Horizon Europe: Opportunities for Digestive Health 

At UEG, we're passionate about advancing research in digestive health and want to support your innovative ideas. Our mission is to engage a greater number of digestive health researchers in Horizon Europe-funded projects. 

Have you found your relevant topic?
Contact us to discuss your project ideas and proposals. UEG is ready to evaluate your project proposal, join a consortium or help in the search for partners.

Here we highlight selected open calls under the Horizon Europe programme that may offer opportunities for researchers in digestive health. We encourage you to explore the list, as these calls can foster progress and breakthroughs in digestive health research.

Calls for proposals are funding opportunities issued by European Union institutions, agencies, and bodies.

All funding information and application procedures are available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, where you can also search for all calls relevant to your research ideas.

Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026

The majority of health-related Horizon Europe calls for 2025 closed on September 16, 2025. We expect the next calls to be announced in the Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2026. UEG will continue supporting research consortia in the pre-project phase through the UEG Start-up Grant, helping teams develop strong and competitive proposals for Horizon Europe calls. For the most current and official information, it's advisable to regularly check the Horizon Europe Funding & Tenders Portal and the Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) websites.  

Draft Horizon Europe 2026 and 2027 Health calls

The European Commission is preparing the Horizon Europe Work Programmes for 2026 and 2027, and, for the first time, draft versions are publicly available. The draft for Cluster 1 – Health currently includes the following indicative call topics with potential interest to our UEG research community: 

Destination: Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society 

• HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-STAYHLTH-02: Behavioural interventions as primary prevention for NCDs 

 
Destination: Living and working in a health-promoting environment 

• HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-04: Towards climate-resilient, prepared and carbon-neutral populations and healthcare systems 

 
Destination: Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden

• HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-01: Innovative healthcare interventions for non-communicable disease 

 
Destination: Ensuring equal access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality healthcare 

• HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-CARE-02: Personalised approaches to reduce risks from adverse drug reactions due to multiple medications 

 
Destination: Developing and using new tools, technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society 

• HORIZON-HLTH-2027-02-TOOL-01 (two-stage): Predictive biomarkers of disease progression and treatment response using AI for chronic NCDs 
• HORIZON-HLTH-2027-03-TOOL-04: Virtual Human Twins for integrated decision support in prevention and diagnosis 

 
Destination: Maintaining an innovative, sustainable and competitive EU health industry 

• HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-IND-01: Cell-free protein synthesis platforms for discovery and/or production of biologicals 
• HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-IND-03: Regulatory science to support translational development of patient-centred health technologies 

 
You can use the draft work programme to get an early sense of priorities and start shaping your strategy, but plan cautiously, as topics and budgets may still change before the final publication. 

European Research Council (ERC) Work Programme 2026

The European Research Council (ERC) has released its ERC Work Programme 2026, introducing streamlined application processes and broader access. Researchers in digestive health, especially those proposing innovative and high-impact projects, may find strong opportunities. ERC grants fund investigator-led frontier research, so proposals must show conceptual originality rather than incremental clinical progress. The ERC supports frontier research through four main schemes:

• Starting Grant (STG) is for early-career researchers (2–7 years post-PhD), offering € 1.5 million over 60 months.
• Consolidator Grant (COG) supports mid-career researchers (7–12 years post-PhD) with € 2 million over 60 months.
• Advanced Grant (ADG) is aimed at established researchers with a proven track record, offering € 2.5 million over 60 months.
• Synergy Grant (SyG) targets collaborative, interdisciplinary research teams (2-4 PIs), providing up to € 10 million over 72 months.

Additionally, ERC offers Proof of Concept (PoC) and Public Engagement with Research Award (PERA) schemes to support Principal Investigators already holding an ERC grant. The PoC and PERA grants help grantees explore the commercial or societal impact of their findings. ERC grants are portable, allowing researchers to move their projects across European institutions. 

For more details, including specific amounts, maximum durations, and further information about each call, visit the ERC section on the EU F&T Portal. First calls might be out in July 2025, with deadlines from October 2025 to August 2026, individually for each call.

