Opportunities Update

Funding: Arts, Health and Wellbeing Lottery FundingMay

19/11/2025 12:00 am → 27/05/2026 1:00 pm Arts Council of Wales Post-doctoral; Open - 13 days to go

The aim of this programme is to support partnerships from across the arts, health, social care and third sectors to provide high-quality creative projects that deliver health and wellbeing benefits for the people of Wales.

The Arts Health and Wellbeing Fund is open to partnership bids from across the arts, health, social care, nature, environmental and third sectors. Projects that address one or more of the following health challenges and priorities are eligible to apply:

Mental health – including tackling loneliness, social isolation and social prescribing schemes that aim to build resilience and support better mental health;
Health inequalities – Arts projects designed to address health inequalities by bringing health and wellbeing benefits to people from more diverse and under-represented backgrounds;
Physical health and wellbeing – arts projects that support improved physical health or keep people physically active;
Staff wellbeing – within the healthcare and/or arts workforce.
Nature – projects that aim to improve people’s health and wellbeing by increasing their connection with nature through the arts.

If you’re applying for £50,000 or under (including additional access costs), we’ll try and get a decision to you within 8 weeks from the deadline date.

Applications requesting over £50,000 (including additional access costs) will receive a decision within 12 weeks from the deadline.

Eligibility

Applications should be developed by a partnership/consortium of organisations and artists and must include both a health and arts partner (as well as a nature partner if your project focuses on Arts, Health & Nature). One of the partners will need to assume the lead, submitting the application and acting as the accountable body.

Event: Wolfson Summer School 2026June

07/06/2026 12:00 am Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health, Cardiff University Pre-doctoral; Open - 23 days to go

The aim of the programme is to give prospective researchers from both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds a grounding in youth mental health research, focused mainly on the wide-ranging work we do at the Wolfson Centre.

The summer school is delivered by world-leading researchers based at the Wolfson Centre. They will lead talks and small group sessions in their areas of expertise, with a focus on understanding the causes of adolescent mental health problems that can inform new effective ways to offer practical help to young people.

The summer school includes talks on a range of topics in youth mental health research methods and findings, drawing on the disciplines of epidemiology, genetics, neuroscience and intervention development, including:

Challenges for youth mental health and the current landscape
Global perspectives on mental health programmes and policies
Preventing depression in youth
Mental health in schools and evaluation of complex interventions
Psychiatric genetics research in youth mental health
Suicide and self-harm in youth

The summer school also includes small group sessions on topics including research career advice, the importance of involving the public in research, and how researchers can help ensure findings are translated into government policy.

Funding: PRP (44-05) Neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams for children and young peopleJune

09/06/2026 1:00 pm NIHR Post-doctoral; Open - 26 days to go

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme (PRP) invites applications in response to specific research questions and priorities.

This project should address the following in respect to CYP with mental health, physical health and neurodevelopmental needs:

What impact do neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have on access to timely and appropriate support for children and young people (CYP) and families, including patterns of primary and secondary care use (routine, urgent, crisis and inpatient care)?
How do different configurations of MDTs (including depth of integration with children’s services, education and VCSE partners) influence access, outcomes and equity?
What is the role of MDTs in mitigating inequalities in service access and outcomes?

A mixed-methods evaluation is required to generate robust evidence on the impact of neighbourhood MDTs for CYP, with a particular focus on their mental health offer, which remains less well evidenced than physical health components. The research should inform future decisions about service models and investment by establishing whether MDTs improve access and coordination, reduce avoidable escalation to crisis and specialist care, and improve outcomes for children and families, including impacts on inequalities.

Funding: PRP (44-04) A service evaluation of CQC’s statutory Mental Health Act (MHA) dutiesJune

09/06/2026 1:00 pm NIHR Post-doctoral; Open - 26 days to go

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme (PRP) invites applications for a service evaluation of CQC’s statutory Mental Health Act (MHA) duties to assess current performance, identify gaps, and set out actions for reform, delivery and learning to drive improvement for CQC statutory duties under the MHA.

