Medical and Life Sciences Translational Fund

The ETI route is for Oxford-employed early career researchers who wish to act as PI and lead a small translational project as a step towards independence. This route is available for projects of up to £50k and 6–8 months in duration.

Below is the remit for MLSTF’s dedicated ETI route, where the ETI is the principal applicant:

• ETIs here are defined as Oxford-employed ECRs, which includes post-doctoral researchers, clinical researchers, or junior group leaders within the first few years of independence and/or on their first permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract.

• ETIs are further categorised into the two sub-groups:

1. Junior ETIs – An ECR with little to no previous experience in independent project management, line management or supervising teams, and/or within the first year of completing their doctoral studies. This sub-group applies to ECRs who seek to gain experience independently managing their research project with little supervision, learn to plan budgets, and build confidence in team management. This may include post-doctoral researchers and clinical researchers.
2. ETIs transitioning to independent researchers – an ECR with previous experience in project management, line management and/or team supervision. This sub-group applies to those ECRs who are in the process of making a transition to an independent PI and seek to establish a successful track record of project management, team supervision and capacity building, which will enable them to progress to the next stage of their careers. This may include research fellows, junior group leaders or lecturers.

• Volume of funding available through the ETI strand is up to £50K, for projects lasting 6-8 months in duration.
• ETI applicants must consult and inform the TRO at grant application stage at the latest, 3 weeks before the submission deadline [by 4 September 2026] that they are considering applying as an ETI applicant. The TRO will support the ETI to draft the most compelling proposal and provide access to the relevant training material and resources available, including the Experts in Residence. If you do not consult with the TRO prior to submission, your application will not be accepted for consideration by the MLSTF panel.
• The ETI must obtain approval from their line manager confirming support and/or permission to undertake the proposed activity stated in the application, subject to award recommendation by the MLSTF panel.
• The ETI will be required to officially identify a mentor who will support the ETI and their proposed research workplan. If you are unable to identify a mentor to support you, please contact the TRO, who might be able to assist.
• The ETI, together with their mentor, is required to carve out the expected skill sets to gain/develop during the proposal and how this application would support the ETI's future aspirations. 
• The ETI is expected to maintain constant communication with their mentor throughout the project duration, so the mentor can monitor the progress of the project against the Gantt chart and offer any help or support that the ETI might require to ensure smooth progress and completion of the project. The ETIs are also encouraged to get in touch with the TRO as soon as possible if they are experiencing any issues in their project that could affect the successful progress and completion of the award. The TRO will be able to provide support to resolve the difficulties
• ETIs must use the main MLSTF case for support application, but with the above outlined limits on funding volume and project duration.
• If an ETI has an existing MLSTF project that will overlap with the new MLSTF project, the ETI will need to make this clear in their submission. In addition, the ETI is expected to provide the details on the time commitment required for both projects and any other projects the ETI is involved in. Please note that ETIs are permitted to have a maximum of two MLSTF projects running at the at any one time.

ECRs and recent doctoral graduates often face challenges in securing meaningful involvement in projects under current funding terms, particularly when they need to cost their own time. To address this, MLSTF is introducing the Researcher Co-Investigator role within the main case for support application to enable eligible ECRs to cost in their salary as a directly incurred expense.

This route is for ECRs and recent doctoral graduates who need their own salary included in the project budget but cannot act as PI. The project is led by another applicant as lead PI, while the Researcher Co-Investigator’s salary is costed as a directly incurred expense. This route follows the standard MLSTF limits of up to £85k and 6–12 months.

Key conditions:

• Unlike via the ETI route, researchers requesting costs for their own salary cannot act as Principal Investigator (PI) and require someone else to lead the project.
• The prospective applicants are strongly advised to seek support from the TRO at the bid development stage.
• ETIs are further categorised into the two sub-groups:

1. Their salary is costed as a directly incurred expense
2. Their intellectual contribution and award ownership are formally recognised

• This is different to the ETI route described above, so the duration and the amount of funding can be the same as for the non-ETI route (up to 85K for 6-12 months in duration).

 Who is eligible?

• ECRs and Doctoral Graduates who require their salary to be included in the project budget and who have little to no previous experience in independent project management, line management or supervising teams, and/or within the first year of completing their doctoral studies. This applies to ECRs who seek to gain experience independently managing their research project with little supervision, learn to plan budgets, and build confidence in team management. This may include post-doctoral researchers and clinical researchers.
• Applicants who will provide significant intellectual input to grant writing and project design.
• Individuals intending to spend up to 100% of their time working on the proposed project.

Alternative route: ECRs who do not require salary support may still apply as lead PI through the ETI route, enabling them to lead projects independently.

How to Apply

Applicants should complete an online application through IRAMS, which requests information about the principal applicant and any co-applicants or editors, a lay summary (non-confidential – please see resources available on TRO website for writing a succinct and impactful lay summary), a financial breakdown of your proposal (X5 report must be appended) and a case for support form uploaded to the IRAMS application system. You must incorporate all requested components of the case for support into one document (see below) and upload this in the template provided on IRAMS as a PDF. IRAMS Guidance in the form of quick reference guide documents for applicants, departmental approvers and administrators can be found on Research Support pages.

