Human Frontier Science Program
Encyclopedia
The Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) is a program, based in Strasbourg
, France
, that funds basic research in life sciences. HFSP is supported by 13 countries and the European Union
. It is led by President Akito Arima and Secretary General Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker.
summit nations and the European Union, resulting in the "London Wise Men's Conference" in April 1987, which endorsed the suggestion. Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
of Japan proposed the Human Frontier Science Program at the Venice Economic Summit
in June 1987. The Economic Summit partners and the Chairman of the European Community welcomed the initiative and activities aimed at implementing it were started. The implementing body, the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) was established in 1989 and the secretariat was founded in Strasbourg, France. Since 1990, more than 5000 awards have been made to researchers from 69 countries. Of these, 16 HFSP awardees have received the Nobel Prize
for work carried out during early phases of their research.
, Canada
, France
, Germany
, India
, Italy
, Japan
, Republic of Korea, New Zealand
, Norway
, Switzerland
, UK
, USA, as well as from the European Union
. The funds are combined into a single budget and are allocated to awards on the basis of HFSPO's own peer review system on the sole basis of scientific excellence.
Postdoctoral Fellowships are available for scientists who wish to work in foreign laboratories, with emphasis on individuals early in their careers who wish to obtain training in a different field of research. Fellows who return to their home countries are eligible to apply for a Career Development Award.
Cross-disciplinary fellowships are intended for postdoctoral fellows with a Ph.D.
degree in the physical sciences, chemistry
, mathematics
, engineering
and computer science
s who wish to receive training in biology
.
HFSP funding programs start at the postdoctoral level. No support is available for undergraduate or PhD students.
is a cornerstone of the procedures used in making awards. There is one review committee for Fellowships and one for Research Grants each consisting of 24 to 26 scientists. They have a broad international representation of scientific experts and each reviews applications in all scientific fields supported by the HFSP. This ensures that awards are made according to international scientific standards and the presence of reviewers from many countries minimizes geo-political bias. Extensive research is carried out into the expertise and reputation of potential members before appointment to ensure maintenance of the highest standards. The evaluation procedures are under constant review and the HFSP secretariat works closely with the members of the review committees and the Council of Scientists to ensure that all applications are assessed fairly and thoroughly.
of Japan for his vision in launching HFSP as a program of support for international collaboration and to foster early career scientists in a global context. The HFSP Nakasone Award is designed to recognise scientists who have undertaken frontier-moving research, including technological breakthroughs, which has advanced biological research. Both senior and junior scientists are eligible and peer-recognised excellence is the major criterion. The award can be made to an individual or a team of scientists. Award winners receive an unrestricted research grant of USD 10,000, a medal and personalised certificate. The award ceremony is held at the annual HFSP Awardees Meeting where the award winners are expected to deliver the HFSP Nakasone Lecture.
The HFSP Journal ceased publication in July 2010 and was bought by the scientific publisher Taylor & Frances, to be re-launched in 2011 as “Frontiers in Life Science.
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, that funds basic research in life sciences. HFSP is supported by 13 countries and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. It is led by President Akito Arima and Secretary General Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker.
History
In 1986 a feasibility study was carried out by leading Japanese scientists under the auspices of the Japanese Prime Minister's Council for Science of Technology, to explore possible means to encourage international collaboration in basic research. Discussion was expanded to include scientists from the G7G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
summit nations and the European Union, resulting in the "London Wise Men's Conference" in April 1987, which endorsed the suggestion. Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
Yasuhiro Nakasone
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from November 27, 1982 to November 6, 1987. A contemporary of Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev, he is best known for pushing through the privatization of...
of Japan proposed the Human Frontier Science Program at the Venice Economic Summit
13th G7 summit
The 13th G7 Summit was held in Venice, Italy between June 8 and 10, 1987. The venue for the summit meetings was the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in the Venetian lagoon....
in June 1987. The Economic Summit partners and the Chairman of the European Community welcomed the initiative and activities aimed at implementing it were started. The implementing body, the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) was established in 1989 and the secretariat was founded in Strasbourg, France. Since 1990, more than 5000 awards have been made to researchers from 69 countries. Of these, 16 HFSP awardees have received the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for work carried out during early phases of their research.
Funding
HFSPO receives financial support from the governments or research councils of AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Republic of Korea, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, USA, as well as from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. The funds are combined into a single budget and are allocated to awards on the basis of HFSPO's own peer review system on the sole basis of scientific excellence.
Funding programs
Research Grants are awarded for novel collaborations involving extensive collaboration among teams of scientists working in different countries and in different disciplines. Two types of grants are available: Young Investigator Grants and Program Grants.Postdoctoral Fellowships are available for scientists who wish to work in foreign laboratories, with emphasis on individuals early in their careers who wish to obtain training in a different field of research. Fellows who return to their home countries are eligible to apply for a Career Development Award.
Cross-disciplinary fellowships are intended for postdoctoral fellows with a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
degree in the physical sciences, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
s who wish to receive training in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
.
HFSP funding programs start at the postdoctoral level. No support is available for undergraduate or PhD students.
HFSP peer review
International peer reviewPeer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
is a cornerstone of the procedures used in making awards. There is one review committee for Fellowships and one for Research Grants each consisting of 24 to 26 scientists. They have a broad international representation of scientific experts and each reviews applications in all scientific fields supported by the HFSP. This ensures that awards are made according to international scientific standards and the presence of reviewers from many countries minimizes geo-political bias. Extensive research is carried out into the expertise and reputation of potential members before appointment to ensure maintenance of the highest standards. The evaluation procedures are under constant review and the HFSP secretariat works closely with the members of the review committees and the Council of Scientists to ensure that all applications are assessed fairly and thoroughly.
HFSP Nakasone Award
In 2010, HFSP established the HFSP Nakasone Award to honour former Prime Minister Yasuhiro NakasoneYasuhiro Nakasone
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from November 27, 1982 to November 6, 1987. A contemporary of Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev, he is best known for pushing through the privatization of...
of Japan for his vision in launching HFSP as a program of support for international collaboration and to foster early career scientists in a global context. The HFSP Nakasone Award is designed to recognise scientists who have undertaken frontier-moving research, including technological breakthroughs, which has advanced biological research. Both senior and junior scientists are eligible and peer-recognised excellence is the major criterion. The award can be made to an individual or a team of scientists. Award winners receive an unrestricted research grant of USD 10,000, a medal and personalised certificate. The award ceremony is held at the annual HFSP Awardees Meeting where the award winners are expected to deliver the HFSP Nakasone Lecture.
HFSP Journal
Launched in October 2006, the HFSP Journal aims to foster communication between scientists publishing high quality, innovative research at the frontiers of the life sciences. Peer review is designed to allow for the unique requirements of such papers and is overseen by an Editorial Board with members from different disciplines. The HFSP Journal offers its authors the option to pay a fee to make their research articles Open Access immediately upon publication. For other articles, access is limited to subscribers for the first 6 months after publication, but access is free thereafter.The HFSP Journal ceased publication in July 2010 and was bought by the scientific publisher Taylor & Frances, to be re-launched in 2011 as “Frontiers in Life Science.