NIHR Research Support Service
Bea ShelleyHow the NIHR Research Support Service can help mental health researchers develop great research ideas into strong funding proposals.
All posts by Bea Shelley
Communications coordinator for the Mental Health Research Incubator and the Emerging Minds Network.
Fully-funded PhD in Mental Health Research for Health Professionals at KCL – apply now
Applications are now open for October 2026 entry in the King’s PhD Programme in Mental Health Research for Health Professionals! This programme is funded by Wellcome and King’s College London, and means that successful applicants will have full home (UK) fees paid for, and a salary matched to the applicant’s clinical salary for three years…
MQ Mental Health launches call for 2026 Fellowship funding
MQ Mental Health will be accepting expressions of interest for the 2026 MQ Fellowships! The MQ Fellowships are very much aimed at researchers who are looking to launch their independent research career or set up their own lab. The grants of up to £250,000 over three years are for early career researchers (3-7 years post…
Reflecting on mixed methods in mental health research
In our recent webinar, we convened a panel to discuss how to advance mixed methods in mental health research. In this article, Dr Ola Demkowicz reflects on key themes in the original BMJ paper, the webinar discussion and suggests some calls to action for the field as a whole. Mental health and the systems around…
Advancing mixed methods in mental health research – why and how?
In today’s MHR Incubator webinar, a mixed panel of experts are gathering to discuss the importance, the challenges and ways forward to progressing mixed methods mental health research. Here Dr Ola Demkowicz, co-author of a recent paper on the topic, sets out some of the key ideas. Mental health and the systems around mental health…
RSS Fellowship application day 2025! – 17 September
Applying for a research fellowship is competitive! This free event gives you the information you need to improve the quality of their application, making sure it is focused on what NIHR and their reviewers are looking for. The Fellowship Application Day aims to prepare applicants who are intending to apply in the next year to…
Share your perspective: Searching, unpacking and naming research into subjective experiences – SUNRISE study, deadline 28 July
Can you share your perspective? The SUNRISE study team is exploring how research engages with people’s personal direct experiences of mental health problems as a source of insight and understanding. It’s clear that subjective experiences shape how researchers think, feel, and decide what questions to ask. Yet, this work remains undervalued in traditional hierarchies of…
Wellbeing for Researchers – free wellbeing training for researchers
Dr Cecilia Busari, a psychiatrist and mental health researcher, is offering a tailored programme aimed at research and academic colleagues who are interested in equipping themselves with wellbeing skills and tools to enable them to reduce stress, improve wellbeing and strengthen healthy performance to mitigate mental illness for better career success. Participants will be invited…
Funded clinical research delivery training for mental health professionals
Are you working in mental health? Are you interested in improving mental health care through research? Training in clinical research delivery is a vital step for mental health professionals to create system level improvements in mental health care and services. Join the webinar on Weds 7 May to find out more about the funded Masters’…
Fully funded MSc course in Clinical Research Delivery for mental health practitioners
An exciting opportunity for mental health practitioners who want to start or advance their career in clinical research! The NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration (MH-TRC) Mental Health Mission (MHM), in partnership with King’s College London and the University of Exeter, are offering 11 fully funded MSc courses in Clinical Research Delivery. The MSc online…
PhD and postdoc funding for addiction research
The Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) is currently advertising funding for two PhD studentships and a postdoctoral funding scheme for addiction science research. The deadline to apply for both opportunities is 13 March 2025. Find out more about the schemes on the SSA website: https://www.addiction-ssa.org/funding/
Funding call for proposals on the effects of digital tech use on CYP mental health from Huo Family Foundation
The Huo Family Foundation (HFF) is a grant giving organisation based in London. Its latest funding scheme calls for proposals investigating the effects of digital technology use on brain development, social development and mental health in children and young people (CYP). They welcome applications for Huo early-career fellowships, junior faculty research grants and special projects…
New investigator grant from MRC – neurosciences and mental health
