
• Biological networks
• Host–microbe interactions
• Fundamental principles of disease biology

Critical distinction

A project about cancer, for example, can potentially fit HFSP if the question is:

"What fundamental biological mechanism allows cells to reorganize their state?"

But a project primarily asking:

"Can we develop a better cancer drug?"

would generally be outside HFSP's scope. HFSP specifically excludes primarily clinical/pharmaceutical projects, drug-target identification, and drug development.

3. Strong interdisciplinarity ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

HFSP gives very high importance to interdisciplinary research.

The team should ideally combine genuinely different forms of expertise, such as:

• Biology + physics
• Biology + mathematics
• Biology + engineering
• Neuroscience + computational science
• Cell biology + chemistry
• Evolution + quantitative modeling
• Biology + nanoscience
• Neuroscience + psychology
• Molecular biology + advanced imaging

HFSP emphasizes that each member should contribute a unique and distinctly different approach to the scientific question.

Simply putting several biologists from neighboring fields together is generally not sufficient.

4. International/intercontinental team ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

International collaboration is a formal defining feature of HFSP.

Research Grant teams normally consist of 2–4 scientists based in different countries, preferably with intercontinental representation. Two members from the same institution are generally not eligible, and teams with all members in one country are ineligible.

HFSP wants the international structure to contribute scientifically—not merely satisfy an administrative requirement.

A strong application explains:

• Why each country/team member is necessary
• What unique expertise each person brings
• Why the work could not be performed effectively by one laboratory
• How the researchers will interact throughout the project

5. Potential for transformative breakthrough ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

HFSP explicitly looks for projects with the potential to move the frontiers of life sciences and lead to a breakthrough.

The proposal should therefore communicate the potential consequence of success.

For example:

Current understanding → new discovery → new biological framework

rather than merely:

Current method → slightly better result

The strongest proposals often have the potential to influence multiple areas of biology, rather than only a very narrow subfield.

6. Genuine team integration ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is one of the most important and frequently misunderstood HFSP criteria.

The team should not look like:

Scientist A does project A + Scientist B does project B + Scientist C does project C.

Instead:

A's expertise makes B's experiment possible, B's findings change C's model, and C's analysis feeds back into A's biological experiment.

HFSP reviewers pay particular attention to the planned interactions between team members and whether the collaboration is genuinely integrated.

The proposal should explicitly explain:

• Who contributes what
• Where expertise overlaps
• Where expertise is complementary
• How discoveries will be exchanged
• How the research plan depends on collaboration

7. Significant departure from existing research ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

HFSP wants researchers to develop new lines of research, rather than simply continue their current work.

The project should be significantly different from the applicants' ongoing research. Team members are normally expected not to have previously collaborated or published original research together.

This creates a distinctive HFSP success pattern:

Established expertise + completely new scientific direction + new collaborator + new methodology

That is much more attractive than:

Existing project + existing collaborators + additional funding.

8. High-risk/high-reward science ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

HFSP intentionally accepts scientific risk because frontier discoveries are inherently uncertain.

Unlike many grant agencies, preliminary results are not required for Research Grant applications. Applicants are expected to address risks and provide mitigation strategies.

The strongest proposal therefore does not pretend the research is guaranteed to work.

Instead:

"This is a risky idea because X. If X fails, we will use Y. Either outcome will answer an important biological question."

That is a much better HFSP approach.

9. Scientific merit and feasibility ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

High-risk does not mean poorly designed.

HFSP still evaluates:

• Scientific rationale
• Importance of the question
• Appropriate methodology
• Feasibility
• Applicants' expertise
• Research environment
• Relationship to previous work
• Potential to generate important new knowledge 

The key balance is:

Conceptually risky ≠ technically careless

10. Early-career potential ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

HFSP places special emphasis on early-career scientists through its Research Grants – Early Career program.

For Early Career Research Grants, all team members must:

• Lead a research group
• Be within 5 years of obtaining an independent position
• Have obtained their first doctoral degree no more than 10 years before the LOI deadline
• Have genuine independence and control of the research project/funds 

Early-career applicants are expected to demonstrate particularly strong interdisciplinarity.