The FRFS and the WEL Research Institute announce the opening of the “WELBIO Investigator Programme” 2025 call, funded by the Walloon region, for strategic research of excellence in life sciences, with a view to translate discoveries into industrial applications in all fields of medical, pharmaceutical and veterinary biotechnology. This programme is open to researchers from the universities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation who are either established (Advanced grants, max. €350,000/year) or at the beginning of their career (Starting grants, max. €200,000/year). The budget of the call is subject to the budgetary decision of the Walloon government, which is still pending.
Context of the call:
The WELBIO (Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology) funding instrument corresponds to a strategic axis of the FRFS and a department of the WEL Research Institute. Through this instrument, Wallonia grants significant resources over several years to the Investigators within the WEL Research Institute to develop ambitious research programs that will lead to major scientific breakthroughs. These programmes represent a pillar of the Investigators’ laboratories and are flexible so the research scope can be adapted over time as needed. The applicants to this call must demonstrate a combination of scientific excellence, an awareness of unmet health-related needs in their field, and an understanding of the strategy required for translating their discoveries into practical applications which could be exploited on the market.
Timetable:
- Opening of the call: 12 September 2025
- Deadline for PI’s electronic validation: 28 October 2025
- Evaluation process : November 2025 – March 2026
- Communication of the funding decision: End of April 2026
- Start of the programmes: 1st of June 2026
Rules, mini-guide and templates:
- WELBIO INVESTIGATOR PROGRAMME 2025 Regulations
- WELBIO INVESTIGATOR PROGRAMME 2025 Mini-guide
- The call is opened on e-space
