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Call for Proposals: Junior Teams 2026 Season

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ExposUM is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners1 aimed at establishing an off-campus, interdisciplinary institute for the study, training, and science-society interaction regarding the environmental determinants of human health. A winner of the ExcellenceS (PIA4) call for projects and supported by the Occitanie Region, ExposUM is funded to the tune of €46.4 million for the period 2022–2030.

Selection results

Download the list of winners of the 2026 Junior Teams Call for Proposals

Scientific scope

The exposome refers to the set of environmental and social factors whose specific effects, combined with individuals’ intrinsic characteristics, underlie the onset, progression, and severity of infectious and noncommunicable diseases in humans. In this sense, it is the environmental counterpart to the genome, with which it interacts throughout an individual’s lifetime.

Objectives

The training component of the ExposUM Institute aims to:

  1. Breaking down barriers in education (interdisciplinarity)
  2. Help improve skills
  3. Join the exposomics community at the University of Montpellier and its partners
  4. Strengthening ties with countries in the Global South

To this end, several initiatives are being organized, including the funding of junior teams, hereinafter referred to as Junior Teams.

The goal of the Junior Teams is to enable young researchers to assemble a small team of 3 to 5 people around a scientific project lasting 12 to 18 months, so that they can become familiar with project management and team leadership, including supervising one or more master’s students or students working on a thesis on the subject. The proposed team may consist of several junior researchers and several students who may be affiliated with another UMR.

Each selected applicant will receive an operating grant of up to 30,000 euros, which may primarily cover internship stipends for master’s students (~600 euros/month/student), as well as temporary research support positions (e.g., clinical research associate, engineer), fieldwork expenses, or operating costs and laboratory equipment (excluding equipment costing more than €3,000).

The rationale for the supervision of each staff member involved (composition, time allocated) must be justified. Since the objective of this call is to give the applicant the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment as a supervisor and future leader, particular attention will be paid to the timeline of activities and the expected timeframe for achieving results.

Calendar

  • AAP Junior Teams Wave 1 Announcement: October 9, 2025
  • Deadline for project submissions: December 5, 2025, 2:00 p.m. CET
  • Announcement of results: late January – mid-February 2026

Funding Terms

For the2025 cycle(the first round of this call for proposals), the Institute is offering six grants of 30,000 euros per team.

Eligibility Criteria

The principal investigator must be a non-tenured faculty member (e.g., postdoctoral fellow, ATER, CCU-AH) affiliated with a UR, UMR, or UMI2 that is part of the ExposUM Institute consortium or has been a tenured faculty member in these same units for ≤ 2 years.

Submission Guidelines

The proposal (~3 pages) must be written in French or English based on the simplified application form (see below), following the instructions provided therein.

Junior Teams 2025 Application Form – DOCX 236 KBDownload

The courier should send the file via email to [email protected], copying the unit director. by mentioning [AAP Junior Teams 2025] in the email subject line.

Before December 5, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. CET.

Selection Process

Proposals will be evaluated based on the quality of the scientific project, the proposed supervision, and their alignment with the Institute’s priorities and research areas (see Selection Criteria). This evaluation will be conducted by a committee composed of representatives from the ExposUM Institute’s Executive Committee and Scientific Advisory Board.

Selection criteria

(for reference only)

  • student mentoring
  • clear identification of the scope of the exposome being studied
  • interdisciplinarity
  • methodological qualities
  • potential impacts (both fundamental and applied),
  • feasibility
  • relevance in light of the ExposUM Institute’s strategic priorities (establishing new partnerships, the One Health approach, Global Health and Southern Health, promoting the involvement of the humanities and social sciences, and integrating the UM exposomics community and its partners)

Contact

For any questions regarding this call for proposals, please send an email to by mentioning [AAP Junior Teams 2025] in the email subject line.

Commitments

The carriers agree to:

  • To adhere, in the design and implementation of the project submitted in response to this call for proposals, the values and principles of scientific integrity intended to ensure the honesty and scientific rigor of all research work, as referred to in Article L.211-2 of the Research Code and set forth in the National Code of Ethics for Research Professions and the University of Montpellier’s Charter on Scientific Integrity.
  • Comply with the Nagoya Protocol, where applicable.
  • Include the logos of the University of Montpellier, France 2030, the ExposUM Institute, the Occitanie Region, and/or the ERDF in all documents related to the implementation of the project. Specific guidelines regarding the project leaders’ communication obligations will be provided to them.
  • Please send to the Institute () an annual report and a final report, no later than two months after the project’s completion (financial and progress reports), which may be used in the University’s communications materials.
  • Apply the current UM publication guidelines to all scientific outputs; comply with the provisions regarding open science and the Digital Republic Act (open access publication). The directors of UM-affiliated laboratories shall deposit the full text of their publications in the open repository (https://hal.umontpellier.fr).
  • Take the necessary steps to obtain the required research authorizations and approvals in regulated areas (genetically modified organisms, the use of animals for scientific purposes, health data, the use of genetic resources and the sharing of resulting benefits, bioethics, etc.).

Research units that are part of the ExposUM Institute consortium3

ABSys, AGAP Institute, AIDA, AMAP, Analyses, ART-Dev, ASTRE, BC2M, BCM, BIOLuM, BioWooEB, CBGP, CBS, CDE, CEFE, CEE-M, CEMIPAI, CEPEL, CERCOP, ChimEco, CREAM, CRBM, CSUM, DEFE, DGIMI, DIADE, DIASCOPE, DMEM, ECO&SOLS, ECOTRON, EDPFM, EDSM, ESPACE-DEV, EuroMov DHM, F&S, FHU Evocan 2, FHU Neurexpo, FHU Regenhab 2, FHU TIE, G-EAU, GECO, Génopolys, GM, HortSys, HSM, IATE, IBMM, ICGM, ICS, ICSM, IDEDH, IDESP, IEM, IES, IGF, IGH, IGMM, IHD, IHPE, IMAG, IMAGINE, INM, INNOVATION, INTERTRYP, IPSiM, IRCM, IRIM, IRMB, ISDM, ISEM, ITAP, L2C, LBE, LBN, LDP, LEPSE, LICeM, LIRDEF, LIRMM, LISAH, LMGC, LPHI, LUPM, Maraîchage, MARBEC, MEEB, MISTEA, MIVEGEC, MMDN, MOISA, MRE, MRM, MSH Sud, OREME, PAC Chimie Balard, PCCEI, Pech Rouge, PHIM, PhyMedExp, QualiSud, R&R, SantESiH, SELMET, SENS, SPO, Sys2diag, TETIS, TransVIHMI, VASSAL, VBIC

Learn more about the EXPOSUM Institute

 

  1. UM, Occitanie Region, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, CIRAD, INSERM, Montpellier University Hospital, ICM, Institut Agro Montpellier, ENSCM, Ifremer, INRIA. ↩︎
  2. Research Unit, Joint Research Unit, International Joint Unit. ↩︎
  3. Please note that only UR, UMR, and UMI units may apply for this call for proposals. UAR, UExp, US, and UPS units are not eligible. ↩︎

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