Funding: Application Development Award for Health and Care ProfessionalsFebruary

04/02/2026 1:00 pm    NIHR    Early career;   Ends in 9 days

The NIHR are commissioning up to 10 Application Development Awards (ADAs) to carry out development work prior to research applications, with a requirement for applicant teams to involve a specific group of Health and Care Professionals (HCP).

This opportunity helps HCPs to develop as highly skilled researchers and research leaders, and to move towards a more multi-professional approach to addressing the health and care challenges of today and the future. These ADAs are intended to support future applications for funding from NIHR research programmes, however, they are not programme-specific in nature.

This is a 1-stage funding opportunity.

Eligibility

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-02-04 13:00:00

Funding: ADR UK Research FellowshipsFebruary

26/02/2026 12:00 am    Administrative Data Research UK    Early career;   Post-doctoral;   Open - 30 days to go

Administrative Data Research (ADR) UK is inviting applicants who are eligible for Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding to propose research projects that demonstrate the policy impact potential of ADR England flagship datasets. Awards will be 18 months in duration, and projects must start in September 2026.

The full economic cost of individual projects can be up to £200,000. The ESRC will fund up to 80% of the full economic cost whilst the remainder should be funded by your research organisation.

They are looking for applications that meet the following four ADR UK Research Fellowships objectives.

1. Useful Research: Demonstrate the potential of administrative data research for public policy impact within the timeframes.
2. Useful Data: Develop our flagship datasets as useful research resources for future users.
3. Useful Engagement: Foster opportunities to engage with government and the public to shape the project to deliver impact and to maintain public acceptance for the use of data for research purposes; and
4. Community Building: Actively participate in and personally contribute to new or existing communities of practice in support of your development as a research leader using administrative data.

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-02-26 00:00:00

Funding: Clinical Future Leaders Fellowship (Cohort 1)March

03/03/2026 1:00 pm    NIHR    Early career;   Post-doctoral;   Open - 36 days to go

The first NIHR Clinical FLF opportunity represents a coordinated cross funder initiative to strengthen support for clinical academic careers, in response to the findings of the reports commissioned by the Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research. The 7-year award will provide you with protected research time and leadership development opportunities. It will enable you to transition from postdoctoral researcher to research leadership roles.

If you are a senior postdoctoral clinical academic, you can apply to undertake funded research and a bespoke training and leadership development programme.

The 7-year award will provide you with protected research time and leadership development opportunities. It will enable you to transition from postdoctoral researcher to research leadership roles.

We offer Clinical FLFs in partnership with contracting organisations. To apply, your contracting organisation must nominate you and commit to providing significant support. The support offered by your contracting organisation must include:

• contributing to tapered salary costs throughout the fellowship
• committing to the provision of an open-ended UK based independent research or innovation position, to be taken up during or upon the completion of the fellowship
  • this must be in-line with organisational employment policies and practices

Eligibility

The call is open to health and care professionals, as defined by NIHR, doctors and dentists.

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-03-03 13:00:00

Funding: BMA Foundation GrantsMarch

01/01/2026 12:00 am → 06/03/2026 12:00 am    BMA Foundation    Early career;   Post-doctoral;   Underway

The British Medical Association Foundation offers a series of grants to support doctors and scientists in advancing their research goals and pioneering breakthroughs in medical science. They aim to aim to accelerate scientific discoveries that will benefit patients and contribute to a healthier, more resilient society. They are focused on empowering and supporting early stage researchers who are doctors and scientists in achieving their research aims and driving innovation in medical research.

All the BMA Foundation grants have National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) partnership status.

Some relevant grants include:

• Margaret Temple grant for research into schizophrenia (£65,000)
• Vera Down grant for research into neurological disorders (£65,000)

For the full list of grants, please visit the website.

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-03-06 00:00:00

Funding: Sir Halley Stewart Trust Main GrantsMarch

10/03/2026 12:00 am    Sir Halley Stewart Trust    Early career;   Post-doctoral;   Open - 42 days to go

The Trust has three priority areas: Medical, Social and Religious, with education being a central theme that runs across all grants.
Our Trustees welcome projects that relate to more than one priority area. The Trust funds projects that focus on the prevention (rather than the alleviation) of human suffering. All Trust grants must fall under one or both of the following categories:

• Innovative research projects: i.e. those which explore and test new ideas, methods, approaches, interventions and/or devices.
• Pioneering / ground-breaking development projects: i.e. those which are original and represent the first of their kind and/or lay the foundations for further developments.