The MRC’s new investigator grants support individuals who have not previously led a research team or been awarded a substantial grant as fellow or project lead. As such this ongoing funding opportunity could be a really great chance for researchers looking to transition to independence and lead their first research team! (But note, it’s not…
Next round of Mental Health Research Group funding – opens March 2025
NIHR’s Mental Health Research Group (MHRG) funding is a really interesting scheme to build research capacity in areas with significant mental health support needs. The idea is for institutions with low or no mental health research capacity (and close to areas of high mental health need) to partner with HEIs with more experience and expertise…
Writing retreats for mental health researchers in 2025
We are very happy to announce that we will be running not only one but two writing retreats for mental health researchers in 2025! New for next year is our fellowship application writing retreat, which will take place from 1-3 July 2025 in Gladstone’s Library, in North Wales. And following on from great feedback, we…
Funding for projects to improve PPIE – deadline 13 Dec 2024
New funding is announced for mental health research projects which improve patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE). This funding comes from the 3 NIHR Schools Mental Health Programme. They would like to support a number of projects to improve public and community involvement and engagement and will specifically address working with the most underrepresented…
Career Development Awards from 3 NIHR Schools Mental Health Programme – 15 Nov deadline
Career development funding awards from the Three NIHR Schools Mental Health Programme are open now to apply for until 15 November 2024. Proposals of up to £30,000 are invited and if successful, you’ll become a member of one of the NIHR Schools, and have a personalised training and development opportunities related to that. It’s a…
Eating disorders research grants from Medical Research Foundation
The Medical Research Foundation invites early- and mid-career researchers in the field of eating disorders to apply for grants of up to £100,000 to support their research. To find out more, please visit their website.
Funding for addiction services and research groups
Do you work in an addiction service? Or are you an academic researcher of addiction? The MHR Incubator is offering two distinct types of funded placement opportunities for addiction service providers and university research groups to host researchers. Through our placement and internship programmes, we’re seeking to enable you to ask and answer the right…
Funding for mid-career researchers to host an intern in your group
Are you an early-mid level career researcher? You can now apply to host up to three interns and gain valuable supervisory and grant application experience with the NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme. The scheme provides funding for early to mid-career researchers with a PhD (or equivalent demonstrable years of experience) to host up to three interns…
NIHR HTA programme – 2 commissioned calls for mental health research
There are a couple of mental health related commissioned calls as part of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) funding stream at the moment! Increasing the evidence about mental health nursing and the mental health nursing workforce: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/2489-research-in-mental-health-nursing-hta-programme/36407 (Deadline: Jan 2025) CBT adapted for autistic adults with a mental health problem: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/cbt-adapted-for-autistic-adults-with-a-mental-health-problem/36240 (Deadline: Nov 2024)…
Mid-week roundup 21/8/24: events, funding, & opportunities in mental health research
Welcome to your weekly roundup of funding, events, and webinars we’ve shared with our followers over @MHRIncubator. Here’s what’s coming up on the horizon for mental health research.
Mid-week roundup 7/8/24: events, funding, & opportunities in mental health research
Welcome to your weekly roundup of funding, events, and webinars we’ve shared with our followers over @MHRIncubator. Here’s what’s coming up on the horizon for mental health research.
Wellcome funding: accelerating scalable digital mental health interventions
Have you been involved in developing a digital or online mental health intervention? Wellcome Trust’s latest mental health call is looking to fund research to evaluate and further develop scalable digital interventions to advance early intervention in depression, anxiety and psychosis. Teams must have the research expertise required to drive the proposed research, an organisation…
Mid-week roundup 24/7/24: events, funding, & opportunities in mental health research
Welcome to your weekly roundup of funding, events, and webinars we’ve shared with our followers over @MHRIncubator. Here’s what’s coming up on the horizon for mental health research.