Please note that applications must be reviewed and approved in IRAMS by a Departmental Approver before they will be reviewed by the Committee; the advertised application deadline is the deadline for final submission to the MLSTF Committee. Departments may set an earlier internal deadline to allow for departmental review, so please check with your local admin team and submit your application to your Departmental Approver in advance of the advertised deadline. 

• Download the Case for Support Application Form
• Download the Guidance for Applicants

If you require an accessible version of either of these documents, please email translationalresearchoffice@medsci.ox.ac.uk.

Applicants are strongly advised to use the ‘Guidance for Applicants’ document on ‘What are the panel looking for?’ hints under each section of the case for support form when completing your application.

Additional requirement for projects with artificial intelligence (AI) as a significant component*

Please note that if your application involves AI as a significant component, you will need to complete Section 1.3 in the Case for Support form. You will be required to provide a high-level summary of key aspects of your AI-based application. Reviewers expect concise yet impactful responses rather than detailed explanations. Full details should also be included in the relevant sections of the application. Significant use of AI in an MLSTF project refers to the integration of AI as a core enabling technology that fundamentally shapes the project’s functionality, development, and value proposition. Use of AI in the project is therefore not only an add-on feature but a major technique that drives the project’s capabilities, automation, decision-making, or user experience. 

The MLSTF panel strongly recommends undertaking the Masterclass in AI and Digital Health facilitated by the TRO which contains two dedicated resources that can help with answering this section:

1. Masterclass in AI and Digital Health
2. Canvas course to accompany the masterclass

 Read an example of an outstanding proposal which was previously awarded by the MLSTF panel.

A case for support (four pages max.) and CVs (one page max. each PI & CoI) for all applicants named in the application must be appended to the IRAMS application form in addition to a comprehensive Gantt chart (1 page max).  

The case for support must include:

• A 250-word non-confidential lay summary of the proposal requesting MLSTF funding;
• Project objectives and proposed outcomes, including information about proposed development milestones and potential next steps following completion of the project to include, for example, sources of follow-on funding, plans for commercialization;
• A timeline for your project, aligning with milestones to demonstrate that these are realistic both in terms of the objectives set and the time necessary to achieve them; identification of a ‘critical path to impact’;
• A justification for support explaining how your proposal is aligned with the remit and objectives of the Fund;
• Details of any industrial engagement in your project and plans to advance this; applicants with any relevant associations to University of Oxford spinouts must submit a declaration of an appropriate conflict management plan on their MLSTF Case for Support form to ensure governance review.
• IP status: Are third parties involved and how will IP be managed with respect to these collaborators?
• A description of any matched funding secured.

The deadline for submission of MLSTF applications through IRAMS is Friday 25 September, 12pm. 

Reviewing Guidelines

Projects will be scored from 0-9 (0=lowest; 9=highest) based on their potential for transition from discovery research to translational development through preliminary work or feasibility studies. Please refer to the ‘What are the panel looking for?’ hints under each section of the case for support form when completing your application.

Panel scores and definitions

Reviewers are asked to consider the following criteria when assessing your project(s):

Strength of rationale and quality of science:

• Objective and approach: Is the proposed approach an effective way of meeting the plan’s objectives and is it based on a good scientific rationale? How innovative is the plan, or is it a tried and tested approach? Is the preliminary data promising and robust?

Unmet medical need:

• Is there a clear clinical impact and unmet need? If the need is not significant now, will it become so in the future? Would meeting this need significantly reduce disease burden and/or provide a valuable commercial opportunity and/or alleviate an important development bottleneck?

Project planning and execution:

• Project plan: Does the plan propose reasonable go/no-go milestones? Do the milestones follow the SMART principle? Are the milestone timings appropriate and are the success criteria necessary and sufficient to judge progression? Are the proposed probabilities of milestones being met reasonable?
• Project and risk management: Do the applicants have or likely will have the necessary project management experience to deliver the plan? Has the individual or group established a high-quality track record in the field? Does the applicant have the relevant team/expertise in place to deliver the proposed milestones?
• Resource requirements, deliverability and Environment: Has the team identified and secured reasonable access to necessary resources/skills? Has the applicant recognised appropriate stakeholders (such as industry partners and key academic collaborators) to contribute in propelling the translational activity of the project? Is the budget realistic for the scale and complexity of the project? Have the applicants set out a clear and reasonable case for the requested levels of staffing and overall resources?

Future commercial opportunity or potential clinical, societal or global health impact:

• Competition and market: Have the applicant identified the key competing solutions and their status or are they aware of other similar or complementary research underway elsewhere? Has the applicant identified the key competitive advantages/USPs of their proposed solution? Is the cost higher than for competing solutions? Have safety and tolerability been considered? How likely is it that the proposed solution, if achieved, would be widely adopted?

IP position:

• Intellectual Property: Is there an appropriate intellectual property strategy in place to optimise the chances of downstream funding/partnering and ultimate exploitation? Is the research academic-led where industry is involved?

