2026 Call for Research Proposals – Exposum Institute: Exposome and Behavior

[Call for Proposals] - Published on October 15, 2025 in Major Programs, Flagship Projects

ExposUM is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners¹ aimed at establishing a leading, off-campus, interdisciplinary institute for the study, education, and science-society interaction regarding the environmental determinants of human health. ExposUM is a recipient of the ExcellenceS (PIA4) call for proposals and is supported by the Occitanie Region for the period 2022–2030.

Background and Objective

The exposome refers to the totality of lifelong exposures to environmental and social factors whose effects influence human health by causing, promoting, modulating, or preventing diseases, whether communicable or not. In this sense, it is the environmental counterpart to the genome, with which it interacts throughout an individual’s lifetime.

The Research Division Research the ExposUM Institute aims to support and accelerate the acquisition of new knowledge through an interdisciplinary, coordinated, and integrated approach to the fields of exposome research within the four pillars:

1. Strengthen the monitoring of environmental exposures,
2. To deepen our understanding of the ecology of hosts, pathogens, reservoirs, and vectors ( One Health approach),
3. To improve our fundamental understanding of the biological mechanisms that may be modulated by the exposome,
4. Study the consequences for human health.

Data science serves as a bridge connecting these pillars—both methodologically and analytically—and in terms of leveraging the results. A second bridge, consisting of the study and development of new exposure control strategies, complements this architecture, which is linked to the “Interfaces” and “Training” areas.

It is within this framework that the ExposUM Institute organizes an annual call for research proposals (AAP-R) co-funded by the ANR and the Occitanie Region. Each AAP-R focuses on a different theme—one that is deliberately broad—relating to contexts, processes, patterns, or methods, and includes research falling under the aforementioned pillars and bridges.

In accordance with the goals set forth in the call for proposals ExcellenceScall, the ExposUM Institute strongly encourages transdisciplinary research projects focused on the Global South, the initiation of new collaborations, and the promotion of local and regional resources (particularly technology platforms). Projects should, as much as possible, adhere to the open science approach by ensuring that the data produced is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR); see below.

Topic

As it does every year, the AAPR focuses on a priority theme² chosen collectively by the Institute’s three councils. For the year 2026, this theme is“Exposome and Behavior.”

Human Behavior³ —both individual and collective—shape and influence our exposome. It determines the nature and intensity of the exposome, which vary over the course of a lifetime, whether through daily practices (e.g., diet, physical activity, digital habits), risky behaviors (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, addictions), or interactions that influence psychosocial and biological exposures, including those related to pathogens. Conversely, the exposome influences our behaviors through somatic, psychological—both physiological and pathological—and socioeconomic pathways, which generate significant feedback loops.

Understanding these dynamic interactions is essential for identifying effective prevention strategies, reducing exposure inequalities, and supporting major societal transitions (e.g., in response to climate change, shifts in lifestyles, and emerging diseases). With this in mind, the ExposUM Institute seeks to support original, transdisciplinary research projects that explore the interface between human behavior and the exposome—whether, for example, by better characterizing exposure mechanisms, analyzing their behavioral determinants, or proposing public health interventions that incorporate this bidirectional relationship.

Funding Terms

For its 2026 edition, the ExposUM Institute has divided its AAP-R into two categories.

Standard Research Projects

This category corresponds to the standard project format that qualifies for personnel funding⁴ and the operating funds needed to produce original results that can be commercialized or published.

Amount and duration limits: 250 k€ over 2 years.

Non-tenured researchers may submit a project in this category, provided they are already affiliated with the research institution under which the project is being submitted. The funds awarded may then be used to cover the principal investigator’s salary⁵, if necessary, until the project’s scheduled completion.

Exploratory Research Projects

These projects are designed to spark a wave of exploratory and original research, to test hypotheses and approaches that are not typically favored in standard calls for proposals, and to produce preliminary results with a view to applying for more ambitious calls for proposals at a later stage.

Amount and duration limits: 50 k€ over 2 years.

Non-tenured researchers may submit a project in this category, provided they are already affiliated with the research institution under which the project is being submitted; however, the funds awarded may not be used to cover the principal investigator’s salary, whose contract must cover the duration of the project.

Eligible Expenses and Total Amount of the Call for Proposals

Eligible expenses include salaries for non-tenured staff (researchers, engineers, technicians, and assistants; doctoral contracts are excluded), as well as operating costs and small equipment. Staff funded by the project may only be recruited from within the consortium’s research units⁶.

