Finnish Brain Foundation research grant

Finnish Brain Foundation research grant

You receive a research grant of 2,000 EUR to 15,000 EUR for scientific research into diseases of the brain and nervous system, or closely related conditions. The grant is meant to buy you full-time research leave. If full leave is not possible, you can combine it with clinical, teaching or other work, as long as your project keeps moving. The money can also pay for research material or licence costs. You must use it within three years of payment. The Finnish Brain Foundation (Aivosaatio) hands out a total of 350,000 EUR in 2026. The money is split across funds for Alzheimer's and memory disorders, child and adolescent psychiatry (including ADHD), neurology (stroke, brain injuries, MS, Parkinson's, epilepsy), developmental disability, ALS, and, new for 2026, autism. Clinical research gets special weight in the 2026 round. The grant does not cover travel.

Who can apply

• Career stage: You are a researcher working on your PhD or in a postdoc phase (early research work after your doctorate).
• Where you research: You do your research at a Finnish university. If you are Finnish, you may also apply for research at a university abroad.
• Nationality: Any nationality can apply, as long as the research is at a Finnish university.
• Who applies: Grants go to individual researchers, not to institutions.
• Research topic: Your work must fit one of the funds on brain and nervous system disease (such as Alzheimer's, psychiatry, neurology, developmental disability, ALS or autism).
• One fund only: You can apply to only one fund per round.

How to apply

You apply through the foundation's online service in Finnish or English between 1 August and 31 August 2026. The deadline is Sunday 31 August at 23:59. A scientific expert panel and each fund's committee review the applications, and the foundation's board makes the final decision. All applicants hear the result in December 2026.