This is a two-stage, commissioned funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage, you should submit an outline application for a single project within the stated budget. If invited to the second stage, you will then need to complete a full application.

This service evaluation should assess the degree to which CQC is fulfilling its statutory MHA duties effectively, including the delivery and sustainability of MHA functions, the quality and consistency of monitoring visits and interviews with patients, and the efficacy of its complaints service.

Effectiveness may be assessed in terms of compliance with legal obligations, timeliness, quality and consistency of delivery, stakeholder expectations, and the extent to which CQC’s outputs drive improvements in practice.

Study design/ programme of work
Key research questions include:

Overall Effectiveness of CQC
Overarching service delivery
Service delivery – Monitoring
Service delivery – Complaints
Service delivery – Second Opinion Appointed Doctor (SOAD) service

Funding: Postdoctoral Award (Cohort 3)June

16/06/2026 1:00 pm NIHR Early career; Post-doctoral; Open - 33 days to go

The NIHR Postdoctoral Award is aimed at anyone with a PhD or a submitted PhD thesis under assessment who has not yet been appointed to a professorial post. This award provides funding to help you develop your research career across a broad range of postdoctoral career stages.

The award will support you to undertake research in any scientific discipline or sector. You’ll need to demonstrate a contribution to improving health and care within the NIHR’s remit.

The Postdoctoral Award also supports individuals who wish to develop their academic careers while continuing as practitioners, including health and care professionals and PhD holders in local authority settings.

This is a flexible award, and you are able to choose a duration of between 2 and 5 years Full Time Equivalent (FTE).

Eligibility

To be eligible for the award, you must:

hold a relevant PhD or MD, or have submitted your thesis for examination at the time of application. You must have been awarded your PhD or MD by the time you attend the interview
- if you hold a Professional Doctorate, you must contact us before you start your application and we will help to confirm your eligibility.
propose to undertake the award at a Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS body, Local Authority or other provider of health or social care services, either in England or a participating devolved nation
not already hold a chair position at the point of application
for clinical applicants, you must have completed relevant pre-registration training

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are not participating in Cohort 3.

Funding: Doctoral Award (Cohort 3)June

23/06/2026 1:00 pm NIHR Pre-doctoral; Open - 40 days to go

The Doctoral Award is a 3-year funding opportunity designed to support the career development of all health and social care professionals through PhD research. It provides comprehensive funding to support you in undertaking a PhD by research.

Funding covers:

the full salary of the award holder for the entire duration of the fellowship at the requested FTE
costs for the approved research project
associated conference fees
costs for a suitable training and development plan which will lead to further professional development.
working with people and communities costs

Eligibility

To apply, you must:

hold a 1st class or 2:1 bachelor’s degree or equivalent
- if you do not meet this requirement, you must normally have a masters degree
your proposed contracting organisation must be an English recognised Higher Education Institution (HEI), NHS body, local authority, social care organisation, or another provider of health or care services in England
- if you are applying to the Addictions Healthcare Goals Programme partnership award, you must have an equivalent UK-wide contracting organisation in the devolved nations
- if you plan to undertake clinical/practice time as part of your award, or your host organisation is not a HEI, a partner organisation must be listed in the application. For more information, read our choosing a contracting organisation page
you should have some prior research experience or research training
if you are already registered for a PhD, or MPhil with transfer to PhD, you must not have been registered for more than 12 months full-time (100% FTE) by the time the award starts
your proposed research must be within the NIHR remit

Funding: Using physical activity and circadian-based interventions to reduce anxiety and depression in young peopleJune

29/06/2026 3:00 pm Wellcome Trust Post-doctoral; Open - 46 days to go

This award will fund mechanistically informed trials of interventions for anxiety and depression in young people aged 10-18 years. Successful teams will build on existing mechanistic evidence to develop more precise and effective early interventions that have the potential to scale.