Research into mental health nursing – HDSR programme, 8 Jan 2025 deadline
The NIHR’s HDSR programme is one of the programmes part of NIHR’s current cross-programme call for research proposals into workforce mental health. HDSR funds rigorous research to inform the quality, delivery and organisation of health and social care services. It exists for providing evidence for NHS and social care decision-makers to inform the best ways…
Mental health workforce research funding – RfPB, 6 Nov deadline
RfPB invites proposals for research that improves the evidence base surrounding mental health nursing and the mental health workforce.
Mid-week roundup 10/7/24: events, funding, & opportunities in mental health research
Welcome to your weekly roundup of funding, events, and webinars we’ve shared with our followers over @MHRIncubator. Here’s what’s coming up on the horizon for mental health research.
Mid-week roundup 3/7/24: events, funding, & opportunities in mental health research
Welcome to your weekly roundup of funding, events, and webinars we’ve shared with our followers over @MHRIncubator. Here’s what’s coming up on the horizon for mental health research.
Addiction research is part of mental health research
By Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes, Chair of the Addiction Mission In May 2023, Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes took up the post of Chair of the Addiction Mission which is one of a number of Healthcare Missions (including one focused on Mental Health) being delivered by the UK Government’s Office for Life Sciences. Addiction to drugs such as…
Introducing… the Addiction Healthcare Goals
The health and wider societal costs to society in England of illegal drug use is approximately £20 billion per year, with the harms from alcohol use estimated to cost another £25 billion. These addictions are responsible for huge societal damage, lead to a range of further physical and mental health conditions and to substantial loss…
NIHR Mental Health Mission – what you need to know
The government wants to make sure that the NHS uses the latest innovations and creates a prime environment for industry to invest in the Life Sciences sector – its plans for that are summed up in a series of ‘missions’ for certain priority areas. Mental health is one of these areas, and so is addiction….
Weekly roundup 12/01/24: events, funding, & opportunities in mental health research
Welcome to your weekly roundup of funding, events, and webinars we’ve shared with our followers over @MHRIncubator. Here’s what’s coming up on the horizon for mental health research.
Mental Health TRC and Mental Health mission
The Mental Health Mission funding supports the existing NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration of 18 UK research centres to boost research capacity in mental health research. That means the creation of relevant training and and better systems to support industry led research and investment across the UK. Researchers – look out for more opportunities coming up this year.
We are continuing!
We’re happy to confirm that the Mental Health Research Incubator will be continuing in our mission to build a vibrant and supportive cross-disciplinary community of mental health researchers across the UK – hurrah! The coming years will see more cohorts of our GROW programme for postdoctoral researchers, as well as internship and placement opportunities, writing retreats…
NIHR blog: common characteristics of a great fellowship application
Leading public health researcher Professor Eileen Kaner chairs the NIHR Advanced Fellowship funding committee – so what better person is there to get the lowdown on the common characteristics of a great application. This is a must-read for any mental health researchers who are considering applying.
Mental health definitions contract opportunity at Wellcome – EOI by 13 Nov 2023
Contract opportunity for a mental health definitions project at Wellcome Trust
Research training for mental health workers in ARC North Thames
If you’re a mental health worker based in the North Thames region and you’re a little bit curious about how you might do more research in your role take a look at the one-day training at on developing your path in mental health research at ARC North Thames. The course was co-created by recipients of…
Local Authority Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration – deadline 23 Nov 2023
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is providing opportunities for individuals working in local authority settings to undertake short placements to enhance their careers and develop skills and capabilities to co-create research that is more meaningful and better connected with practice. The placements include funding of up to £15,000 per individual and…
PhD programme for primary care clinicians – deadline 20 Dec 2023
A PhD programme for primary care clinicians funded by the School for Primary Care (SPCR) and Wellcome Trust is now open for applications with a closing date of 20 December 2023. Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) are among the mental health clinicians who should definitely take note of this fantastic opportunity! The programme is currently being…