Launch of €50,000 Grant for Doctors and Researchers in Alicante

FUNCOMA has introduced its 'Extraordinary Research Grant' programme, endowed with €50,000, aimed at promoting clinical research in the province.

The amount will be awarded to a single pioneering research project in the field of Medicine, of special relevance and clinical applicability. According to the terms, the applicant projects must have two principal investigators and collaborating researchers. At least "one of the principal investigators and at least half of the collaborating researchers must be registered doctors at COMA".

Additionally, one of the principal investigators must be "teaching and research staff in the province of Alicante, or research staff from the province's universities, public or private, with a Doctorate degree. Meanwhile, the other must be a doctor with a current contract at a healthcare institution in the Valencian Community."

The €50,000 grant must be exclusively allocated to expenses directly related to the development of the research project. The terms specify that it can cover, among other items, the acquisition of scientific equipment and essential materials, execution expenses, and obtaining bibliographic materials or publications necessary for the research. Expenses not directly linked to the project are expressly excluded from this funding.

Applications will be submitted electronically by a registered doctor through COMA's Single Window, an entity that can "review the compliance of the condition of being a registered doctor for principal and collaborating researchers and ensure that the presenter is also one." Interested parties must complete the application form available on this platform and attach the documentation required in the terms.

The requested documents include a detailed report of the research project, the CVs of the principal investigators, and certificates proving the contractual link of the principal and collaborating researchers with their respective healthcare or academic institutions. All documentation will serve to accredit the scientific merit of the team and the feasibility of the proposed project.

The deadline for submitting applications is open until 30 September 2025. During this period, interested teams can register their application on the platform. Once the call is closed, a Valuation Commission appointed by FUNCOMA will evaluate each proposal, ensuring compliance with the principles of competition, equality, and objectivity. Before 31 October 2025, the name of the winning project of the €50,000 extraordinary research grant will be revealed.

This extraordinary grant will be awarded at the first FUNCOMA Gala, to be held on 27 November 2025 at the Congress Palace of the Alicante Medical College. In addition to the 'Extraordinary Medical Research Grant', scholarships for stays at prestigious national and international institutions will also be awarded, classified into different categories: training for resident doctors (MIR), young specialists, and seniors.

Moreover, academic and professional excellence will be recognised for the best Doctoral Theses, MIR Curriculum, and Clinical Cases. The Navarro-Tripodi Foundation will also play a leading role in this Gala, where it will present its grants to promote medical research in the province of Alicante.

The COMA Board of Directors considers this project strategic to enhance local research talent and foster scientific advances that result in better healthcare. FUNCOMA promotes initiatives to add value to medicine and the health of citizens, consolidating COMA's role as a catalyst for quality medical research.

The Foundation is composed of the Official Medical College of Alicante, the University of Alicante (UA), the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), and the Department of Health of the Valencian Government.