2016-17 ATTRACT Call results: 1 ATTRACT Fellowship awarded

The FNR would like to thank everyone who participated in the Narrative CV workshop on February 9th. For those who could not attend, or anyone who would like further support for preparing a narrative-style CV, the workshop slides and pre-workshop survey results are available on the website. In addition, the participants created a resource during the workshop outlining a broader range of outputs and achievements that could be highlighted on a narrative-style CV. Information from the workshop is now available.

Starting in 2023, the FNR shifts to a new reporting process, the goal of reducing the burden of reporting for all sides, allowing space for a broader range of research outputs to be recognised, and building trust with everyone in the research and science communication ecosystem. This new reporting process was built through an inclusive process with the research institutions, with useful feedback on both our current processes as well as potential improvements received from researchers and administrative staff with reporting experience. The slides from the webinar on 1 February are now available!

The FNR is inviting all researchers in Luxembourg to ‘go back to school’ and inspire the next generation of researchers! “Chercheurs à l’école – Researchers go back to school” is your chance to interact and motivate future generations, and share the passion that got you into research in the first place. The 2023 edition takes place from Monday, 13 – Friday, 17 March. Register now for the last remaining sessions!

Dr Sophie Pilleron, cancer epidemiologist, has been awarded a 2-MEUR FNR ATTRACT Fellowship, based at the Luxembourg Institute of Health’s (LIH) Department of Precision Health, for a project focussing on cancer in older people. Dr Pilleron will embark on her ATTRACT Fellowship in early 2023.

The FNR is pleased to communicate the launch of the 2023 ATTRACT Call. Pre-proposal deadline is 15 November 2022, 14:00 CET, full proposal deadline is 21 February 2022. The ATTRACT programme offers promising junior researchers from abroad up to 2 MEUR of funding over five years to set up their own research group in Luxembourg.

Associate Prof Dr Thomas Cauvin has been appointed to Head of the Department of Public History at University of Luxembourg’s Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH). Prof Dr Cauvin joined the C2DH in 2020 in the framework of his 2 MEUR FNR ATTRACT Fellowship.

This measure serves to provide support for researchers who have fled the war in Ukraine. These persons should be employed at Luxembourg public research institutions in ongoing FNR projects for a maximum of 6 months based on requests for additional funding. Requests for additional funding are accepted continuously until 28 November 2022.

The Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) has joined other European Research organizations associated within Science Europe to condemn the Russian aggression and occupation of Ukraine and to express solidarity with the people of Ukraine as well as with Russian scientists and science journalists that openly speak out against the invasion.

Deadline to submit has been extended to Sunday, 13 March.

Aurélia Chenu, who joined the University of Luxembourg in January 2021, recently was awarded a ATTRACT fellowship from the FNR to create her own group in quantum physics. She is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Materials Science and leads the group on quantum dynamics and control. The ATTRACT grant is doted with 2 MEUR over five years.

The FNR has awarded a FNR ATTRACT Fellowship to Dr Alexandros Gerakis for an innovative laser technology project at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). Dr Gerakis’ ATTRACT grant is doted with 2 MEUR over five years.

Nanotechnology scientist Dr César Pascual García, who joined the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) in 2013 supported by an FNR ATTRACT Fellowship, has been appointed to EIC Ambassador by the European Innovation Council (EIC), helping to put Luxembourg on the map regarding European research projects.

The FNR and DORA have released a jointly crafted resource for research assessment: ‘Balanced, broad, responsible: A practical guide for research evaluators’ is a short, educational video that provides a ‘checklist’ of six concrete suggestions for research funders seeking to improve responsible assessment of funding applications. These recommendations have been summarised in an accompanying briefing document.

The 2022 ATTRACT and PEARL Calls will be launched in mid August 2021. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact their desired host institution as soon as possible.

We understand that researchers and research teams may go through a difficult period triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic During 2020 and 2021, research projects have temporarily been suspended or delayed and key parts of projects may have to be postponed for a significant amount of time. Therefore, the FNR wishes to offer flexibility in the handling of grants and grant proposals for projects affected by the pandemic. *last update 8 February 2022*

Neuroscientist Anne Grünewald has been appointed Full Professor at the University of Luxembourg’s LCSB as of 1 January 2021. Prof Dr Grünewald came to Luxembourg in 2016 with an FNR ATTRACT Fellowship, in the framework of which she set up the Molecular & Functional Neurobiology Group at the LCSB at the University of Luxembourg.

The FNR has awarded two new ATTRACT Fellowships: Ass. Prof Dr Lindsay Flynn is awarded 2 MEUR for a project investigating the relationship between housing policies and inequality. Ass. Prof Dr Etienne Fodor is awarded 1.5 MEUR for a project on the topic of active matter. Both projects will be conducted at the University of Luxembourg over five years.

Research Data Management (RDM) is a general term covering how to organise, structure, store, and care for research data used or generated during the lifetime and after completion of a research project. This means planning how data is collected, stored, and cared for before the start of the project, through to how it will be ensured that it is maintained in the longer-term and shared with the research community and beyond.

