Kindness for Kids announces a PhD fellowship to contribute to therapy development for rare pediatric diseases.  The foundation is looking for a PhD project that develops or tests a new treatment, identifies therapeutic targets or employs a screening platform in the area of rare pediatric diseases using in vitro experiments. For the project to be eligible, patient biomaterials from EuroBioBank and/or RD-Connect should be used in the study.

Who can apply?

Students that plan to conduct their PhD at a European university

How to apply?

•      The application deadline is June 15th 2015

•      More information can be found here

Kindness for Kids Versorgungspreis

Application deadline is May 31st 2015.

The award is endowed with a maximal amount of 40 000 Euro.

The objective

A disease is defined as rare if there are fewer than 5 out of 10 000 persons affected. These people and their relatives often lead very restricted lives. The knowledge of several experts is required to diagnose and treat the disease. The lack of networks of doctors, therapists and patients, as well as limited knowledge of local health professionals complicate everyday life: patients have to travel over large distances in order to meet specialists, where they are often confronted with long waiting times and indifference. After a period of on average 7 years to diagnose a rare disease, the problem continues as treatments exists for only very few disorders.

With the Health Care Award Kindness for Kids wants to improve the condition of health care provision for children (0-16 years) with rare diseases. We are looking for interdisciplinary, innovative research projects which will help to improve the quality of life of those affected. The award is endowed with a maximal amount of 40 000 Euro.

What is supported?

The Kindness for Kids health care award funds the implementation of a project that aims to directly improve situation of children living with a rare disease through structural changes or with a new therapeutic approach. A scientific study should evaluate the concept and ideally lead to a publication by project termination (after 1 – 2 years). Selection criteria include:

• Concept novelty
• Sustainability of the project
• Dissemination of the new health care concept
• Set-up or integration of local, national or international networks
• Scientific approach
• Highly qualified applicantsh
• Participation of patient organizations

What is not supported?

• Literature research
• Basic research
• Clinical research
• co-funding only if the project to be supported by the foundation can be clearly defined and separated from the remaining parts
• symposia, meetings and conferences

Who can apply?

Students, health care professionals, medical doctors and scientists from universities, hospitals, research institutions and NGOs from Europe

How to apply?

• The application has to be submitted before May 31st 2015 as a pdf document via email to j.barske@kindness-for-kids.de
• The application can be either in English or German.
• Applications will be evaluated from an advisory board and results will be announced in July. The award ceremony will be at the annual conference of the German Society of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
• For additional questions please contact Dr. Julia Barske.

Support for communication and education projects in the area of rare pediatric diseases

Communication and education are key elements needed to address the challenges of rare diseases successfully. It is of particular importance to Kindness for Kids to connect policy makers and specialists with those affected. As such, contributions from policy makers, scientists and those affected are essential to improve the situation for children with rare diseases. Thus, Kindness for Kids aims to promote projects that foster communication between these three players. Specific knowledge transfer between the different parties can occur at conferences, symposia or training courses. Kindness for Kids wants to support five projects per year at maximum € 2000 each. Personal experiences are often the only source of information on the progression of a rare disease. Thus, the focus of Kindness for Kids lies in the passing on of patients’ personal experiences to scientists and the transfer of scientific findings to those affected.

Projects that can be funded:

Conferences, symposia, and training courses

Who can apply?

Representatives of patient organizations, medical doctors or scientists that organize a conference, symposium or training course

Application:

Required documents:

• Short description/concept of the project including a preliminary program (2 pages)
• Specification of costs (1 page)
• CV of the applicant/s (max. 2 pages per person)
• List of publications linked to the event or to a key person of the event (1 page per person)

The application can be in English or German. Page numbers are based on: font Times New Roman, font size 12, single line spacing. The documents need to be sent via email to Dr. Julia Barske (j.barske@kindness-for-kids.de).  An email will be sent confirming that the application has been received. The applicant(s) is responsible for the completeness of the application. Kindness for Kids will review and approve project applications. Funding will be provided in sequential order.