Nieuwe aanvraag WAR – Vrienden van het Sophia

SUBSIDY PROGRAM SCIENTIFIC PROJECTS

Last updated: 06 August 2026

Every year, the Sophia Children’s Hospital Foundation (Stichting Sophia Kinderziekenhuis Fonds – the Sophia Fund) supports scientific research projects that contribute to healthcare for children.

Please note: In 2026, applications must be submitted through our new application portal (portal.vriendensophia.nl). You need an account to access the portal. Please read the information below carefully before starting your application.

Introduction

By funding scientific research projects, the Sophia Fund contributes to innovation and the best possible medical care for children. (Young) researchers, post-docs, and analysts employed by Erasmus MC Sophia Children’s Hospital are invited to apply for funding.

Applications are assessed annually by our independent international Scientific Advisory Council – SAC (in Dutch: Wetenschappelijke Adviesraad – WAR).

Who can apply

Project leaders employed by Erasmus MC Sophia Children’s Hospital or Erasmus MC. The young researcher or post-doc involved in the project is encouraged to present the research proposal to the Scientific Advisory Council during the second assessment round.
Applications must be supported by one of the department heads of Erasmus MC Sophia Children’s Hospital.
Project leaders/project groups who received funding for their WAR application in 2025 or 2026 are not eligible to apply in this year’s round.

Grant amount and duration

In general, 4 to 6 projects receive a grant from the Sophia Fund each year. No rights can be derived. The following grant amounts and project durations are applicable within the SAC funding program:

Maximum grant amount per project: € 350.000,- (including Erasmus MC overhead costs).
Projects may run for a period of 2 to 4 years.
- 2 years (for young researchers and postdocs);
- 4 years (PhD-projects);
In exceptional cases, smaller pilot studies with a shorter duration may be considered.
- 1 year (pilot study; only in exceptional cases).

How to apply

Applications must be submitted through our online application portal. You need an account to access the portal.

We recommend preparing your application in advance using the Word template – Application Form 2026. Please note that the Word document is intended for preparation purposes only. Your final application must be completed and submitted through the portal.

Before you begin, please read the Applicant User Manual (in Dutch), which explains step by step how to access the portal, complete the application form and submit your application.

After submission, your application will be sent to the selected Head of Department and subsequently to the Theme Director for approval. Your application and both approvals must be completed by 7 September 2026. We therefore recommend submitting your application well before the deadline.

Selecting a Head of Department for approval

If you work within one of Sophia Children’s Hospital’s six departments, select the Head of your own department. If you work outside these departments, please use the allocation below:

Your department	Select as Department Head
Orthopedie, Urologie, Neurochirurgie, Plastische Chirurgie, KNO en Kaakchirurgie, Cardio Thoracale Chirurgie, Oogheelkunde or Heelkunde	René Wijnen
Subdepartments of Kindergeneeskunde, Kinderdermatologie, Apotheek, Longgeneeskunde, Radiologie, Radiotherapie en Nucleaire Geneeskunde, Reumatologie, Virologie or Hematologie	Edmond Rings
Psychiatrie, Revalidatiegeneeskunde, Neurowetenschappen or Epidemiologie	Manon Hillegers
Intensive Care volwassenen, Beademingscentrum, Spoedeisende Hulp or Anesthesiologie	Brigitte Timmers
Klinische Genetica, Klinische labs, Ontwikkelingsbiologie, Neurologie, Kinderneurologie or Moleculaire genetica	Tjitske Kleefstra
Interne geneeskunde en MDL, Cardiologie or Maatschappelijke gezondheidszorg	Yvonne Louwers (until 30 September 2026)

Assessment procedure

The assessment procedure consists of two selections. The application can be formally submitted by the project leader with the approval of one of the department heads of Sophia Children’s Hospital and the Theme Director.

First assessment round – written proposal review

All submitted applications are first assessed individually by the council members based on the written proposal. The complete proposal must be submitted in English and should contain a clear and sufficiently informative structured abstract.

Applicants are asked to structure the abstract using the following sections:
• Background
• Aim and study questions
• International relevance
• Study design and methods
• Workplan and milestones

During this first assessment round, the council members evaluate the applications on scientific quality, innovation, impact, feasibility and relevance for pediatric healthcare. Based on the average scores of all reviewers, the 20 highest-ranked applications will be invited to present their project during the SAC meeting in November.

