ExposUM 2023 Calls for Research Proposals: The Emerging Exposome

[Call for Proposals] - Published on December 9, 2022 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. A winner of the ExcellenceS (PIA4) call for proposals and supported by the Occitanie Region, ExposUM is receiving €46.4 million in funding for the 2022–2030 period.

Background & Objective

The exposome refers to the totality of lifelong exposures to environmental and social factors whose specific effects, combined with individuals’ intrinsic characteristics, underlie health as well as 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.

The “ Research ” research focus at the ExposUM Institute aims to accelerate the acquisition of foundational knowledge through an interdisciplinary, coordinated, and integrated approach to the fields of exposome research, which fall under the following four pillars:

1. Strengthen the monitoring of environmental exposures,
2. To deepen our understanding of the ecology of hosts, pathogens, reservoirs, and vectors using a“One Health” approach,
3. To improve our fundamental understanding of biological mechanisms,
4. Study the consequences for human health.

Across the board, the “data science” dimension (in the broad sense) can be present in all pillars, both from a methodological perspective (new methods) and in terms of the use and application of results.

To this end, the ExposUM Institute will organize an annual call for research proposals (CFP), funded by the ANR and the Occitanie Region, through 2030. Each call for proposals will focus on a different theme—deliberately broad or multifaceted—relating to contexts, processes, patterns, or methods, and will include research falling under the four pillars mentioned above. However, projects are not expected to address all four pillars.

In line with the objectives set forth in the ExcellenceS call for proposals, the ExposUM Institute will strongly encourage transdisciplinary, South-oriented research projects, the initiation of new collaborations, and the promotion of local and regional resources (particularly technology platforms), although these aspects do not constitute eligibility criteria (see below). Finally, projects should, as much as possible, adhere to the open science approach by ensuring that the data generated are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR).

AAP 2023

The title of the ExposUM Institute’s 2023 Call for Proposals, proposed by its Council for Guidance and Evaluation of the Research s (COER) and approved by its Council for Scientific and Strategic Guidance (COSS), is“The Emerging Exposome.”

A component of the exposome (exposure(s) and any associated biological responses) is considered emerging if it exhibits, or is likely to exhibit in the future, at least one of the following properties:

• a previously unknown environmental issue (one that has come to light in recent years, e.g., microplastics),
• a recently modified spatial pattern (new contexts/areas of occurrence, sources, e.g., arboviruses),
• a recently altered temporal pattern (increase in duration/frequency of exposure or in its rate of propagation; e.g., blue light).

Submission Guidelines

The proposal should preferably be written in English using the template available online, following the instructions provided therein (please note: no attachments will be accepted), and then submitted to exposum.sciencesconf.org (requires a Sciences Conf. account). (and sent as a backup via email, specifying [AAPR] in the subject line and copying the unit director) by the principal investigator (1 submission per project), as a PDF file named UMRName_PrincipalInvestigatorName.pdf, by April 7, 2023 (2:00 p.m., Paris time).

Limiting the Number of Projects per Unit

In the event that a large number of projects are submitted, unit directors are asked to limit the number of applications submitted according to the following tiers:

Expenses and Total Amount

Funding must be explicitly justified by the project and must be limited to between 100 and 300 k€ for a maximum duration of 3 years. Eligible expenses include salaries (for early-career researchers, research engineers, but not doctoral contracts, which will be funded through ExposUM via a different mechanism), operating expenses (note: laboratory “administrative costs” are not eligible), or equipment (with a limit of 10 k€ for equipment). As for ANR funds, they may only be used to finance project-based staff (postdoctoral researchers, ITAs) within the consortium’s research units.

Partners outside the consortium will be eligible for funding only through invoicing for services rendered (with the funds continuing to be managed by the lead partner’s research unit).

Calendar

• Official opening: December 9, 2022
• Submission portal opens: February¹
• Deadline for submissions by project leaders: April 7, 2023, 2:00 p.m.
• Release of results: first half of July 2023
• Project start date: September 2023

Eligibility

Only applications that meet the following three criteria will be considered:

• The project must be led by a member affiliated with a research institution that is part of the consortium² of the experimental public institution. Support and Research s Units (UARs) may not apply as principal investigators under this call for proposals, but may participate as project partners;
• The project must aim to generate knowledge related to the exposome —i.e., any environmental determinant of human health —and fall within the thematic scope of the current call for proposals. This alignment must be evident from the project summary;
• Compliance with the PIA4 project funding rules as defined by the ANR (see https://anr.fr/fr/rf/) and those set forth in this call for proposals (see above).

Selection Criteria

Projects are evaluated in a single stage based solely on the submitted application (there is no round of responses to reports or interviews). The evaluation consists of a scientific component, which accounts for two-thirds of the total score, and a non-scientific component, which relates to the Institute’s and the site’s strategy.

The scientific evaluation will be conducted independently by two anonymous external reviewers, who may be selected from among the suggestions requested in the application, and who will assess the following aspects of the submitted project:

• its scientific merit and originality,
• its methodological strengths,
• its potential for impact (both fundamental and applied),
• its feasibility (in terms of the partners, timeline, and budget presented).

The quasi-scientific evaluation will be conducted jointly by two members of the COER and will aim to highlight the following qualities:

• interdisciplinary collaboration, the establishment of new partnerships,
• the One Health approach, global health,
• partnerships in the Global South,
• the potential for health applications,
• the application of the findings to education and science-society dialogue,
• Leveraging local and regional resources, as well as other projects—whether submitted or in progress—within the ExposUM scope.

Commitments of the Carrier

• comply, 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, and the ExposUM Institute in all documents related to the project’s implementation,
• submit tothe Institute a midterm report and another report no later than two months after the project’s completion (financial statement and summary report), which may be used in the University’s communications materials in accordance with a template provided with the notification letter,
• Apply the currentUM publication guidelines to all scientific output; comply with the provisions related to open science and the Law for a Digital Republic (open access publication). The directors of laboratories under the supervision of UM will deposit the full text of publications in the HAL open archive— UM,
• 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.).

Results

Scope of the Call for Proposals

The ExposUM Institute’s first call for research proposals (AAP-R) was open for submissions from December 9, 2022, to April 7, 2023. The theme of this call for proposals, proposed by the ExposUM Institute’s Research al Orientation & Evaluation Council (COER) and approved by its Scientific & Strategic Orientation Council (COSS), was the emerging exposome.

Under this call for proposals, the ExposUM Institute received a total of 38 research projects, but funding was available for only 7 of them.

Selected Projects

1. CIRAD, CNRS, Ifremer, INRAe, Inria, Inserm, IRD, ENSCM, Institut Agro, Montpellier University Hospital, ICM, Occitanie Region. ↩︎
2. See the list of eligible UMRs and platforms on the last page ↩︎

Keywords: Call for Proposals, I-SITE, Research