A team of scientists at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, led by FNR ATTRACT Fellow Prof Dirk Brenner, have discovered a novel mechanism through which the immune system can control autoimmunity and cancer. The findings hold important implications for the development of personalised treatment options for autoimmune disorders. In a nod to the importance of the findings, the research graces the cover of the journal ‘Cell Metabolism’.

Due to the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the FNR offers flexibility in the handling of grants and grant proposals.

Due to the precautions associated with the spread of the coronavirus and the closure of schools and the University, please note that the vast majority of FNR staff will be working from home from 16 – 27 March. Please contact FNR staff via email during this time. Thank you for your understanding.

On 20 December 2019, the Conseil de gouvernement approved the “National Research and Innovation Strategy for Luxembourg” as well as the annexed document of the “National Research Priorities for Luxembourg”. The inclusive process that led to these revised priorities took two years and involved multiple stakeholders: the national and international research community, public and private stakeholders as well as the various ministries.

FNR ATTRACT Fellow Prof Dr Paul Wilmes from the University of Luxembourg’s LCSB has secured a Consolidator grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for his ExpoBiome project. Wilmes is the third FNR ATTRACT Fellow to secure a prestigious ERC grant since 2015.

Download FNR 2020 Calls A5 flyer (includes short programme descriptions) Download FNR 2020 Calls A3 poster (deadlines only)

‘Mathemarmite’ A game created by the xCIT research group, led by FNR ATTRACT Fellow Dr Pedro Cardoso Leite, is nominated for an Indie Development Award at Game Connection Europe 2019. The free game is a research tool in itself: the goal is to help children learn by understanding how they learn.

As of December 2018, the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) has signed the DORA declaration, which consists of a set of recommendations to improve the assessment of scientific output. As a signatory of DORA, the FNR fully supports the declaration’s practices in research assessment, and has updated its own peer review guidelines accordingly.

FNR ATTRACT Fellow Prof Dr Dirk Brenner from the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) has been awarded the Science Award 2018 by the Signal Transduction Society (STS), an active society devoted to the scientific exchange around cellular signalling.

As part of a research project to better understand the human mind, a research group at the University of Luxembourg, led by FNR ATTRACT Fellow and experimental psychologist Prof Pedro Cardoso-Leite, has developed a game to help children learn to count. The game is a research tool in itself: the goal is to help children learn by understanding how they learn.

Following the 2017/18 FNR ATTRACT Call, Dr Johannes Meiser has been awarded a 1.5 MEUR FNR ATTRACT Starting Grant to set up his own research line in the area of cancer metabolism at the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH).

Following the 2017/18 ATTRACT Call, Associate Prof. Dr. Emma Schymanski has been awarded a 2 MEUR ATTRACT Consolidator Grant for a project aiming to develop methods to identify unknown chemicals and their effects on health and disease at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg.

In a study investigating the manufacturing process of solar cells, a team led by the group of FNR ATTRACT Fellow Dr Phillip Dale at the University of Luxembourg has discovered that 20-year old assumptions on chemical processes in the production of solar cells are in fact, inaccurate. The findings have just been published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

An international research consortium has, with significant involvement of Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) scientists including FNR ATTRACT Fellow Prof Ines Thiele, developed the first computer model to include 3D in the representation of human metabolic processes. The results have just been published in the journal ‘Nature Biotechnology’. 

Timed with the recently-launched ATTRACT Call, the FNR has conducted an interview with the only two female ATTRACT Fellows, where they talk about what challenges they face and what the FNR can do to make the programme more attractive to female scientists. Starting with the 2016/17 Call, the FNR introduced a quota for the ATTRACT … Continued

A research team at the Luxembourg Institute of Health have uncovered a previously unknown way in which our immune system activates its immune cells. The novel findings have just been published in the world’s most prestigious immunology journal, ‘Immunity’. The LIH research team was led by FNR ATTRACT Fellow Prof Dr Dirk Brenner.

Following the 2015/16 ATTRACT Call, the FNR is pleased to communicate that three researchers have been awarded ATTRACT Fellowships, an FNR commitment of 5.5. MEUR.

Outgoing FNR ATTRACT Fellow Prof Karsten Hiller may be leaving Luxembourg to take on a new challenge, but his relationship with the Grand Duchy is far from over.

The FNR has set itself the goal to double the number of proposals from female researchers in its funding instruments PEARL and ATTRACT, and is appealing to host institutions to increase the number of research proposals submitted to the FNR by female researchers. Gender balance in research was a thematic focus under Luxembourg’s Presidency of … Continued

Dr Massimiliano Esposito, a Fellow on the FNR’s ATTRACT Programme, has been awarded a prestigious ERC Consolidator grant by the European Research Council. ERC Consolidator Grants are designed to support researchers at the stage at which they are consolidating their own independent research team or programme. The grants are awarded to selected top researchers with … Continued