Second assessment round – presentation and final ranking

The selected applicants will be invited to give an oral presentation to the SAC committee during the November meeting. Preferably, the presentation is given by the young researcher or PhD candidate involved in the project.

Assessment criteria

Innovation – how does the project provide new insights?
Impact – expected benefit for patients and/or society.
Study design – quality of the methodology and work plan.
Feasibility – feasibility within time, staffing, and available resources.
Cost and gain – justification for Sophia funding and expected scientific or educational value.

Tips from the SAC:

Presentations should be designed for a scientific audience, including the research design and methods.
Clearly set out the milestones of your research in your application.
Ensure you have a representative sample size.
Clearly demonstrate how patients (and patient organisations) are involved in your research.

Molenaar Prize

As part of the annual SAC meeting, the SAC also selects the recipient of the Molenaar Prize.

This prize, named in honour of Professor Jan Molenaar, Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Surgery, is awarded to the most outstanding young researcher who has not yet obtained a PhD degree and who makes the strongest impression during the oral presentations.

The prize consists of a certificate and a cash award of € 2.000.

Reporting and accountability

Funded projects are required to submit annual progress reports;
Continuation of funding depends on approval of the progress report;
At the end of the project, a final report and financial accountability must be submitted;
Unused funds may be reclaimed by the Sophia Fund;
In publications of research for which a grant was received, mention should be made that the research was made possible by funding from the Sophia Fund. This applies not only to scientific publications but also to any other forms of dissemination, such as media articles, presentations, or public reports. A logo will be sent to you upon request for use in such communications.

Schedule

Period	Activity
May – September 2026	Preparation of grant applications using the Application Form for Scientific Projects (Word), submission through the online portal, and completion of the required approvals by the Department Head and Theme Director.
7 September 2026	Deadline for submission including approvals of grant applications via the Sophia Project Portal.
12 October 2026	Applicants will be informed whether their project has been selected for presentation to the SAC.
26 October 2026	Deadline for submission of PowerPoint presentations by selected applicants.
2 and 3 November 2026	Oral presentations of the selected projects to the Scientific Advisory Council (SAC). Preferably presented by the young researcher or PhD candidate involved in the project.
By31 December 2026	Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application.

Scientific Advisory Council

The Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) consists of independent international experts who assess applications based on scientific quality, innovation, feasibility and impact.

All members will be asked, prior to the meeting, to state any potential conflict of interest with a specific proposal, even though they are not actively involved in the research. If so, they will leave the room when the proposal in question is discussed. No correspondence with the council members about the evaluation of the project proposals or the procedure is allowed.

Name	Position	Area of Expertise	Institution
Prof. dr. R.J. (Rutger Jan) van der Gaag	Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council	Emeritus professor of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychiatry	The Netherlands
Prof. dr. C.K. (Kors) van der Ent	Professor of Paediatric Pulmonology	Pediatric Pulmonology and Cystic Fibrosis	University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
Prof. dr. M. (Mikko) Pakarinen	Professor of Pediatric Surgery	Pediatric Surgery	HUS Helsinki University Hospital, Finland
Prof. dr. G. (Gisela) Sugranyes	Child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychologist	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and IDIBAPS Barcelona, Spain
Prof. dr. E.M. (Essi) Viding	Professor of Developmental Psychopathology	Developmental Psychopathology	University College London, United Kingdom
Prof. dr. Chris Gale	Professor of Neonatal Medicine	Neonatal Medicine	Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Prof. dr. Anne Hilgendorff	Professor of Translational Neonatology	Fundamental research	Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg and Klinikum Oldenburg, Germany

Protocol

The presence of all council members is required for the meeting to take place.
Should one of the members be prevented, a replacement will be sought.
The exception to this rule is a cancellation at the very last moment. The chairman will decide upon the best way to proceed.
All members will be asked, prior to the meeting, to state any potential conflict of interest with a specific proposal, even though they are not actively involved in the research. If so, they will leave the room when the proposal in question is discussed.
No correspondence with the council members about the evaluation of the project proposals or the procedure is allowed.

Contact & support

For questions regarding the SAC procedure or applications, contact Yara Ciliacus (Project Manager) through projectaanvraag@vriendensophia.nl or call our office: 010 – 703 67 50.