Research Funding

PsykForsk has established a rapidly growing research programme in innovative psychiatric treatments through competitive funding from regional health authorities, national funding agencies, private foundations, and international research programmes. This support enables investigator-initiated clinical trials, implementation research, real-world observational studies, and the training of the next generation of clinician-scientists.

To date, our research programme has secured more than NOK 43 million in competitive research funding, in addition to SEK 5 million from the Norrsken Foundation. The programme continues to expand through national and international funding applications.

KLINBEFORSK

PreKET – Ketamine Maintenance Treatment for Depression

Funding: Approximately NOK 25 million

KLINBEFORSK supports PreKET, a national investigator-initiated multicentre randomized controlled trial evaluating long-term maintenance treatment with intravenous ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. The grant also supports the establishment of a national clinical research infrastructure for rapid-acting antidepressant treatments through collaboration between hospitals across Norway.

Helse Sør-Øst Regional Health Authority (HSØ)

PsykForsk has been awarded multiple competitive PhD fellowships through Helse Sør-Øst, supporting investigator-initiated clinical research and implementation studies.

Current HSØ-funded PhD projects include:

• KetObs – Real-world observational study of ketamine treatment for treatment-resistant depression
• Subjective Roles in Ketamine Treatment – A PreKET subproject investigating subjective treatment experiences
• EMPATHY – Randomized pilot trial of MDMA-assisted therapy in young adults with chronic treatment-resistant depression
• MAT-MDD – The world's first clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for major depressive disorder

Together, these fellowships represent approximately NOK 16 million in competitive research funding.

Norrsken Foundation

Funding: SEK 5 million

The Norrsken Foundation supports the EMPATHY project, a randomized pilot study evaluating MDMA-assisted therapy in young adults with chronic treatment-resistant depression. This funding strengthens PsykForsk's international research programme in innovative psychiatric treatments and enables the development of future larger clinical trials.

Current Grant Applications

PsykForsk is currently participating in several major national and international funding applications to further expand its clinical research programme.

Horizon Europe

NeuroSync

NeuroSync is a collaborative European research proposal submitted to the Horizon Europe programme. The project aims to integrate clinical, psychological, neurobiological, and digital biomarkers to improve understanding of rapid-acting antidepressant treatments and support precision psychiatry through international collaboration.

Within only a few years, PsykForsk has developed a comprehensive translational research programme spanning randomized clinical trials, real-world observational studies, implementation research, national research infrastructure, and international collaborations. The combination of regional, national, private, and European funding has enabled the establishment of one of Norway's leading clinical research environments for rapid-acting antidepressant treatments and innovative psychiatric therapies.