Up to £1-4 million per grant is available for interventions that improve youth mental health by targeting circadian rhythms (such as, but not limited to, sleep timing, sleep quality and daily light exposure) and/or physical activity (such as, but not limited to, aerobic exercise, dance classes, walking programmes and app-based exercise programmes).

Research projects are expected to:

Propose a circadian-based and/or physical activity intervention for young people between 10 and 18 years at risk of or experiencing anxiety and/or depression in the UK and/or Africa.
Provide existing evidence for the proposed intervention and a clear rationale explaining why this evidence is expected to translate effectively to the chosen population and age range.
Include measurement of both circadian rhythms and physical activity across the 24-hour cycle. While the intervention can focus on circadian rhythms and/or physical activity, both circadian rhythms and physical activity must be measured.
Outline a well-powered randomised controlled trial or an equivalently rigorous causal design to investigate hypothesised mechanisms of efficacy (these can be biological, psychological, environmental and/or social) and explain how the main components of the intervention are expected to produce therapeutic effects.
Meaningfully integrate lived experience expertise relevant to the research topic in the research team.
Include collaborations between diverse and multidisciplinary teams covering expertise in trials, mental health science and the science of circadian systems and/or physical activity relevant to the proposed work.
Demonstrate early thinking about how the intervention could be implemented, scaled, and adapted for real world use.

Funding: INSIGHT Programme
NIHR Pre-doctoral; Open-ended
Funding for a wide range of engagement activities and research masters places for current students and recent graduates within registered healthcare, social work and public health professions.

The INSIGHT Programme is led by participating institutions across 12 regions in England. These opportunities showcase the range of research careers available and can help equip you with the skills and training to undertake research. This includes careers combining research and practice.

To be eligible to apply, you’ll need to be: an undergraduate student, postgraduate student, or early career professional and working towards or have recently completed your professional registration with one of the approved regulatory bodies (not including doctors and dentists).

Eligibility

The research Masters places and opportunities are open to students and recent graduates from a diverse group of professions. Supported professions are:

nurses and midwives
allied health professionals comprising of:
- art, music and drama therapists
- dental care professionals
- dieticians
- occupational therapists
- operating department practitioners
- orthoptists
- osteopaths
- paramedics
- physiotherapists
- podiatrists
- prosthetists and orthotists
- diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers
- speech and language therapists
pharmacists
healthcare scientists
registered social work professionals
registered public health professionals
other registered health and care professions (not including doctors and dentists) that can register with one of the approved regulatory bodies

Healthcare scientists should be registered with the Academy of Healthcare Science, the Health and Care Professions Council or any other Professional Standards Authority-accredited register. If you are registered with any other professional body regulator, please get in contact with the NIHR before starting an application.

Funding: Wellcome Early Career AwardsJuly

21/07/2026 3:00 pm Wellcome Trust Early career; Open - 68 days to go

This scheme provides funding (your salary and up to £400,000 for research expenses) for early-career researchers from any discipline who are ready to develop their research identity. Through innovative projects, they will deliver shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing. By the end of the award, they will be ready to lead their own independent research programme.

You can apply to this scheme if you are an early-career researcher and you are ready to design, plan and deliver your own innovative research project that aims to:

advance understanding in your field and/or
develop methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques that could benefit health-related research.

During the award, we expect you to:

expand your technical skills and/or your experience of different research methodologies or frameworks
build a collaborative network with other researchers in your field
develop your people management skills
advance your understanding of how to complete research responsibly and promote a positive and inclusive culture.

Eligibility

You must have:

completed a PhD (for example, in the life sciences) or an equivalent higher research degree. You must have passed your viva examination by the application deadline.

if you have not started a PhD or equivalent degree, at least four years’ equivalent research experience (for example, in the humanities and social sciences).

You may also have some postdoctoral experience in your proposed field of study, but no more than three years at the point of the application deadline unless you can demonstrate how other factors have impacted on your research career. When we review how much postdoctoral experience you have, we will allow for part-time work, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, career breaks (for example, parental leave or long-term sick leave) and other significant amounts of time spent outside research (for example, clinical training).

