JPND — Joint Programme Neurodegenerative Disease Research
Overview
JPND (Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research) is a European research initiative co-funded by EU member states and the European Commission, established in 2009 under the ERA-NET framework. It coordinates and co-funds transnational research calls targeting Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, Huntington’s, prion diseases, and related conditions, with 30+ participating countries as of 2024.
Structure and Funding Mechanism
JPND operates through transnational joint calls (JTC, or Joint Transnational Calls), in which national funding agencies co-fund multi-country consortia addressing shared research priorities. Funded categories include basic research into molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, translational research covering disease models, biomarkers, and therapeutic targets, clinical research involving trial platforms, digital biomarkers, and prevention, and health and social care research addressing care systems, patient registries, and quality of life.
Open Science Alignment
JPND has established an Ethics Board addressing open data and responsible conduct standards across its funded programmes. The programme explicitly promotes:
- Data sharing mandates in JTC project agreements.
- FAIR data management plans for funded projects.
- Alignment with EOSC and European open science infrastructure.
- Collaboration with EBRAINS for neuroimaging data sharing.
JPND is also a member of the EBRA (European Brain Research Area) project, which coordinated European and global brain initiatives including HBP/EBRAINS, ERA-Net NEURON, and ENIGMA Consortium.
Connections
Resources
- https://neurodegenerationresearch.eu
- https://neurodegenerationresearch.eu/initiatives/annual-calls-for-proposals/ (JTC funded projects)
- https://www.ebrains.eu (EBRAINS — key JPND infrastructure partner)