Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)

10/09/2026

🎥 The HFSP Frontier Workshop videos are now available!

From fossil records and paleo-genomics to AI, robotics and new computational approaches, the workshop brought different disciplines together to explore new ways of understanding the history of life.

The video collection is now available on YouTube and features presentations from the workshop.

▶️ Watch the videos: https://zurl.co/9ohVQ

Fossil and specimen collections housed at leading institutions worldwide constitute an irreplaceable archive of Earth’s history. Yet access to these resource...

08/09/2026

The HFSP Master Class is heading to Norway!

From 28–30 September, Norwegian scientists will gather in Oslo for three days of practical, hands-on training on applying for HFSP Research Grants and Fellowships.

Led by experienced HFSP reviewers, the Master Class goes beyond introducing our funding programs: participants work directly on developing their ideas and learn what makes a strong HFSP application.

The upcoming edition is supported by the Research Council of Norway.

📍 Oslo, Norway
📅 28–30 September 2026
👥 Participation by Invitation

Learn more about the HFSP Masterclass: https://zurl.co/7PR3d

07/09/2026

Evolution has been upgrading this tiny motor for millions of years 🦠⚙️

Bacteria swim using microscopic rotary motors that spin their flagella like propellers. HFSP-supported researchers reconstructed the motor of Campylobacter jejuni in remarkable 3D detail, revealing how evolution has recruited additional proteins to help it generate more torque.

The study offers a window into how complex molecular machines evolve by finding new uses for existing components.

🔗 Read the full story: https://zurl.co/9Cyir

02/09/2026

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Ada Yonath, Nobel laureate, pioneering structural biologist and longtime member of the HFSP community.

Ada’s extraordinary persistence in revealing the structure of the ribosome transformed our understanding of one of life’s most fundamental processes and ultimately earned her the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Her connection with HFSP began as a Program Grant awardee in 2003 and continued for more than two decades. She joined us for HFSP’s 30th anniversary in 2019 and returned to Japan for the HFSP Science Summit in 2025.

We remember a remarkable scientist whose career embodied the curiosity, courage and persistence at the heart of frontier science.
🔗 https://zurl.co/0wCox

01/09/2026

What happens when you invest in bold ideas, international collaboration and curiosity-driven science? 🌍🔬

The HFSP Grand Review 2025, an independent international evaluation carried out by Prognos and Digital Science, confirms the distinctive impact of HFSP-supported research across decades.

Among the findings:

🔹 More than 1/3 of HFSP-supported publications rank among the global Top 10% by field-normalized citation impact.

🔹 HFSP ranks #1 for patent citations from basic research, at 22.2%, among the international funders benchmarked.

🔹 HFSP supports conceptually novel, high-risk research that challenges established scientific paradigms and helps open new research directions.

🔹 International collaborations established through HFSP can continue more than a decade after funding ends.

The findings highlight HFSP’s distinctive role in supporting frontier research that crosses disciplines and borders — and in creating scientific impact that extends well beyond the lifetime of an individual grant.

🔗 Explore the findings and the HFSP Grand Review 2025: https://zurl.co/brgBl

28/08/2026

Mapping the avian brain with light 🐦🧠

There are around 11,000 bird species in the world, yet fewer than ten are commonly studied in neuroscience. That leaves a huge part of the story of brain evolution unexplored.
An HFSP-supported team is working to change that by developing an affordable, portable and noninvasive way to study brain activity in birds, using light.

Testing the approach in pigeons, the researchers used optical imaging to identify functional regions of the brain and map how they communicate with each other. When they compared the results with MRI, the two methods produced remarkably consistent maps.
The team is now taking the technology further, developing lightweight, customizable imaging “helmets” designed to eventually capture activity across the avian brain in 3D.

By making brain imaging easier to use across different bird species and settings, this technology could open the door to much broader studies of learning, memory, navigation and the evolution of cognition.

🔗 Read the full HFSP story: https://zurl.co/tj197

26/08/2026

📖 The HFSP Frontier Workshop Book of Abstracts is now available.

From fossil heritage and paleo-genomics to AI, robotics and computational approaches, the Book of Abstracts brings together the scientific contributions that shaped three days of interdisciplinary exchange in London.

Explore the abstracts from keynote lectures, invited speakers and selected oral presentations:
🔗 https://zurl.co/jrceG

24/08/2026

🎥 Missed a talk at the 25th HFSP Awardees Meeting or want to watch one again?

Presentations from are now available on the HFSP YouTube channel, giving you another opportunity to explore the frontier research shared by HFSP awardees and invited speakers in Geneva.
Catch up on the science, revisit your favorite talks, or discover something you missed during the meeting!

▶️ Watch the videos: https://zurl.co/wnYdH

Talk by Tom Rhys Bishop, Cardiff University, UK, at the 25th HFSP A...

20/08/2026

Can seals keep a beat? 🦭🎵

Harbor seals have some remarkable abilities when it comes to sound and rhythm. They can precisely control the length and pitch of their calls, alter their vocal tract while calling, and even produce rhythmic patterns by repeatedly slapping their flippers.

These abilities make them fascinating subjects for an HFSP-supported team investigating a bigger question: how did rhythm evolve as a tool for communication and social interaction?

Through the project “The Social Origins of Rhythm,” researchers are bringing together animal behavior, neuroscience, marine biology and music cognition to explore the building blocks of rhythm across marine mammals.

🦭 Discover more: https://zurl.co/YGf2M

18/08/2026

Three days of frontier science, new connections and a truly international HFSP community.

The 25th HFSP Awardees Meeting brought together around 220 participants from 29 countries in Geneva for scientific talks, lively poster sessions, inspiring lectures, and plenty of conversations in between.

Want to look back at ? Our full recap is now online, with links to the program, the Book of Abstracts, the photo gallery, and the videos.

👉 https://zurl.co/5gZKz