The Board of Directors decided that 20 million ISK should be awarded to four ambitious projects in 2024 and that the grants would be awarded at the same time as the grants for projects were awarded. The grants were advertised alongside the grant applications for projects and the practice was that the incentive projects that did not receive the grants were automatically submitted to the Fund as applications for projects. The National University Hospital Scientific Council is responsible for and oversees the evaluation process for incentive grants and proposes to the Board of Directors.

Incentive grants 2024

• Hans Tómas Björnsson, Head of the Department of Genetics and Molecular Medicine and Professor at the University of Iceland. Name of project: Elucidation of transcriptional regulators of the mild hypothermia response. Co-researchers and collaborators: Kimberley Jade Andersson, Kévin Jean Antonio Ostacolo and Kijin Jang.

• Stefanía P. Bjarnarson, Physician at the Department of Immunology. Name of project: Is primary induction through the mucosal route superior to parenteral priming in a heterologous prime-boost immunization strategy to overcome limitations in memory induction during early life? Co-researchers and collaborators: Ingileif Jónsdóttir, Þórunn A. Ólafsdóttir, Jan Holmgren, Gabriel Kristian Pedersen.

• Sæmundur Rögnvaldsson, new doctor and special education doctor at the Department of Emergency Medicine and Rehabilitation. Name of the project: Use of single cell RNA sequencing for mapping the surroundings of cancer cells in the development of multiple myeloma. Co-researchers and collaborators: Sigurður Yngvi Kristinsson, Jón Þórir Óskarsson.

• Viðar Örn Eðvarðsson, Head of Pediatrics and Professor at the University of Iceland. Name of the project: Mechanisms of kidney injury in 2,8-dihydroxyadeninuria. Co-researchers and collaborators: Runólfur Pálsson, Þórarinn Guðjónsson, John C. Lieske, Óttar Rolfsson, Margrét Þorsteinsdóttir