For all eligible organizations, whether or notUM a co-sponsor, the employer of the recruited staff will beUM. In the case of organizations without UM co-sponsorship, the funds needed for recruitment will be held byUM ensure recruitment (with some exceptions). The project leader must designate one of the co-sponsors of their organization as the administrator of non-personnel funds, after obtaining that co-sponsor’s agreement in principle.

The ExposUM Institute’s projected total budget for this call for proposals is set at 2 M€, with the goal of funding 7 standard projects and 7 exploratory projects⁷.

Submission Process

The submission of projects to the ExposUM Institute’s AAP-R will take place in two selection phases: first, a brief letter of intent (1 scientific page); and second, the complete project proposal (5 scientific pages), similar to the ANR’s general calls for proposals.

An individual may submit only one letter of intent in response to this call for proposals (but may be involved in other submitted projects without serving as the principal investigator). Note: Submission as a principal investigator by a recipient of a grant from a previous ExposUM Institute research call for proposals is not encouraged.  Furthermore, members of the three ExposUM Institute councils (CoDir, COER, COSS) are not permitted to submit a project as principal investigator.

No internal pre-selection by research units is required prior to the submission of letters of intent; therefore, there is no limit on the number of letters of intent that each research unit may submit (provided that each applicant submits only one).

However, research units are still required to authorize the submission on behalf of the unit (by signing the letter of intent), which serves as a commitment to carry out the project if funding is granted.

However, for the sake of balance, the ExposUM Institute reserves the right to set a cap on the number of letters of intent from a single research unit that may advance to the second phase.

Since the ExposUM Institute’s internal evaluation capacity is limited, a rigorous selection process will be conducted at this stage: a maximum of 14 letters of intent will be selected per project category.

If the project includes a clinical research component, a signed agreement from the DRCI of the relevant university hospital must be submitted at the time the final project proposal is submitted, authorizing the project to proceed within the budgetary, medical-scientific, and ethical parameters defined in the final proposal. Given the time required to obtain this agreement, we ask the relevant principal investigators to please plan ahead for this step. Otherwise, the final proposal cannot be accepted by the ExposUM Institute.

Letters of intent should be drafted starting on downloadable template in French or English. Any deviation from the instructions provided therein will render the project ineligible, with no possibility of correction. Submissions must be made exclusively by sending the letter in PDF format (to be titled ResearchOrganizationName_ProjectLeaderName.pdf) to the address , by November 30, 2025 (2:00 p.m. UTC+1), specifying [AAPR] in the email subject line and copying the management of the sponsoring research institution).

The authors of the selected letters of intent will be notified in early January regarding the next steps in the process.

As a general guideline, drafting the complete proposal in English for review by international experts will take about a month and a half, and the process will be similar to that ofthe AAPR 2025 in terms of the matrix.

Calendar

Eligibility of Letters of Intent

To be eligible, letters of intent—and the projects they represent—must meet the following criteria:

1. The letter of intent must be submitted by the date, time, and specific time specified above. It must be drafted in strict accordance with the instructions provided in the template (all fields must be filled out, and the document must not exceed 2 pages).
2. The project must be led by a staff member affiliated with a research institution that is part of the consortium⁸. Members of Research Support Units Research UARs) may not apply as principal investigators, but may participate as project partners.
3. The project’s primary objective must be to generate knowledge regarding an environmental (including social) determinant of human health and must fall within the thematic scope of the call for proposals (see introductory paragraphs at). This alignment must be evident from the first four sections of the project’s scientific description.
4. Compliance with the PIA4 project funding rules as defined by the ANR and those set forth in this call for proposals (see above).

The eligibility of the letters of intent will be reviewed collectively by the three councils of the ExposUM Institute, its project team, and theUM Structural Programs Directorate.

Pre-selection of Letters of Intent

The evaluation of letters of intent will focus on the nature of the exhibition (or, more accurately, exhibitions) under study, the originality of the research question, the spatial and temporal scope of the study, and the methodological relevance. Preference will be given to projects whose results have the potential to impact human behavior.

Letters of intent will be evaluated and ranked collectively by all members of the three councils of the ExposUM Institute. The shortlist will then consist of the 14 highest-ranked standard projects and the 14 highest-ranked exploratory projects (this is the initial target, but it may be adjusted by the COSS depending on the relative quality of the projects actually received in each category).

