On this page you will find an overview of grant opportunities within the oncology field and their deadlines.

Funding calender

For all oncology-related grant possibilities, see our new CCA funding calendar!

Scientific oncology grants

Funders of oncology research are listed below:

Research connect

Research connect is a searchable database that can aid researchers in finding interesting funding opportunities that match their topic of interest. You can set email alerts on when new grants become available. Visit www.search.myresearchconnect.com and use the Amsterdam UMC institutional login.

Travel Grants

There are several foundations that offer travel grants for (starting) researchers. These grants mostly cover travel and accomodation costs and allow a work visits of varying duration to a laboratory abroad.

Some options for travel grants are listed below:

CCA researchers have the opportunity to apply for the CCA travel grant. More information can be found here.

Important call details

Hanarth Fonds – deadline research projects March 13 (preproposals) | deadline Fellowships June 20
The Hanarth Fonds call for 2025 is open. These funds are available for clinicians or scientists for research and education in artificial intelligence and machine learning within oncology, with a focus on rare cancers in adults. Research projects (max. €500,000 for 2-4 years) can be funded for the development of algorithms for artificial intelligence and/or its application to data collections to provide more insight into the clinical, pathological, molecular or imaging features of tumours and treatment outcome. Research fellowships fund a specific training trajectory that recognizes the added value of incorporating machine learning into research, daily clinical work and organization. Training could exist for dedicated courses on this subject, advanced statistics or internships at institutes well known for their research in the field of machine learning.

More information: Hanarth Fonds

Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Call 9 (single-stage): deadline full proposals April 29
This call will be a novel, applicant-driven call, with five topics aligned with the five specific objectives set out in the IHI Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. IHI call 9 will be a standard, single-stage call for proposals, meaning that applicants will have to ensure that half of their project’s costs are covered by contributions from IHI’s industry members and (if relevant) IHI contributing partners.

More information: IHI call 9

Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Call 10 (two-stage): deadline short proposals April 23, full proposals October 14

  • Digital label: one source of comprehensive information for medical technology products
  • Safeguarding innovation in secondary use of health data in the European Health Data Space (EHDS)
  • Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure, emissions, and end of life management in the healthcare sector

Call 10 topics can be found here. All the presentation slides and recordings from the recently held call days can be found here.
If you are interested in applying, please contact Research Grant Support.
More information: IHI call 10

Josephine Nefkens Prijs 2025: deadline April 25
The prize is awarded once every three years to a scientist in the Dutch-speaking region who will remain active in the field for at least another five years, regardless of nationality, and who has performed excellent work in the field of cancer research. The prize includes an amount of €100,000, which the winner may use at their own discretion for cancer research.

More information: Josephine Nefkens

NWO TTW Open Technology Programme – Opening call January 13 2025
Scientists from all disciplines can submit proposals for application-oriented technical/scientific research. Several companies and partners can participate in a project by making a financial or material contribution. Up to a maximum of 900,000 euros can be requested. If the total project costs exceed 650,000 euro, co-funding by users is compulsory (25% of the sum in excess of 650,000). There is a rolling deadline until the end of 2025.
More information: NWO website

On December 2, the first of three new calls within the KWF Proof of Concept program will open. The PoC application must be related to an ongoing or recently finished KWF project. Budget: max 150.000 euros. The budget can be requested for additional expertise and activities within the scope of the PoC programme that were not budgeted in the related KWF project
More information: KWF website

Landsteiner Foundation for Blood Transfusion Research Grants – deadline February 1
The Landsteiner Foundation for Blood Transfusion Research (LSBR) supports fundamental research, including clinical and experimental investigations, in the field of blood and blood (related) diseases. This scope spans a wide range of subjects e.g. haematology and immunotherapy. Several grant types are available. Regular grant: 450k, 4 years. Fellowship grant (for postdocs to establish a research line) 700k, 5 years. Early career grant (for young postdocs): 200k, 2 years. Anniversary grant (at least 3 research groups): 1.6M, 5 years.
More information: LBSR website

KiKa Research projects & Pilot Projects – deadline February 1 2025
Projects should be clearly related to childhood cancer. Research projects have a maximum duration of 4 years. There are no strict budget limits, but max 1FTE scientific and 1FTE non-scientific personnel should be used as a guidance. Pilot projects have a maximum duration of 1.5 years and an approximate size of 1 FTE in total.
More information: KiKa website

