ARCHIVIERT / ME/CFS Call 2026 - Fellowships

This is a call for early career ME/CFS researchers to conduct a six month research stay at a research organisation in Vienna, Lower Austria or abroad.

Call Facts

This is a call for early career ME/CFS researchers to conduct a six month research stay at a research organisation in Vienna or abroad.


Scope of the Call            
This call is open to early-career ME/CFS researchers seeking to undertake a six-month research stay in Vienna, Lower Austria or abroad. The ME/CFS Fellowship programme aims to strengthen the ME/CFS community by supporting excellent young scientists and promoting the exchange of expertise. The programme provides a stipend for fellows to learn new methods and techniques in renowned laboratories in Vienna or abroad. The fellowship should help young researchers forge and strengthen international connections early in their career.

Who can apply?
Project Duration
Funding             
Timeline            
Process

All interested parties (both potential fellows and hosts) are encouraged to register on the following matchmaking platform: https://www.b2match.com/e/me-cfs-fellowship/

Call Specifications

Call Specifications

About

This document specifies the process, criteria, and instrument of this call. It is aimed at applicants wishing to submit a proposal in the ME/CFS Call 2026 - Fellowships call. For further information regarding the funding and submission guidelines, as well as references to WWTF policies, please consider the following documents:

Submission Guideline Guide to creating, editing and submitting a proposal
WWTF Funding Guideline General guideline for WWTF funding activities (German only)
Guideline for Good Scientific Practice Guidelines by the Austrian Agency for Research Integrity
Open Science Policy Open Science Policy of WWTF
Gender Equality Strategy & Plan Gender Equality Strategy & Plan of WWTF
Accounting Guideline Specifies accounting for funded projects (German only)
Call Specifications

Scope of the call

This call is issued within the WWTF "Additional Measures" (“Ergänzende Instrumente”) specified in the WWTF Funding Guideline 

This call is open to early-career ME/CFS researchers seeking to undertake a six-month research stay in Vienna, Lower Austria or abroad. The ME/CFS Fellowship programme aims to strengthen the ME/CFS community by supporting excellent young scientists and promoting the exchange of expertise. The programme provides a stipend for fellows to learn new methods and techniques in renowned laboratories in Vienna or abroad. The fellowship should help young researchers forge and strengthen international connections early in their career.

Why ME/CFS?

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex and poorly understood chronic disease. As part of the family of post-acute infectious diseases, it is characterised by a wide range of complex and serious, debilitating conditions with a variety of symptoms. This includes the cardinal symptom post-exertional malaise. Other symptoms like sleep dysfunction, pain, neurological/cognitive manifestations, as well as autonomic, immunological, and neuro-endocrinological symptoms are part of ME/CFS. Individuals with ME/CFS often do not return to pre-disease levels of activity. The cause of ME/CFS is currently unknown. ME/CFS affects individuals of all ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic groups. It is estimated that in Austria up to 80,000 patients suffer from ME/CFS, with women being more likely to be diagnosed than men.

The focus of this fellowship is on learning and exchange of techniques that advance the understanding of post-acute infectious diseases such as ME/CFS. However, grantees investigating other post-acute infectious diseases that show substantial post-exertional malaise in their phenotype are also eligible for funding. Please note that researchers solely addressing observational projects in clinical settings and health service research do not fit the scope of this call.

Phenotypic Characteristics

ME/CFS: The definition of ME/CFS must align with one or more of the following international consensus criteria:

Post-acute infectious diseases (PAIS): Other post-acute infectious diseases may also be investigated as part of the proposed fellowship. Recent research has shown significant overlap in the biological mechanisms between a wide range of post-acute infectious diseases. Early career researchers investigating other post-acute infectious diseases (e.g., long COVID) are therefore also eligible to apply for this fellowship . To be included in the scope of this call, the disease to be studied must meet the phenotypic criteria of post-exertional malaise as defined by one of the above-mentioned international consensus criteria.

