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Viral HOPE Research Grants

The Viral HOPE Research Grants aim to stimulate high quality, collaborative research that accelerates progress towards the elimination of viral hepatitis and improves clinical and public health outcomes across the WHO Europe region and beyond.

By supporting multicentre projects that address key scientific, diagnostic, and implementation gaps, the programme seeks to generate robust evidence that informs clinical practice, guides health policy, and strengthens equitable access to care. The grants promote cross border collaboration, inclusivity, and meaningful engagement of diverse stakeholders, including patient representatives and partners in low and middle income countries.

Apply by 1 April

Needs Assessment

Despite major advances in prevention and treatment, significant gaps remain in the detection, management, and monitoring of viral hepatitis across Europe. Many countries lack contemporary real world data, comparative analyses of care pathways, and evidence reflecting variation between health systems.

Persistent barriers to screening, biomarker access, and linkage to care continue to slow progress towards elimination. For hepatitis Delta, limited registries and fragmented data restrict understanding of disease burden, treatment access, and patient outcomes. The Viral HOPE Research Grants address these unmet needs by supporting research that generates actionable insights, strengthens collaborative research networks, and informs effective clinical and public health decision making.

Priority Areas

Projects must address one of the following priority areas.

  • Projects focused on collecting and analysing real-world data on progress towards HCV elimination across the whole of the WHO Europe area. 
  • Comparative studies identifying best and most cost-effective practices in screening, linkage to care, treatment, and prevention of reinfection. 
  • Emphasis on multicentre collaboration to provide a European overview and identify gaps or inequities in elimination strategies. 
  • Collaborative projects addressing barriers to diagnosis of HBV infection in Europe and beyond as well as access to biomarkers (e.g., quantitative HBsAg) and their role in clinical decision-making. 
  • EASL Hepatitis B Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) implementation in diverse health systems, with encouragement to include low- and middle-income countries where barriers may be most pronounced. 
  • Collaborative projects generating novel real-world data to address clinically relevant questions in hepatitis Delta (patient outcomes, treatment access, therapeutic strategies, or natural history under current standards of care). Priority will be given to projects that are focused on the Central and Eastern regions of WHO Europe. 
  • Emphasis on building consortia and registries to strengthen the evidence base in this rare but severe disease. 

Eligibility and Criteria

To be eligible, applications must meet the following criteria.

  • A minimum of three collaborating institutions, including one lead institution and at least two supporting institutions

  • At least one participating institution must be based in Central or Eastern Europe according to the WHO Europe definition

  • Each institution may submit only one application as lead institution under this call, but may participate as a supporting institution in other applications

  • Maximum project duration of three years

  • EUR 150,000 available per project, distributed over 3 years.
    * Grant will be 50K per awardee for year one, and renewable for second and third years.
    Renewal conditions:  Only projects who provided a report with an updated status of the spending (in line with budget submitted) will be granted the funding for the next year. 

  • Maximum of EUR 90,000 allocated to the lead institution, and remaining funds to be distributed among supporting institutions

  • Maximum overhead costs of 10 percent, up to EUR 15,000

  • The lead institution will sign the grant agreement with EASL and is responsible for contractual arrangements and fund distribution to supporting institutions

Application Documents & Requirements

Applications must include the following documents.

  • Full project proposal in PDF format, maximum 3,000 words, including
    – Background
    – Project objectives
    – Research or study methods
    – Workplan
    – Collaboration and project partners
    – Expected impact

  • Budget and budget justification in Excel format
    – Breakdown by partner and by year
    – Alignment with the proposed workplan

  • Gantt chart or project timeline in Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF format

  • Curricula vitae of key investigators, merged into one PDF
    – Maximum four pages per person
    – Focus on expertise relevant to the proposed project

  • Letters of support or commitment from supporting institutions, merged into one PDF

Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

All eligible applications will be evaluated by a review panel composed of EASL Governing Board and Task Force members.

Applications will be assessed using the following weighted review criteria. The percentage weighting reflects the relative importance of each criterion in the overall evaluation.

Weighted review criteria

  • Scientific merit and relevance – 20 percent
    Clarity and originality of the research question, alignment with the priority area, strength of rationale, and robustness of the proposed methods and analysis.

  • Feasibility and quality of study design – 15 percent
    Appropriateness of the methodology, realism of the timeline, clarity of milestones, risk assessment, and suitability of indicators to measure success.

  • Collaborative strength and inclusivity – 15 percent
    Added value of the consortium, compliance with eligibility requirements, evidence of meaningful collaboration, inclusion of patient representatives where relevant, and engagement of low and middle income country partners.

  • Potential impact – 10 percent
    Expected contribution to clinical practice, public health strategies, policy development, scalability, and relevance to reducing inequities across the WHO Europe region.

  • Alignment with EASL strategic priorities – 10 percent
    Contribution to EASL’s mission in hepatitis elimination, support for multidisciplinary collaboration, and reinforcement of EASL’s educational and advocacy objectives.

  • Budget and resource justification – 15 percent
    Appropriate allocation of funds, clarity of justification, feasibility of delivery within the project timeframe, and compliance with funding and overhead rules.

  • Institutional capacity and track record – 5 percent
    Experience of the project team, access to infrastructure and data sources, and demonstrated institutional commitment.

  • Quality of proposal presentation – 10 percent
    Clarity, coherence, and consistency of the application, and alignment between objectives, methods, workplan, and expected outcomes.

Timeline

  • 5 February- Call for application open
  • 1 April – Deadline call for applications
  • 1 April to 1 May – Review period
  • 27 May – Announcement at EASL Congress 2026.

Anticipated project start date 1 July

Apply by 1 April
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