Downstream project planning/support:

• Likelihood of developing a full proposal to be submitted to the MRC DPFS award scheme, or similar follow-on funding schemes, within the required timescale and budget.
• Does the applicant have a clear plan towards clinical impact /commercialisation following completion of MLSTF?

Should ethics and/or home office approvals be required for the projects, priority will be given to those applications that already have these in place.

Applications will be reviewed by the MLSTF panel, chaired by Professor Helen McShane.  Please note, the panel membership comprises both internal academics, and external commercial experts that are members of the Experts in Residence network to ensure robust, vigorous review in line with funder recommendations. Prospective applicants should be aware that your data may be accessed by an international panel member as part of the EiR network that may be abroad. All external members are required to sign a CDA prior to reviewing applications. Applications submitted by ETIs will be ranked and reviewed separately to non-ETI applications.  

Further information on Committee membership

Further information

All potential applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposed projects with the TRO. It is a mandate for applicants via the ETI route to speak with the TRO prior to submitting their application. (translationalresearchoffice@medsci.ox.ac.uk).

It is also the responsibility of applicants to speak with their respective departmental grants or finance teams for approvals and costings.

Applicants are also encouraged to discuss their proposal with Oxford University Innovation (OUI) well in advance of submission. OUI will be able to advise and support on the industry engagement and IP aspects of the proposal as well as the potential for match funding through the UCSF scheme.

Watch Tips for MLSTF videos on the TRO website.

The TRO can also assist with finding suitable collaborators and sourcing appropriate support and expertise through the Experts in Residence (ExIR) programme.

For any further information regarding this scheme please contact: translationalresearchoffice@medsci.ox.ac.uk

Key dates

Expression of interest for CRUK Innovation Co-funding Strand

• Opens: Monday 22 June
• Deadline: Monday 20 July, 5pm UK time
• EOI outcome notification: by MOnday 17 August

MLSTF

• Opens: Monday 22 June
• Deadline: Friday 25 September, 12noon UK time
  
• Panel meeting: week commencing 2 November
• Outcome: mid-November
  
• Award letter sent: mid-November
  

• Opens: Thursday 13 August
• First draft deadline: Thursday 10 September
• Final application deadline: Thursday 24 September
• Collect HOD signatures: Thursday 1 October
• Pitch practice sessions: week commencing 5 October 
• Committee meeting: Thursday 15 October

Chair

TBC

Members 

TBC

Minutes

Minutes from the MLSTF Committee Meeting that took place for the previous round of the MLSTF call in November 2025.

Previous outstanding proposals

Developing a novel dengue vaccine 

Professor Arturo Reyes-Sandoval (Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine) was awarded funding for his project to develop a new vaccine against dengue fever.

Modulating circadian rhythm disruption

Dr Sridhar Vasudevan (Department of Pharmacology) received funding to investigate a series of drugs which could be used to modulate and treat circadian rhythm disorders.

Developing slow-wave activity saturation as a marker of depth of anaesthesia 

Dr Katie Warnaby (Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences) received funding to develop a new technique for measuring depth of anaesthesia in patients.

View our previously funded projects

The following projects were funded by the Medical and Life Sciences Translational Fund in November 2025:

• Neuraminidases as novel therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases - Platt, Frances M (Pharmacology, MSD)
• A Novel Gene Therapy Approach for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy - Kapetanovic, Jasmina (NDCN, MSD)
• Faster Oxygen Saturation Measurements for Paediatric Assessment - Hayward, Gail (Primary Care Health Sciences, MSD)
• Clinical feasibility study of a rapid, point-of-care urinary test for detecting intravascular haemolysis - Swietach, Pawel (DPAG, MSD)
• Novel bispecific therapeutics for breast cancer - Drakesmith, Alexander (RDM, MSD)
• Using the hypoxic response for cancer treatment - Schofield, Christopher (Chemistry Department, MPLS)
• Expanding the applicability of a novel injectable long-acting formulation platform - Stevens, Molly (DPAG, MSD)
• Trustworthy Transfer of Biosignal Foundation Models across Healthcare Settings - Gu, Xiao (Engineering Science, MPLS)
• Validating the Oxford Cognitive Screen-Plus for Cognitive Impairment After Traumatic Brain Injury (OCS+ ABI) - Demeyere, Nele (NDCN, MSD)
• From AI-ECG Phenotyping to Patient Impact: Translating High Afterload ECG Signatures into Cardiovascular Risk Stratification for Acute Care - Raman, Betty (RDM, MSD)
• SpeechMate: AI-powered fluency enhancer app for stutter-free public speaking - Denison, Timothy (Engineering Science, MPLS)
• Nanoparticle-mediated immunotherapy for severe asthma and treatment-resistant cohorts to widen global access - Hill, Adrian (NDM, MSD)
• Noetic: From Story to Structure - Validating a Safe AI System for Chronic Pain Care - Seymour, Benjamin (NDCN, MSD)
• Commercialisation Landscape & Partnering Strategy for MRC CoRE: Blood Resilience (delivered by Wellspring) - Mead, Adam (RDM, MSD)
• Novel binders to MPOX antigens: overcoming the diagnostic sensitivity limit - Adams, Emily (NDM, MSD)