The Swedish Research Council has granted Fredrik Bäckhed SEK 18 million over six years. The competition for the grants, earmarked for outstanding young scientists, was fierce – only 19 of 744 applications were approved.
‘I see this as recognition of the great work of our team. The long-term nature of the grant will enable us to launch more complex projects that take longer to develop,’ says Bäckhed.
‘We’re in a hot field and have established ourselves as one of the leading teams in the world. I think our research is perceived as exciting and that we have a great potential to succeed.’
Bäckhed’s research team will use the funding for clinical and preclinical trials to explore how the gut flora is linked to metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Advice for a successful application
Just two weeks ago, Bäckhed was awarded the prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant, and earlier this semester he was granted funding from for example the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Lundberg Foundation and the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation. He is one of the researchers at the University of Gothenburg who attracts the most research funding: more than SEK 100 million in the last five years. Here is some of his advice for a successful application:
‘The most important thing is to start early. I usually start working on an application 2-3 months before the deadline. You need to spend a lot of time and effort formulating powerful and feasible goals. The goals also need to be coherent. You need good preliminary data to show that the application is realistic. I also believe that layout and reader-friendliness are important factors.’