ME/CFS Fellowship: What we expect

Early career researchers who wish to apply in this call must either: 1) be currently based at a university or non-university research institution in Vienna or Lower Austria and seek to conduct a research stay outside of Austria; or 2) be currently based outside of Austria and seek to conduct a research stay at a university or non-university research institution in Vienna or Lower Austria.

The aim of this call is to strengthen the ME/CFS research community globally, with a particular focus on Vienna. Through the fellowships, early career researchers should:

Important Technicalities

Community Building 

Funded fellows will participate in WWTF and WE&ME public relation activities to promote the outcomes of this call. This includes featuring research projects online, contributing to other multimedia activities and/or presentation of their research work at stakeholder meetings relevant. To strengthen the ME/CFS research community, funded fellows will also be invited to participate in further community-building activities.

Call Specifications

Financing of this call

This call is co-financed by four parties:

Up to two additional fellowships can be financed by the State of Lower Austria on top of the regular WWTF budget, if recommended by the international jury.

Call Specifications

Submission

All applications must be written in English.

For the submission of the application, please go to the WWTF Funding Portal.

Important information for your submission

Application deadline: February 2nd, 2026, 2 pm CET

The following are mandatory for submission of the application:

Call Specifications

Eligibility of applicants

The general eligibility of applicants is specified in the WWTF Funding Guideline (German only)

We do not allow for local fellowships. Our fellows need to make a international movement: if you are located at a research institution in Vienna or Austria you have to go abroad. If you are located outside of Austria, you have to come to a Vienna research institution

Call Specifications

Eligible costs

The total budget for the fellowship is €40,000, which will be paid to the home/host institution in Vienna. All costs that are directly attributable to the fellow's activity and are regarded as commonly required in the respective scientific field are eligible for funding. Please also consider the internal guidelines of the home/host institution in Vienna for eligible expenses/costs. 

Personnel costs

WWTF is dedicated to funding researchers. Hence, the larger share of the fellowship's budget should be allocated to personnel costs. 

Non-personnel costs

Running costs for basic infrastructure (telephone costs, rent) as well as costs for the acquisition of infrastructure and basic equipment are not eligible for funding. The following categories of non-personnel costs are eligible for funding:

Non-personnel costs should not exceed 30% of the overall budget.

Indirect costs (overheads)

 WWTF does not pay overhead costs in this call

Call Specifications

Content and structure of the proposal

Proposal (For more details, please see Submission Guideline)

Lay description of your Fellowship activities

Detailed description of your Fellowship activities (Goal, Contribution to your academic career, etc) and LOI upload 
Budget overview
Signatures: required from the institutions (research insitution located in Vienna (either Host or Home Instiution)
Call Specifications

Funding and evaluation criteria

The following criteria are used in the evaluation.

The key criteria in the evaluation of proposals are the applicant's academic potential, the additionality and strategic value for their individual research trajectory, and the quality of the applicant-host complementarity.

Please note that career breaks such as for parental leave, care duty and prolonged illness will be taken into account in the evaluation of the proposals. In order for these to be considered, please provide the relevant time periods.

Call Specifications

Gender aspects in the application phase

WWTF’s Gender Strategy and Gender Equality Plan must be considered throughout the application. Please note, that WWTF requests jury members to take into account both gender and specific roles in research team composition, as well as gender in research content during evaluation processes. Besides taking the academic age and atypical career paths into consideration.

Call Specifications

Guidelines for good scientific practice and ethics

Compliance with the rules for good scientific practice, including the observance of ethical aspects in research, is mandatory. This pertains to the application process and, in case of funding, the actual research work. WWTF is member of the OeAWI and processes apply accordingly.

Your research may include ethical aspects that require the approval from an ethics committee/institutional review board.

Call Specifications

Open Science

WWTF requires compliance with its Open Science Policy. This document outlines the rights, roles and responsibilities of WWTF, researchers, and research organizations.

Call Specifications

Use of generative AI in the application process

WWTF recognizes that the use of genAI tools is pervasive and can facilitate proposal writing, for example in relation to improving written language. However, substantial use of genAI must be declared as such for the sake of transparency. 