Amsterdam UMC Fellowship – deadline February 3
The Amsterdam UMC Fellowship consists of a maximum of €750,000 for four-five years. Applicants should be excellent researchers (<6 years after PhD, extension criteria apply) who have (nearly) successfully completed a prestigious personal grant at junior postdoc level (e.g. VENI). The award can be spent on salary of the applicant, a PhD student and bench fee. The fellowship includes a tenure track with the possibility to acquire a tenured position after five years. There are two positions available.
More information: Amsterdam UMC website

MLDS Call 2025 – deadline project idea February 3
This call involves research within 1 of 3 focus points. Furthermore, funding is available for translational research or clinical research outside the focus points. Focus point 1 is of particular interest to CCA researchers and involves research into colorectal, esophageal and liver cancer. For each of these cancer types, specific requirements are outlined in the funding conditions. Small and large grants are available with a budget and duration of 160k for max 2 years or 260k for max 4 years, respectively.
More information: MLDS

ZonMW Clinical Fellows – deadline February 4
This program is intended for medical specialists after their PhD to set up their own research line. Funding involves 200k for a duration between 36 and 60 months. 25% co-funding (in cash or in kind) from Amsterdam UMC is required. 10 fellowships are available. There is an online information session on December 18. Register here.
More information: ZonMW

Amsterdam Science and Innovation Awards – deadline February 9
The Innovation Award is open to (teams of) researchers, staff, and students from one of the knowledge institutes in Amsterdam. Innovative ideas which is not commercially exploited or valorized in any way are eligible to participate. The idea has to be applicable and has to contribute to a better world. The prize involves 10k to further develop the idea and support from IXA.
More information: AmSIA

L’Oréal for Women in Science Fellowship Program – deadline February 28
This prestigious initiative offers four women researchers in the Life Sciences or STEM disciplines (with 3 to 10 years of post-PhD experience) the opportunity to dedicate a semester entirely to their research, free from administrative, clinical, or teaching responsibilities. Max. 4 fellowships of 30k each are available.
More information: UNESCO website

Pre-announcement ZonMW Open Competitie – expected opening end of February 2025
Projects should involve researchers from two or more disciplines to facilitate excellent team science that results in innovative (groundbreaking) research of exceptional quality in the field of healthcare research. The expected outcome of a project is primarily scientific advancement (increased knowledge, development of modelling and theory) within a new collaboration between research groups (team science). Max 750K can be requested for a duration between 4-5 years.
More information: ZonMW website

Hersenstichting Op Weg Naar Genezing – deadline project idea March 7, 2025
This call is intended for projects focused on the development of treatment options that delay, stop or cure brain diseases. The ultimate goals is application in clinical practice. Max. 400K can be requested.
More information: Hersenstichting

Nationaal Fonds Tegen Kanker (NFTK) Prehabilitation in Cancer – deadline March 31
NFTK funds projects focused on human-centered treatment, such as nutrition, exercise, and well-being (psychosocial support) within oncological care. This call aims at projects focused on lifestyle prior to surgery. Max 30k is available.
More information: NFTK website

European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder Open – deadline May 21
The EIC Pathfinder, specifically, offers the possibility to explore bold ideas for radically new technologies (TRL 1-4) with potential to create new markets. This EIC Pathfinder Open call is open for projects in any field of science, technology or application without predefined thematic priorities. Consortia can apply for grants up to € 3M. Contact Research Grant Support (rgs@amsterdamumc.nl) to discuss your idea.
More information: EIC website

EIC Pathfinder Challenge - Generative-AI based Agents to Revolutionize Medical Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer – deadline October 29
The goal of this Pathfinder Challenge is to create interactive GenAI autonomous agents and/or a combination of them (super-agent) that provide clinicians with a holistic end to end perspective of patient care, throughout the entire clinical pathway. These agents aim to enhance pattern identification, reduce inconsistencies and errors in diagnoses as well as improve cancer treatment. While the focus is on GenAI, other advanced AI technologies are also encouraged. These grants are aimed at consortia and are worth up to 4M.
More information: EIC website

Project Cure CRC – rolling deadline
This call is intended for preclinical and clinical translational research with the potential for high impact on diagnosis, treatment, or survivorship of colorectal cancer. Submitted proposals should focus on projects that are High-Risk/High-Reward and accelerate new therapies and technologies from bench to bedside. Projects that utilize collaborations and/or public-private partnerships are strongly encouraged. Different grant types are available.
More information: Project Cure CRC

Dutch-German Basic Research Projects in Fields of the Sciences (NWO Domain Science – DFG)- rolling deadline
Dutch-German research teams are invited to submit their joint research proposals within the scope of basic research in the remit of NWO Domain Science (Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physics) and the corresponding DFG review boards.
More information: DFG website