Funding: Main grants – Tackling Child Abuse & NeglectSeptember

08/09/2026 12:00 am RS Macdonald Post-doctoral; Open - 116 days to go

We support organisations that provide services for children whose lives have been affected by physical, mental or sexual abuse. We also fund work that seeks to reduce the risk of abuse and create a positive environment for children growing up.

Of particular interest are targeted programmes that aim to prevent abuse and neglect, and work that addresses the behaviour of perpetrators.

We award our main grants twice a year. These are grants of more than £20,000, and are typically multi-year. For our next round, Autumn 2026, our Trustees will be looking to make 3-year grants of up to £55,000. This means that applicants can split the total request of up to £55,000 over 3 years, e.g. £18,250 per year, if this level of funding is required. We are still very happy to assess grant requests up to this figure, if that is a better fit with your costs/funding profile.

Eligibility

We provide around £4m in grants every year to charities working in Scotland.

Funding: Experimental medicine stage oneOctober

30/04/2026 9:00 am → 07/10/2026 9:00 am UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Post-doctoral; Underway

Apply for funding to investigate the causes, progression and treatment of human disease.

Your project must:

focus on a mechanistic hypothesis
include an experimental intervention or challenge in humans

You must be a researcher based at a research organisation eligible to apply for MRC funding. If you are taking the next step towards becoming an independent researcher, you may be eligible to apply as a ‘new investigator.

There is no limit to the amount of funding you can apply for or the length of your project. We will fund 80% of your project’s full economic cost.

Eligibility

To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work
be looking to investigate the causes, progression and treatment of human disease

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming that, if it is successful:

contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers

Parent Carer Research Network
MHID and the Charlie Waller Trust Any; Open-ended
The Parent Carer Research Network (PCRN) was set up to champion the voices of parents and carers in children and young people’s mental health research. It connects researchers with interested parents and carers who have lived experience with children and young people’s mental health and would like to become involved in research.

If you are a mental health or addiction researcher, you are able to send any opportunities to be reviewed and featured in the PCRN’s next newsletter. The network has been founded by parents with lived experience, the Charlie Waller Trust, and research teams at the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford.

The PCRN is a useful way to establish collaborative relationships, incorporate lived experience to your research and develop safe, inclusive and accessible research. Working with the PCRN provides support in developing your project and exploring funding sources, support with your application to work with the network and resources on good practice e.g. advice around facilitation and communication with parents and carers.

📧 You can also email the team at parentcarerresearchnetwork@psych.ox.ac.uk if you’d like to have a chat or discuss a potential opportunity

Eligibility

The opportunities (research or PPI) must be targeted to parents or carers, and there are a few steps you’ll need to carry out. They have also created a Guide for Researchers, containing important points to consider and a checklist summary of key reminders.

Funding: Housing, place and the built environment for an ageing populationDecember

08/12/2026 1:00 pm NIHR Post-doctoral; Open - 208 days to go

The NIHR’s Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research into the health and health inequality effects of housing and the physical and social aspects of place, on older people’s health, including mental health.

This is a 2-stage funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an outline application. If invited to the second stage, you will then need to complete a full application.

To be eligible for funding, proposed studies must:

- evaluate the impact of real-world interventions on health and health inequalities in the UK
- include interventions that are provided, delivered or funded outside of the NHS

be generalisable and have the potential to create impact at population-level

focus on the wider determinants of health with health-related outcomes
evaluate the impact of an intervention on the population

We frequently fund the following methods:

natural experiments
randomised controlled trials
non randomised studies (where justified)
mixed methods studies
feasibility studies
modelling studies
health economics modelling
cohort studies
intervention optimisation before evaluation

We will screen all applications to ensure that they are in remit and competitive. Any applications that do not fit the criteria will not be considered. We will let you know if this is the case.

