Secure Translational Funding
The Translational Research Office (TRO) manage a number of devolved funding streams targeting early stage proof-of-concept projects and have extensive knowledge of the UK translational funding landscape. We can help source the most appropriate funding scheme for projects and ensure that the most compelling cases for support are generated. Securing funding enables projects to progress along the translational path, de-risking future investment.
KEY ACTIVITIES
The TRO administrate translational proof-of-concept funding through the Medical and Life Sciences Translation Fund (MLSTF). The fund is open to all University of Oxford researchers and provides consolidated internal proof of concept funding for translational medical and life sciences projects.
The TRO is excited to announce the return of the Diagnostics in Tropical and Infectious Diseases funding call, building on from the successful piloting last year. The availability of funds, recently awarded by Wellcome, supports early-stage translational research activity within the Oxford community.
The TRO also identify the most appropriate external grant funding source for a project. A few of the translational research funding schemes available to researchers are:
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Action Medical Research Project Grants in Child Health 2025
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11 February 2025 5pm |
£200,000 per project (£250,000 for the co-funded award with Borne).
Project grant, up to 36 months duration |
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity dedicated to saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. Action funds a wide range of cutting-edge medical research most likely to deliver real benefit to babies, children and young people. Applications are invited across the breadth of Action’s remit to prevent and treat disease and disability by funding vital medical research in hospitals or research institutions across the UK. The support focuses on child health to include problems affecting pregnancy, childbirth, babies, children and young people. This call includes the opportunity to apply for a co-funded award with DEBRA UK for translational research into Epidermolysis Bullosa in children and a co-funded award with Borne for translational research into the causes of preterm birth. The fund aims to support high-quality projects for a minimum of one year and up to three years duration, providing a maximum of £200,000 per project (£250,000 for the co-funded award with Borne). It is anticipated that around 10 projects will be funded through this call. Applicants should complete an outline form by 11 February 2025 at 5pm |
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Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare Challenge
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3 March 2025 |
The most exciting teams and ideas will be offered support to help them understand the commercial potential of their technology, and if suitable a pathway towards co-creation of a new Health Tech company, and potentially seed funding from OSE Support may include:
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Expression of interest: Experimental medicine to define new mechanisms of neurodegeneration |
22 January 2025 4:00pm UK time | £5,000,000 |
Apply for funding to investigate the causes, progression and treatment of neurodegenerative conditions that give rise to dementia. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for Medical Research Council (MRC) funding. Your project must:
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £5 million over a duration of up to five years. We will fund 80% of your project’s full economic cost. |
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MRC Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme: Stage One
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19 March 2025 |
There is no limit on the amount of funding you can apply for, but it should be appropriate to the project. There is no limit to the duration of your project. You should justify the timescale of the project in the context of the proposed work. |
Apply for funding to develop and test novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions. You can apply for academically-led translational projects that aim to either:
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MRC Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme: Stage Two
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5 March 2025 (invitation only) |
There is no limit on the amount of funding you can apply for, but it should be appropriate to the project. There is no limit to the duration of your project. You should justify the timescale of the project in the context of the proposed work. |
Apply for funding to develop and test novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other interventions. You can apply for academically-led translational projects that aim to either:
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BBSRC Follow-on Fund: 2025 round one
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26 March 2025 4:00pm |
£100,000 - £800,000 For projects lasting up to 2 years |
Apply for Follow-on Funding (FoF) to bridge the gap between bioscience research and achieving economic and societal benefit. FoF applications must draw substantially on current or prior BBSRC funding. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for BBSRC funding. FoF awards aim to take ideas through to a stage where the route to practical application is clear. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £800,000. BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC. FoF awards support defined programmes of work for up to two years. |
