European Rare Diseases Research Alliance (ERDERA): Joint Transnational Call (JTC) 2026“Resolving unsolved cases in rare genetic and non-genetic diseases””

European Rare Diseases Research Alliance (ERDERA) aims to to further help in coordinating the research efforts of European, Associated and non-European countries in the field of rare diseases and implement the objectives of the International Rare Disease Research Consortium. 

The topic of ERDERA Joint Transnational Call (JTC) 2026 is: “Resolving unsolved cases in rare genetic and non-genetic diseases”

Suggested focus areas are:

• Functional validation to classify variants of uncertain significance (VUS) and increase the diversity of functional genomics research, or validation of candidate VUS to improve outcomes for a broader range of patients using in silico, in vitro or animal model systems (e.g. CRISPR modified cells, iPSCs, organoids, etc.);
• Use of multi-omics or integrative methods (e.g. transcriptomics, epigenomics, etc.) to resolve ambiguous or complex variants;
• New tools/methodologies not yet validated in clinical setting, including biostatistics, advanced bioinformatics, and mathematics approaches (e.g. variant effect predictors, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based annotation platforms, etc.);
• Systems biology and disease mechanism modelling;
• Integration of clinical, environmental, lifestyle, and sensor-derived data;
• Development of knowledge graphs or disease maps to link phenotypic and mechanistic insights;
• Use of advanced AI and modelling tools (graph ML, probabilistic causal models)

A consortium of 4-6 partners from a minimum of 4 countries is required. 

Funding: €140,000 total for the Israeli partner +€40,000 for coordination

Duration: 3 years

Research Authority due date: 5.2.26

Pre proposal (required) due date: 12.2.26