Vontobel Award for Research on Age(ing)

Once a year, the UZH Healthy Longevity Center confers the Vontobel Award for Research on Age(ing) endowed by the Vontobel Foundation. Established in 2000, the award is given to one or more junior researchers for publishable or published research of outstanding quality in the format of an academic journal article.

The application deadline for 2026's Award is February 15, 2026.

The general aim of the award is to support the next generation of aging research in Switzerland. This includes encouraging knowledge transfer between research and practice, supporting the scientific evaluation of current systems and practices, and helping to disseminate scientific results to the general public to increase the overall understanding of aging and foster solidarity across generations.

Applications are open to junior researchers of any age who meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Currently employed and/or doing research in Switzerland
• Currently studying in Switzerland
• Swiss resident
• Swiss national

The term junior researcher refers to all graduates of higher-education institutions that have not habilitated or become a professor more than five years prior to the date of application.

Co-authorship on the work by persons who do not fulfill the criteria listed above is permitted. In case of more than one author, it is assumed that the first author has made the main contribution to the work. If the first author is not the or one of the person(s) applying for the Award, a written confirmation by the first author is required, stating that the main contribution was made by the applicant(s).

Past winners of the Award are not eligible to apply again.

The application deadline for 2026's Award is February 15, 2026.

Applications must be in English and include:

• A short cover letter by the applicant(s)
• An abstract with the title of the manuscript/published paper, but without the name(s) of the author(s)
• A copy of the manuscript/published paper
• A short CV for each applicant
• If the applicant(s) is/are not the first author of the manuscript/published paper, a written letter by the first author stating that the applicant(s) made the main contribution to the work

Only manuscripts in the format of an academic journal article that are ready to be submitted or are under review, and papers that have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals no more than two years prior to the date of the application will be accepted.

Please submit your application via Email to Sandra Jaster (sandra.jaster@uzh.ch) as one PDF file labeled in following way:

YourFirstName_YourLastName_VontobelAward_2026.pdf

Contact for more information:

UZH Healthy Longevity Center
University of Zurich
Stampfenbachstrasse 73
8006 Zurich

Tel. (+41) 044 634 45 59
Email: sandra.jaster@uzh.ch

The Jury consists of researchers from UZH and a representative of the Vontobel Foundation. Applications are reviewed by members of the Jury and a select group of independent external experts. The main review criteria are relevance, originality, methodology, completeness, and intelligibility.

The prize sum awarded amounts to CHF 30‘000. This sum is usually divided among at least two applications. The Award is given to the applicant(s) listed in the application letter and it is up to the winner(s) to decide on how to share the sum.

The Jury’s decision to confer or not an Award is final, unless it subsequently learns that an applicant was ineligible or a manuscript/published paper should have been disallowed (e.g., because the paper had to be retracted). No recourse to legal action is possible.

The award ceremony will take place on June 25, 2026 during the first day of the UZH Healthy Longevity Innovation Days.