To be within remit of the PHR Programme applications must be within the scope of the programme and give robust evidence for the need, value and importance of the research to the public. The primary outcome of a study should be a meaningful and justifiable health-related outcome.

Eligibility

You can apply to an PHR funding opportunity if you are:

a researcher with skills and experience relevant to the proposed study
based in the UK

Funding: Sir Halley Stewart Trust Small Grants
Sir Halley Stewart Trust Doctoral; Early career; Post-doctoral; Open-ended
The Trust has three priority areas: Medical, Social and Religious, with education being a central theme that runs across all grants. The Trust funds projects that focus on the prevention (rather than the alleviation) of human suffering

Up to £5,000 in total, is available; this should cover the entire project or be the major funding contribution. The total project should cost no more than £5,000. This grant is aimed at small scoping or pilot projects. A limited number of Small grants are awarded each year.

Small Grant applications are considered all year round and there are no application deadlines.

All Trust funded projects must have strong dissemination plans, to ensure a positive impact on the immediate beneficiaries, service-delivery partners, wider stakeholders and policy-makers. Appropriate evaluation plans must also be integral to project designs, as should demonstrable outcome measures and longer-term impact aims capable of monitoring and measurement.

Evidence of strong Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI), together with appropriate Safeguarding, are fundamental requirements for applications to be successful.

2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-05-1401:59:51 2026-12-31 00:00:00

Funding call: Courses and conferences for early career researchers
NIHR MH-TRC Mission Doctoral; Early career; Pre-doctoral; Open-ended
The NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration Mission (MH-TRC Mission) Capacity Development workstream presents an exciting opportunity for early career researchers linked to the MH-TRC Mission. To support your training and development we are launching a rolling funding call for fees and travel expenses to enable attendance at relevant courses and conferences. Applications are also welcome from PhD candidates seeking co-funding for PhD tuition fees. You can apply for funding covering up to 50% of PhD tuition fees (up to £15,000) provided you have already secured the rest of the funding.

We ask you to complete an application form below with details of the funding you require and how the PhD/course/conference relates to the objectives of the MH-TRC Mission.

Successful applicants must use the best value for money method of travel. Accommodation and subsistence (meals, beverages and limited incidental costs) should be in line with value for money principles, and claimants should not benefit.

All applications will be reviewed and applicants notified of the outcome on a monthly basis. We intend to have this rolling funding call open until 31 October 2027.

Eligibility

Funding requests must be well aligned with Mission objectives.

Funding: EPS Carers Fund
Experimental Psychology Society Any; Open-ended
The Society recognises that many of its members have caring responsibilities, whether this is for children, elderly or disabled relatives or friends. As a result, they are sometimes prevented from attending conferences and meetings because there is no provision for the extra costs incurred in paying for the additional care needed while they are away at the meeting and this can be a motivational hurdle in contributing to research meetings.

The EPS Carers Fund has been established to provide members with a grant to support them in attending EPS meetings and related events (e.g. workshops), that they might not otherwise be able to go to because of their care responsibilities. The aim of the fund is to contribute towards these additional costs of care when attending meetings.

The total grant fund available each year for awarding to successful applicants is limited.

We appreciate that the arrangements members have in place may be varied and we do not wish to place restrictions on how the grant will be used, except that:

It must be used towards the costs associated with additional care for the person or people that the member cares for (i.e. not care that would be in place irrespective of the meeting)

It must be an EPS meeting or EPS-funded workshop

2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-05-1401:59:51 2027-12-01 00:00:00

Funding: ESRC responsive mode: research grants round twoDecember

01/12/2027 12:00 am UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)Open - 565 days to go

This opportunity funds researcher-driven basic, applied, and strategic research from any disciplines and on any topics in ESRC’s remit. This includes standard research projects, methodological development, large-scale surveys or other infrastructures.

Proposals can draw from the wider sciences, as long as the social sciences are more than 50% of the research focus and effort.

Applications are via the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service and will run as consecutive rounds with closing dates.

The full economic cost of your project can range from £350,000 to £1 million. ESRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost.