Evaluation and Selection of Complete Projects

All projects will be evaluated based solely on the complete proposal submitted⁹.

The scientific quality of research projects will be assessed by the Research Steering and Evaluation Committee Research COER), which will endeavor to solicit, for each project, two anonymous reviewers from outside the institution, based on the following criteria:

• Its scientific value and originality, within the scope of the ExposUM Initiative,
• Its methodological strengths,
• Its potential for impact (both fundamental and applied),
• Its feasibility (in terms of the partners, timeline, and budget presented).

The 14 projects in each category will thus be ranked based solely on the aggregate score from the scientific evaluations. The seven winning projects in each category will then be selected by the Scientific and Strategic Steering Committee (COSS), which will also evaluate—in the strategic interest of the Institute, the site, and the partners, and only when scientific quality is equivalent—the non-scientific strengths of the projects, namely:

• Transdisciplinarity, the establishment of new partnerships,
• The exposomic approach¹⁰,
• The One Health and Global Health Dimensions¹¹, a focus on the Global South, and consideration of vulnerable populations¹²,
• The project's potential to serve as a tool for behavioral prevention,
• Interaction with the training and science-society interfaces tracks¹³,
• Leveraging Local Resources¹⁴, regional¹⁵, as well as other projects already funded by ExposUM¹⁶,
• The University of Montpellier's commitment to the open science approach,
• The sustainability (environmental impact) of research.

Commitment by the carrier

• 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, if applicable;

• Include the logos of the University of Montpellier, France 2030, and the ExposUM Institute in all documents related to the implementation of the project;

• Please send to the Institute (), an annual report (financial statements and summary report) that may be used in the University’s communications materials;

• Apply theUM Publication Guidelines to all scientific outputs; comply with provisions related to open science and the Law for a Digital Republic ( open access publication). The directors of laboratories under UM supervision UM the full text of publications in the UM open archive;

• Take the necessary steps to obtain the required research authorizations and approvals in regulated sectors (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.).

List of research institutions eligible for this call for proposals

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

1. CIRAD, CNRS, Ifremer, INRAe, Inria, Inserm, IRD, ENSCM, Institut Agro, Montpellier University Hospital, ICM, Occitanie Region. ↩︎
2. It should be noted, however, that all research proposals submitted that include an environmental human health component will be carefully reviewed. ↩︎
3. Projects that focus exclusively on non-human behavior or behavior attributed to sub-individual entities (e.g., the behavior of a cell or a receptor) are not encouraged. ↩︎
4. Excluding doctoral contracts, which are funded through the dedicated Nexus program. ↩︎
5. Regardless of the duration of this funding from ExposUM and the applicant’s employment history, recruitment will be conducted through the University of Montpellier—barring exceptions—under a project-based contract, with a maximum salary of index 596 (INM), corresponding approximately to a net monthly salary of €2,300. Prior approval from the Human Resources Department will be required.    ↩︎
6. Partners outside the consortium will be eligible for funding only through invoicing for services rendered (with the funds remaining under the management of the lead institution’s research unit). ↩︎
7. The ExposUM Institute reserves the right to adjust this distribution based on the relative quality of the projects within each category. ↩︎
8. See the list of institutions within the ExposUM network on the last page. The applicant must already be an official member of the institution in question as of November 30, 2025, and their contract (permanent or temporary, potentially funded by this grant) with that institution must remain in effect until the project’s scheduled completion at the end of 2028. Members affiliated with research institutions within the ExposUM network who are employed by a university other than the University of Montpellier are not eligible to apply. ↩︎
9. The procedure for this call for proposals does not include a response to the reviewers or an interview. ↩︎
10. See, for example, the article by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ↩︎
11. A mere mention of the “One Health approach”will be deemed insufficient: the simultaneous study of human, animal, and environmental health must be explicitly justified and central to the project. ↩︎
12. See the definitions provided by the National Consultative Ethics Committee and the Dictionary of the Academy of Medicine. ↩︎
13. Involving students in the project or routine scientific dissemination are not considered sufficient inter-axis linkages. Please refer to the specific activities of the Institute’s other two axes. ↩︎
14. From the Montpellier website. ↩︎
15. Occitanie Region. ↩︎
16. This point is only awarded if the related project in question does not involve the same members and structures. ↩︎

Keywords: Call for Proposals, ExposUM