How the UEG start-up grant can support preparation for ERC grant applications

The UEG Start-up Grant funds early consortium-building for Horizon Europe-style proposals. Among ERC schemes, only the Synergy Grant is relevant, as it requires 2 – 4 Principal Investigators working together. By contrast, the Starting, Consolidator, and Advanced ERC Grants target single PIs and are therefore not suitable for the UEG Start-up Grant.
 

Calls under European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder Challenges 

The next opportunities under the EIC Pathfinder programme are expected to be announced in the 2026 work programme. For the most up-to-date information on upcoming calls, please regularly check the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and the EIC Pathfinder website.
 
The EIC Pathfinder supports early-stage, high-risk research and innovation projects with the potential to create breakthrough technologies. It is aimed at researchers, start-ups, SMEs, and consortia developing radical ideas in any field of science or technology. Projects can receive funding to explore novel concepts, proof-of-principle studies, and experimental development, often with a view to future commercialisation.
 
Given that EIC Pathfinder projects often involve multidisciplinary consortia, the UEG Start-up Grant is an ideal resource to support the formation of such teams, particularly in areas where gastrointestinal expertise is valuable.

Calls under the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI)

The next IHI Call 12 is scheduled for launch in early 2026. It’s a single-stage, applicant-driven call for large, cross-sector public-private consortia to tackle unmet public health needs.

Key eligibility criteria: 

• Addressing an unmet public health need
• Forming a large-scale cross-sector public-private consortium
• Clearly articulating societal, economic and scientific impact
• Ensuring that at least half of the project costs are covered by in-kind contributions from industry members and contributing partners

Looking for collaborators? Find your research partners on the IHI Brokerage Platform or reach the gastroenterology research community on UEG Connect. 
Join the online IHI Call Days on January 19 – 20, 2026 to learn about rules, finances, procedures, and take part in live Q&A sessions. 

IHI publishes draft information on future opportunities a few months before the official call launch. This is to provide you with additional time to find or build a consortium and prepare a strong proposal. It is essential to check the final, approved topic texts once the calls are launched at the IHI webpage or EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

As IHI is part of Horizon Europe, UEG will continue supporting research consortia in the pre-project phase for IHI calls through the UEG Start-up Grant, helping teams prepare strong and competitive proposals.

EP PerMed Research Innovation and Technology Call (RITC) 2026

The EP PerMed RITC 2026 call: Test and Demonstration of Multimodal Data Approaches for Personalised Medicine (MultiPMData2026), co-funded by the EU under Horizon Europe, supports multinational projects in personalised medicine that bring together enterprises, clinical actors (healthcare providers, patients), researchers, and non-profit/academic teams. Projects should focus on innovative solutions for multimorbidity management using multimodal data.

Online information day: October 28, 2025
Call opens: early October 2025
Pre-proposal deadline: January 12, 2026
Full-proposal submission deadline: April 27, 2026
Expected project start: end of 2026 / beginning of 2027

This call is not specifically focused on gastroenterology, but the UEG research community may still benefit. Multimorbidity often involves digestive diseases, so gastroenterology researchers can join consortia as clinical or academic partners. The UEG Start-up Grant can support the formation of such consortia and strengthen proposals.

EU4Health (EU4H) calls on different topics

On behalf of the European Commission, HaDEA has published new open calls for proposals covering nine topics under the 2025 EU4Health Work Programme, aligned with DG SANTE policy priorities. 

Below are selected EU4Health calls relevant to the GI research and UEG community, including digestive-focused topics and cross-cutting opportunities suitable for multidisciplinary consortia involving GI expertise. All calls are single-stage Action Grants (EU4H-AG), with EU co-funding covering 60% of eligible costs (up to 80% in cases of exceptional utility). Submission deadline: January 6, 2026. 