Eligibility

The project lead for this funding opportunity can be based at any organisation eligible for ESRC funding throughout the duration of the grant.

You can be at any stage of your academic career; but the project team must have a level of skills, knowledge and experience that is appropriate to the proposed project.

Applications may be submitted jointly by more than one applicant. In such cases, one person must be regarded as the project lead taking the lead responsibility for the conduct of the project and the observance of the terms and conditions. Correspondence regarding the proposal and grant will be addressed to the project lead only and, in the case of any offer letter, to their research office.

Additional applicants making a significant contribution to the conduct of the project should be identified as project co-leads.

Funding: Grindley Grant
Experimental Psychology Society Any; Open-ended
The purpose of the fund is to finance travel that supports the applicant’s work falling within the domain of EPS interests as defined by the content of the Society’s journal. Preference will be given to attendance at meetings of the Experimental Psychology Society.

Grants to attend non-EPS conferences are awarded only to those making a presentation and are available only after the applicant has presented at an EPS meeting. An EPS meeting is considered to be one of the three scientific meetings of the Society each year, presentations at EPS supported Research Workshops do not count toward this requirement. Only one application can be made to attend a non-EPS conference; once applicants have received a Grindley grant to attend a non-EPS conference they are no longer eligible to apply for future non-EPS conferences.

Applicants can apply to attend a maximum of two Grindley Grants per calendar year (including EPS meetings, EPS supported Research Workshops and non-EPS conferences), one application in order to present and one with no presentation requirements for EPS meetings and supported workshops. For non-EPS conferences, applicants must provide evidence that they will be presenting work at that conference.

Grants are strictly limited to a maximum of £500 per application.

Eligibility

To apply for an EPS Grindley Grant, you must be an EPS postgraduate member or a retired EPS member. In addition, recipients of an Undergraduate / New Graduate Research Bursary are eligible to apply for a Grindley grant to present the work resulting from their research project at an EPS meeting within one year of the bursary.

A condition of the award is that travel must originate from, or be destined to, the UK and it is understood that travel will be to / from the applicant’s normal residential address whilst attending or working at the institution where they have their primary affiliation. Where this is not the case, prior approval must be sought from the EPS administrator.

Funding: MRC partnership grant applicant-led
Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Post-doctoral; Open-ended

Opening date to be announced soon

Apply for funding to support partnerships to carry out novel collaborative activities between a team of researchers, with interdisciplinarity encouraged where appropriate. We are looking to fund applicant-led partnerships between a team of researchers carrying out novel collaborative activities or capabilities that add value to high-quality research activities. These can be already supported by existing funding or will underpin future funding within the remit of the Medical Research Council (MRC).

We fund partnerships working to transform our understanding of human health and disease, to accelerate diagnosis, advance treatment and prevent human illness.

The grant will allow you to establish novel high-value collaborative activities or capabilities and add value to high-quality research activities supported by existing funding, or underpin future funding in our remit build capacity in an area of unmet need.

Funding is available for between 18 months and five years.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work, or contribute to the academic leadership of the partnership
demonstrate that you and your team have the right expertise and experience to deliver the aims of the partnership, using interdisciplinary approaches where appropriate

Partnership grants are not designed to primarily support research. If you would like to apply for funding for a research project, you should instead consider a research grant.

You are also not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as a project lead if you are based at an international research organisation. This does not include project leads from MRC Unit The Gambia or MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Funding: MRC new investigator research grant: applicant-led
Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Open-ended
Apply for funding to take the next step towards becoming an independent researcher. Your research must be in the remit of the Medical Research Council (MRC).

You must have the skills and experience to ‘transition to independence’ and the support of an eligible host research organisation.