“Substantial use” is defined in line with the European Commission’s definition: “[…] using generative AI as a basic author support tool is not a substantial use. However, interpreting data analysis, carrying out a literature review, identifying research gaps, formulating research aims, developing hypotheses, etc. could have a substantial impact.” (EC 2024: Living Guidelines on the responsible use of generative AI in research.)  

This mainly concerns critical parts of scientific relevance, such as hypothesis formulation and the scientific project plan. Applicants will be required to provide statements on the use of generative AIs at both the short and full proposal stages. WWTF emphasizes the importance of human responsibility for the content submitted at all stages of the application process. 

WWTF does not allow the use of genAI in the evaluation process.

Call Specifications

Selection and decision process

The core element of WWTF’s decision-making processes is an international jury mandated to make a funding recommendation to the WWTF boards.

Formal eligibility check by WWTF

WWTF office conducts a formal eligibility check of the application based on the criteria outlined in the WWTF Funding Guideline. Substantial deficiencies and missing sections in the application will lead to the exclusion of the application from further evaluation and rejection on formal grounds. The strict timeline of the call does not allow for applications to be sent back to the applicants for amendments.

Evaluation of applications

Formal funding decision

The jury recommendation will be formally confirmed first by the WWTF Advisory Board and then approved by the WWTF Board of Directors.

Call Specifications

Funding contract

In case of funding, WWTF office will contact the applicants to draw up the funding contract. 

Call Specifications

Public relations and community activities

Funded fellows will participate in WWTF and WE&ME public relation activities to promote the outcomes of this call. This includes featuring research projects online, contributing to other multimedia activities and/or presentation of their research work at stakeholder meetings relevant. To strengthen the ME/CFS research community, funded fellows will also be invited to participate in further community-building activities.

Call Specifications

Monitoring and reporting

Funded fellows are committed to delivering one final report and participating in evaluation and monitoring. The Fellowships must conclude the latest by December 2026 (no extensions will be granted).

Details: Accounting Guideline and Reporting Guideline.

Submission Guideline

This application must be submitted by the early career researcher. In order to submit the proposal, WWTF requires a letter of intent (LOI) from the host institution and a signature from the authorising person at the Viennese institution involved (either host or home institution).

Submission Guideline

Register & Login

Register 

Please complete your profile as early as possible because your profile information is used in the other parts of the proposals.

Login

Submission Guideline

Create a new proposal

  1. Go to “Calls” in the top menu
  2. Select the ME/CFS Call 2026 "ME/CFS Fellowships" Call
  3. Click “Create new proposal” à a new proposal will be created. Please note that a maximum of one application per applicant is permitted in this call.
  4. Once created, you will find your application under “My Proposals & Roles” in the top menu. You can delete your application at any time. Applications that are not submitted will be deleted automatically after the submission deadline.

The Funding Portal will save your entries and changes automatically. You can pause data entry at any time. All information will be available again upon your next login.

Submission Guideline

Provide your personal data

Step 1: Go to “Personnel and Institutions”

Step 2: Complete your “Profile”

Applicants need to complete the section “My Profile”

  1. Go to the tab “My Profile” in the top menu to fill out or update your profile. This information needs to be entered only once.
    • Please upload or update your CV based on the template provided: wwtf_cvtemplate_project.docx
    • This is a standardized CV for WWTF projects. Please delete the section not relevant for your application accordingly.

Step 3: Complete your “Role”

Submission Guideline

Curriculum Vitae and List of Publications

Please use the CV template provided. This is the correct template:"All other calls: wwtf_cvtemplate_project.docx". Please remove or rename the categories not relevant for your application

Do not exceed 2 pages for the CV, as the system will not accept the upload of documents longer than 2 pages

Submission Guideline

Fill out the proposal

The proposal can be accessed under"My Proposals and Roles" in the top right menu. 

The proposal is comprised of five chapters (each under a tab):

A chapter with a red alert symbol indicates that it is incomplete. Within the marked chapter, click on the red symbol(s) beside individual sections to highlight the fields requiring attention.  A green checkmark symbol indicates that the information in the chapter is complete.