• EU4H-2026-SANTE-PJ-01 - Call for proposals to pilot and implement cancer screening programmes for gastric cancer (CR/CV&NCD -g-25-12)
• EU4H-2026-SANTE-PJ-03 - Call for proposals to pilot and implement cancer screening programmes for prostate cancer (CR/CV&NCD-g-25-14)
• EU4H-2026-SANTE-PJ-07 - Call for proposals for a programme on orphan medical devices, in particular targeting paediatric patients (HS-g-25-24)
• EU4H-2026-SANTE-PJ-08 - Call for proposals for health data for biotech innovation leveraging the European Health Data Space (DI-g-25-31)
• EU4H-2026-SANTE-PJ-09 - Call for proposals to contribute to the organisation of conferences (OA-g-25-33) 

UEG supports research consortia in the pre-project phase for these calls through the UEG Start-up Grant, helping teams prepare strong and competitive proposals.

EP PerMed Joint Transnational Call (JTC) 2026 – “Personalised Medicine for CARdiovascular, MEtabolic, and kidNey diseases” (CARMEN2026)

The European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed) – co-funded by the Horizon Europe programme – launches the JTC 2026 call to support multinational, innovative research projects in personalised medicine addressing cardiovascular, metabolic or kidney diseases. Projects should bring together academic, clinical/public-health and private-sector partners, and may focus on a single disease or explore combinations of the targeted conditions. 

• Publication of the call: November 25, 2025 
• Online Information Day: December 16, 2025 
• Pre-proposal deadline: February 10, 2026 
• Full-proposal submission deadline: June 9, 2026
• Expected project start: end of 2026/beginning of 2027 

Although not specifically targeted at gastroenterology, the gastro/hepatology research community may benefit. UEG Start-up Grant can support consortium-building and strengthen proposals. 

Didn’t find the right call for your project idea? Contribute to shaping future funding opportunities!

If none of the current Horizon Europe or related calls fit your research, there’s still a way to move your idea forward. The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) invites input from the wider health and research community, including the digestive health field, through their Ideas Incubator.

By submitting a topic suggestion, you can help shape future IHI calls and highlight the research needs of our community. IHI offers clear guidance on what makes a strong idea and how submissions are reviewed.

Submit your idea or learn more on the IHI website   

UEG provides start-up grants of up to €10,000 for initiatives focused on forming pan-European project consortiums. 

UEG is also interested in participating in EU-funded projects. To project consortia, the UEG can offer comprehensive partnership, aiding in the development and execution of their project dissemination strategies. UEG would be an excellent choice as a dissemination partner for research projects related to digestive health.

Project proposal coordinators have to contact UEG at least 8 weeks before the submission deadline for single-stage application processes or 4 weeks before the deadline for the second-stage phase of the application procedure. UEG commits to responding to your inquiry within a maximum of two weeks. 

We accept applications on an ongoing basis until UEG's capacity to participate in projects is reached. There is no set deadline. All applications will be treated confidentially and evaluated by experts from various disciplines within the UEG Research Committee specializing in digestive health. 

How to apply: 
To consider your application, we kindly request initial information to be sent via email to . 

Please use the UEG start-up grant application template, including the basic information and details outlined in the template necessary for assessing your application, such as: 

• Information on the project management team structure, work package topics, and their leaders. 
• A project description, its innovativeness, and the implementation roadmap from idea to impact. 
• Activities involving UEG and your expectations regarding UEG's active role as a dissemination partner in your project. 
• How your project aligns with UEG's strategic priorities and the priorities of UEG's member societies. 

UEG is actively engaged in advancing research within the digestive health field by participating as a key dissemination partner for various project consortia. Our role focuses on developing and executing effective dissemination strategies that communicate critical project results to the digestive health community, particularly targeting clinicians. As an expert in the field, UEG is ideally positioned to ensure that the impact of these projects is maximised by reaching the right audience.

A strong communication and dissemination strategy is essential for submitting a competitive project proposal, and UEG’s involvement can significantly enhance the chances of success. By planning a clear path to impact from the very early stages of your project, you increase its potential for long-term success. Discover more about the research projects UEG is currently supporting and how we are contributing to the future of digestive health.

Learn more