There is no limit to the funding you can apply for, but the typical full economic cost (FEC) of a project is under £1 million. MRC will usually fund 80% of the FEC. This funding usually lasts three years and covers up to 50% of your salary.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply as a new investigator you must:

have research organisation support
be able to show that your skills and experience match those in the ‘transition to independence’ stage of the MRC applicant skills and experience table
use this grant to support your long-term career goals and chosen career route
be able to demonstrate you are the sole intellectual leader of the application and the proposed work

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can also apply if you:

are employed as a postdoctoral research assistant, although this grant cannot start until your current work finishes
hold a lecturer appointment, a junior fellowship or another research staff position
hold, or have held, an early career training fellowship such as an MRC skills development fellowship
are not currently based at the eligible research organisation that has agreed to host your new investigator award
are either a non-clinical or clinically active researcher
have any number of years of experience

You are limited to submitting a maximum of two applications as project lead across MRC’s applicant-led responsive funding opportunities (research, partnership and new investigator) in a rolling 12-month period

Funding: UK Gut-Immune-Brain Axis Network Mobility Awards
UK Gut-Immune-Brain Axis Network (GIBA) Early career; Post-doctoral; Open-ended
Funds are available to encourage and support mobility between academic institutions and also with industry partners. The awards aim to promote the movement of researchers and technicians between different research settings to facilitate knowledge transfer between academics. Beneficiaries of the mobility awards can be at any career stage. The mobility award funds may be used to:

Initiate a new collaboration; Strengthen an existing collaboration; Learn a new technique; Make use of existing resources outside the host institute; Facilitate the integration of different GIBA-relevant techniques; Lead to a funding application; Explore new technology transfer projects

Mobility awards may be between £500 for short-term visits to facilitate in-person collaborative activities, and up to £5,000 for longer-term and/or bilateral visits. Maximum duration is 3 months.

This is a rolling call where applications will be reviewed bimonthly by the network leadership team. Successful applicants will be notified within a week of the review meeting.

2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-05-1401:59:51 2027-12-31 17:00:00

Funding: MRC new investigator research grant: applicant-ledOctober

30/04/2026 9:00 am → 01/10/2028 9:00 am UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Open - 871 days to go

Apply for funding to take the next step towards becoming an independent researcher. Your research must be in the remit of the Medical Research Council (MRC).

You must have:

the skills and experience to ‘transition to independence’
the support of an eligible host research organisation

There is no limit to the funding you can apply for, but the typical full economic cost (FEC) of a project is under £1 million. MRC will usually fund 80% of the FEC. This funding usually lasts three years and covers up to 50% of your salary.

This funding call operates on a rolling basis; shortlisting decision meetings will be held twice a year (or more frequently), and funding decision meetings will be held twice a year. Applicants will be informed of funding decisions within 10 working days of the funding decision meeting.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply as a new investigator you must:

have research organisation support
be able to show that your skills and experience match those in the ‘transition to independence’ stage of the MRC applicant skills and experience table
use this grant to support your long-term career goals and chosen career route
be able to demonstrate you are the sole intellectual leader of the application and the proposed work

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can also apply if you:

are employed as a postdoctoral research assistant, although this grant cannot start until your current work finishes
hold a lecturer appointment, a junior fellowship or another research staff position
hold, or have held, an early career training fellowship such as an MRC skills development fellowship
are not currently based at the eligible research organisation that has agreed to host your new investigator award
are either a non-clinical or clinically active researcher
have any number of years of experience

Funding: MRC research grant: applicant-ledOctober

30/04/2026 9:00 am → 01/10/2028 9:00 am UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Early career; Post-doctoral; Open - 871 days to go

Apply for funding to support research within the remit of the Medical Research Council (MRC).

You must be employed by an eligible research organisation.
You can involve more than one research group or organisation in the project.

There is no limit to the funding you can apply for, but it should be appropriate to the project. We will usually fund up to 80% of your project’s full economic cost (FEC). Funding is available for between 18 months to five years.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work.

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application, the research organisation is confirming if it is successful:

contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers

Funding: MRC partnership grant: applicant-ledOctober

30/04/2026 9:00 am → 01/10/2028 9:00 am UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Medical Research Council (MRC) Post-doctoral; Open - 871 days to go

Apply for funding to support partnerships to carry out novel collaborative activities between a team of researchers, with interdisciplinarity encouraged where appropriate. You must be employed by an eligible research organisation.