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EPSRC Healthcare Technology Translation Partnership Scheme Outline
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12th December 2024 | The full economic cost (FEC) of projects can be up to £1.88 million. EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC. |
Projects will address unmet clinical needs, offer significant added value or both over current health solutions. Applications will provide detailed translation plans and show how the project has been co-developed in partnership to maximise the impact in healthcare. |
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11th November 2024 | Both small (requests not exceeding £7,500) and main (requests not exceeding £15,000) awards are available. Each are for a period of 12 months, starting on 1st April 2025, and running until 31st March 2026. | The aim of the Development fund is to provide short-term, pump-priming funds to support innovative, proof-of-concept cancer research. |
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Cancer Research Horizons Seed Fund |
Rolling deadline |
£50k to £100-£500k, with ability to invest up to £1m on occasion. |
Early-stage validation, pre-seed, seed, and follow-on capital available. Contact: Gillian.Shuttleworth@cancer.org.uk |
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Cancer Research Horizons Data Innovation Awards |
Rolling deadline |
<£75k, <12 months |
Funding to support cleaning, annotation, curation, linking or storage of CRUK-funded data that has significant commercial potential. Contact: Gillian.Shuttleworth@cancer.org.uk |
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Cancer Research Horizons Entrepreneurial Programme |
Various (please check website) |
£10k to £70k |
Training opportunities to learn how to pitch your idea, build a business and attract investment. Early market discovery, accelerator, and startup funding available. Contact: Gillian.Shuttleworth@cancer.org.uk |
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Cancer Research Horizons Project Development Fund |
Rolling deadline |
<£50K (£50K + applications considered if strong rationale),<12 months |
To bridge a gap to get your project to the next stage. Proposal should have a clearly defined endpoint that is achievable in the short to medium term). CRUK-funding is a prerequisite and proposals must be consistent with Cancer Research Horizon's vision and purpose. Contact: Gillian.Shuttleworth@cancer.org.uk |
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Experimental Medicine Award by Cancer Research UK
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Preliminary Submission 4th April 2022 |
£1–5M |
The Experimental Medicine Award funds highly ambitious translational research conducted in association with a clinical trial or well-designed clinical study in the field of oncology. Translational research considered within the scheme must be associated with one or more clinical trials or clinical studies within the lifetime of the award, where it can be clearly demonstrated that the findings would directly impact on the conduct of the trial(s)/studies. Associated trial(s)/studies may be funded as part of an Experimental Medicine Award. |
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Opening date: 7 June 2024 12:00pm
Closing date: 19 September 2024 5:00pm
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8 weeks |
8 weeks part-time, online programme helping early-stage research teams to make the first steps into market discovery. |
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Opening date: 4 June 2024 12:00pm
Closing date: 10 September 2024 5:00pm |
£35k 12 weeks |
Up to £35k to ‘get out of the lab’ and validate commercially promising ideas in the marketplace, over 12 week period. |
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BBSRC Follow-on Fund: 2024 Round Two |
Opening date: 6 August 2024
Closing date: 15 October 2024 |
£100K-£800K Up to 2 years |
The aim of our Follow-on Fund (FoF) is to help researchers maximise the commercial, economic, and societal benefits of their research. Projects considered through this programme must:
We support both early-stage projects aimed at de-risking innovative ideas and later-stage projects that encompass significant technical milestones. |
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Deadline for outline stage: 13 December 2023 and 19 June 2024 Full-stage applications by invite only. |
£750k 3 years |
Up to £750k for projects lasting up to three years that address an unmet healthcare need in heart and circulatory disease. |
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Therapeutic Catalyst - Cancer Research UK
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Open until awarded. |
£250k 18 months |
Up to £250k for projects lasting up to 18 months. Drug discovery proposals, including, but not limited to: - Deconvolution and validation of novel targets and pathways with clear therapeutic potential - Novel therapeutic approaches to validated targets - Development of platforms, assays and screens to identify novel cancer therapeutics or targets. |
The TRO supports developing robust project plans and compelling applications for funding. Our Translational Research Managers can support grant writing activities, provide project management support and advise on long-term translational research strategies.
The TRO works closely with Oxford University Innovation (OUI), the Medical Sciences Business Partnerships Office (BPO) and University of Oxford's Research Services (RS) to ensure appropriate expertise and advice is sought at key stages in project development.