AIMS for Excellence
AIMS for Excellence
The committee will consider all exceptional proposals in biomedical sciences, including those submitted by applicants from any Lebanese University. Special emphasis will be put on applications that align with the four major topics that were identified as strategically important for Lebanon, its environment and global human health. Priority will be given to creative projects that involve multiple investigators from different universities with outside collaborators, and that span disciplines and conventional fields. Theoretical studies are also welcomed. Our formula for Educational Excellence is E2 = AIMS.
Aging and Atherosclerosis
Ageing is a major risk factor for the development of several diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of mortality in the world. The committee encourages applications that facilitate bench-to-bedside discoveries from basic and applied research in ageing into novel therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of clinical conditions related to ageing and/or multiple chronic conditions in older people (e.g., atherosclerosis, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), immunosenescence, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, sarcopenia, and cancer). This includes the development of novel strategies, compounds (e.g., modulators of proteostasis and autophagy, senolytics, anti-inflammatory), natural products, biologics, stem/progenitor cell-based therapies, and the repurposing of currently approved drugs.
Infection and Immunology
This includes Immuno-Oncology, Transplant and Auto-immune disorders. The committee will support research that may revolutionize patient care through use of state-of-the-art technologies for molecular profiling, early disease detection, prognostic/predictive biomarkers, vaccine development and novel target identification, and patient selection. The committee is interested in personalized medicine, novel immunotherapy approaches, and creative strategies to improve safety and efficacy of organ transplantation including stem cell transplant. Proposals in oncological tumors with unmet medical need such as pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma multiforme and TP53 mutated tumors are encouraged.
Mediterranean Sciences
The committee is interested in funding two major types of projects:
- Projects that aim to enhance our understanding of the underlying pathology, biology and that will ultimately lead to the development of novel therapies for diseases that are specific and/or common in the Mediterranean region such as Behcet’s disease, Sickle cell disease, Thalassemia.
- Projects that facilitate the planning and designing of the Diaspora For Lebanon Center for Mediterranean Research Excellence (DLCMRE). DLCMRE Planning Grants are encouraged to link with and capitalize on the country's existing and potential research capabilities and develop a plan to coordinate the basic, translational, clinical, and population science research in Lebanon and the region. These capabilities include and are not limited to research programs, population cohorts, HIV-AIDS, COVID-19 and other infectious disease programs, drug and vaccine delivery programs, screening programs, and tobacco control programs.
ObeSity
The prevalence of obesity in children and adults worldwide has dramatically increased in the past four decades. Obesity is a major contributor to many serious health conditions that increase morbidity, mortality and reduce quality of life. The committee is interested in application that seek to discover fundamental biological processes that regulate body weight and influence behavior, understand the factors that contribute to obesity and its consequences, design and test new interventions for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, evaluate promising strategies for obesity prevention and treatment in real-world settings and diverse population, harness technology and tools to advance obesity research and improve healthcare delivery, and facilitate integration of research results into community programs and medical practice. Prevention of diseases either primary or secondary is key to sustained healthy societies. Therefore, at least one of the funded projects in each of the four AIMS will go to support prevention studies for detection, early intervention, relapse prevention using state-of-the-art methodologies and novel therapies.
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