The Trustees are keen to support innovative and imaginative people — often promising young researchers — with whom they can keep in contact as their careers progress.

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-03-10 00:00:00

Funding: Health Technology Assessment – Using light therapy in care/nursing homesMarch

18/03/2026 1:00 pm    NIHR    Post-doctoral;   Open - 51 days to go

Our Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme is looking to fund research about the use of light therapy in care/nursing homes. This is a 2-stage, commissioned 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.

Research Question: Can the use of light therapy boxes in residential care and/or nursing homes improve the mood, sleep and mental health of residents?

This is a focused funding opportunity and our intention is to fund a single study.

Eligibility

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-03-18 13:00:00

Funding: The CMHP-PRUK Research AwardMarch

24/11/2025 12:00 am → 25/03/2026 1:00 pm    Pharmacy Research UK    Any;   Underway

Pharmacy Research UK (PRUK) and the College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP) are working together to offer full or associate members of the CMHP the opportunity to receive a Research Award for projects which aim to benefit patients with mental illness, and which contribute to enhancing the quality of care with psychiatric medicines through improving pharmaceutical services or ensuring safe and effective use of medicines.

The CMHP and PRUK specifically wish to support projects in the following areas:

• Cross sector communication and interface working,
• Medicines safety/optimisation for those with mental illness by community, general practice or general hospital pharmacy teams,
• Relapse prevention and keeping well (including maintaining adherence),
• Mental health services in community and primary care, or equivalent areas, and/or
• Managing public health issues in mental health (e.g. physical health).

This partnership offers up to £20,000 for CMHP members to pursue research in line with the areas highlighted above, with a focus on future patient benefit. This year, they are able to fund two proposals. The research must not exceed 20 months duration and successful award holders will be expected to present their research at a future CMHP conference. Applications with a focus on substance misuse may be accepted provided the project aims to benefit patients with co-morbid mental illness.

Eligibility

To be considered eligible for submission the project must:

• Align to the CMHP-PRUK Research Award scope criteria described above
• Have a lead applicant who is registered with a professional regulatory body for pharmacy in their home nation (e.g. the General Pharmaceutical Council), and who is also a full or associate member of CMHP at the time of applying and will remain member for the duration of the proposed research
• Be completed between 12 to 20 months (unless under exceptional circumstances)
• Be based in the UK. Organisations outside of the UK are welcome to collaborate on projects, however the lead institution must be UK-based and the project must have relevance for the UK, and
• Request no more than £20,000. The judging panel may decide to award the total amount to one or two projects or to one or more smaller projects.

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-03-25 13:00:00

Funding Call: Veterans’ healthApril

21/04/2026 1:00 pm    NIHR    Post-doctoral;   Open - 85 days to go

The NIHR’s Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research which evaluates the effects of interventions on the mental, physical, or both aspects of Veterans’ 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.

You must demonstrate a strong grasp of the existing evidence base, highlight critical research gaps, and articulate how your study will address these deficiencies. Additionally, where relevant, you should integrate diverse sources of existing evidence to ensure a comprehensive approach.

Research Question: What are the effects of interventions on the mental, physical, or both aspects of Veterans’ health?

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-04-21 13:00:00

Funding: Men’s Mental HealthApril

21/04/2026 1:00 pm    NIHR    Early career;   Post-doctoral;   Open - 85 days to go

The NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research which evaluates the health and health inequality impacts of interventions aimed at promoting good mental health or preventing poor mental health among men. 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

Research question: What are the health and health inequality impacts of interventions aimed at promoting good mental health or preventing poor mental health among men?

Eligibility

The PHR programme focuses on funding health-related research into services that:

• are not provided or funded by the NHS
• can be rolled out on a large scale
• have potential to create sustainable, population-level changes

It is particularly interested in studies that focus on the wider determinants of health and will generally ask for health-related outcome measures.

It does not fund:

• studies of specific disease or condition
• treatments research where primary outcomes are social care outcomes – see our Research programme for Social Care
• the development of new websites, apps, or software

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2026-04-21 13:00:00

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 2026-01-2608:26:23 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.

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2027-10-31 00:00:00

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

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2027-12-31 00:00:00

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.

 2025,2026,OPENENDED 2026-01-2608:26:23 2027-12-31 00:00:00

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 2026-01-2608:26:23 2027-12-31 17:00:00