Please note that the symbols might not refresh immediately even if the information in the chapter is complete. Changing to another chapter and going back to the other will refresh the symbol. 

Submission Guideline

Chapters to fill out

Basic Information

This chapter contains basic information about the proposal, including title, scientific disciplines involved, keywords and duration.

Please note:

Personnel and Institutions

This chapter contains information about the applicant and the host institution

Project

In this chapter, details about the Fellowship will be asked

Lay summary of your Fellowship activities: Please provide a description of your Fellowship that is suitable for the general public. This will primarily be used by WWTF for communicating your work to non-experts for fundraising and public relations purposes. (1,000 characters)

Scientific description of your Fellowship activities: Please provide a concise scientific abstract of the project. (2,000 characters)

Expertise: This section should primarily focus on you as the researcher, demonstrating your capability, maturity, and suitability for the proposed fellowship. What key skills and knowledge do you currently possess that are essential for successfully executing the fellowship? How does your past experience and current expertise specifically prepare you to perform your work during the time of the fellowship? (5,000 characters)

Workplan: Reflect on (1) What do you want to achieve, (2) Why the work you will do during your fellowship is important for your field and (3) What specific new research methods, techniques, or tools will you be able to acquire or master during the fellowship? What is the timeline for your fellowship? (7,000 characters)

Career Aspects: How does the fellowship fit into your long-term academic goals? How do you expect this fellowship to accelerate your career trajectory and your professional network? (5,000 characters)

Ethical considerations: Indicate if ethical approval of an ethics committee or institutional review board is required for the project. If so, please describe the potential ethical aspects and upload the ethical approval(s) as a single PDF. There is no page limit for the approvals, but the document may not exceed 10 MB. If no ethical aspects are identified, please provide a brief statement. (500 characters).

Please note that potential sex/gender aspects of the research topic and should be considered throughout the application (see “Call Specifications” document). These should be briefly described where appropriate in the relevant sections. 

If ethical approval has already been obtained, please upload the appropriate documents. In case a new ethical approval is pending, an acknowledgement of receipt from the ethics committee/institutional review board must be submitted with the proposal. The final approval (“Votum”) must be submitted to WWTF at latest before the start of the fellowship.

Data Management: We encourage applicants to consider and briefly address the following points as appropriate (500 characters):

Use of generative AI (max. 500 characters)

Please describe if and how GenAI has been used in developing your research proposal. Please see further details here.

Budget

Please note the following guidelines for the budget:

Due to the budget size for the Fellowship, WWTF does not pay overheads in this call

Before filling out the budget, please ensure that all information relating to your profile, your role in the project, and the host institution has been completed. If this information is incomplete, neither you nor your host institution will be shown.

Personnel costs

Please be aware that the system automatically calculates the aliquot sums for your 6 month research stay

Non-personnel costs

Cost overview

This is where you see all budget divided into personnel and non-personnel costs. 

Explanation of cost planning

Disclosure of other applications for funding

Submission Guideline

Signatures

Applications require the signatures of the authorized person(s) at the home/host institutions located in Vienna.

Submission Guideline

Submit the proposal

Once all symbols in all chapters are marked by green checkmarks, the proposal can be submitted. The “Submit” button is at the bottom of the “Signatures” chapter. The PI&C will receive an automatic confirmation email when the Funding Portal receives the completed submission.

No changes are possible after the application has been submitted. After the indicated deadline, submission is no longer possible. Unsubmitted proposals will be excluded from the ensuing evaluation process and deleted shortly after the submission deadline.

You can access your submitted proposal as PDF on the page “My Proposals and Roles”. 

Submission Guideline

Contact

Missbach.jpg Liu.jpg

Benjamin Missbach | benjamin.missbach@wwtf.at | Tel.: +43 1 402 31 43 19

Grace Liu | grace.liu@wwtf.at | Tel.: +43 1 402 31 43 12

Contact

Missbach.jpg Liu.jpg

Benjamin Missbach | benjamin.missbach@wwtf.at | Tel.: +43 1 402 31 43 19

Grace Liu | grace.liu@wwtf.at | Tel.: +43 1 402 31 43 12