The grant will allow you to:

establish novel high-value collaborative activities or capabilities
add value to high-quality research activities supported by existing funding, or underpin future funding in our remit build capacity in an area of unmet need

Funding is available for between 18 months and five years. You are strongly encouraged to contact us before applying for advice. Applications out of scope will be rejected.

Eligibility

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.

To be eligible to apply for this funding opportunity you must:

show that you will direct the project and be actively engaged in the work, or contribute to the academic leadership of the partnership
demonstrate that you and your team have the right expertise and experience to deliver the aims of the partnership, using interdisciplinary approaches where appropriate

For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:

contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers

Funding: Daphne Jackson fellowship
Daphne Jackson Trust Early career; Post-doctoral; Open-ended

These fellowships are for those looking to return to a research career after a break of two or more years for family, health or caring reasons. The aim is to give participants the confidence and skills they need to make a successful return to research.

They provide an opportunity to balance a personalised retraining programme with a challenging research project, in a supportive UK university or research establishment.

They are flexible, with at least 100 hours retraining per year, and part-time – usually completed over three years at 0.5 full-time equivalent.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, you must fulfil the basic criteria as outlined below:

you should currently be on a research career break of at least two years’ duration from a paid research position taken for family, health or caring reasons
you need to be resident in the UK at the time of application and have the right to work in the UK for at least 12 months with a clear route to subsequent visa progression
- please contact us first if you are planning to apply for a fellowship in the Republic of Ireland
you should hold a research doctorate
- or alternatively, have had at least three years’ research experience before your career break, with evidence of research impacts and outcomes
- we define a doctorate to be completed on the date of its successful examination/viva
- qualification and experience requirements vary for Research Technical Professional Fellowships

You should not have undertaken the following during your career break from research:

paid research work of any number of hours per week or duration
lectured to undergraduate degree level for more than six hours a week
studied for a Master’s or any form of professional qualification in a field related to the proposed fellowship as this could be defined as retraining even if it did not involve a research component

Limited voluntary and unpaid research during your career break will be considered on a case-by-case basis

Associate Principal Investigator (PI) Scheme
NIHR Early career; Open-ended
The Associate Principal Investigator Scheme aims to develop health and care professionals to become the Principal Investigators (PIs) of the future.

It is a six month in-work training opportunity, providing practical experience for health and care professionals starting their research career. People who would not normally have the opportunity to take part in clinical research in their day-to-day role have the chance to experience what it means to work on and deliver an NIHR portfolio trial under the mentorship of an enthusiastic Local Principal Investigator (PI). A Principal Investigator is an individual responsible for the conduct of a research study at a site.

Associate Principal Investigators receive formal recognition of engagement in NIHR Portfolio research studies through the certification of Associate PI status, endorsed by the NIHR and Royal Colleges.

Eligibility

The scheme is open to any health and care professional willing to make a significant contribution to the conduct and delivery of a study at a local level over a period of six months.

Reviewer Development Scheme
NIHR Early career; Open-ended
An opportunity to hone your skills in peer reviewing and to review current research. Participants will receive constructive feedback on their reviews as well as receiving insights into how other experienced reviewers have approached pieces.

Membership of the scheme lasts for 5 years, or until participants have completed 5 reviews in the scheme/have been recruited as a Committee Member Development Scheme participant – whichever comes first. You may leave the scheme at any time or transfer to the NIHR’s community of reviewers as a peer reviewer once you feel ready.

Eligibility

You must be close to completing your PhD or within 10 years of completing your PhD, and have not yet held a grant as Lead Applicant (excluding fellowships) of over £100,000.

The Scheme is also open to all UK Speciality Registrars, Advanced Clinical Practitioners and Nurses and Midwives on Band 6 or above.

All of the latest and upcoming funding and career development opportunities for mental health and addiction researchers.

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