My Name’5 Doddie Foundation has teamed up with the MND Association for a new round of its Discovery Network, this time focused on non-genetic risk factors. Interdisciplinary teams can apply for up to £1 million over three years to explain how things like diet, exercise, pollution and head impacts shape MND risk, onset and progression. Expressions of interest are due on 21 January 2027.
The Discovery Network funds collaborative, open-science teams working on the underlying biology of MND. This round grew out of a joint initiative with the MND Association that ended in an in-person workshop in June 2026, and the resulting white paper sets out the research priorities. The full Request for Applications is released on 11 November 2026.
What it funds
Projects must tackle one or more of these risk factor areas and go beyond spotting associations to show how a signal drives disease:
- Lipid metabolism
- Occupational and chemical exposures
- Diet, alcohol and smoking
- Environmental exposures and pollution
- Physical activity, sport and strenuous exercise
- Impact and trauma, to the whole body or the brain
The panel will favour work that produces mechanistic insight, uses robust exposure measures or biomarkers, builds in genetic susceptibility and gene-environment analysis, makes use of existing cohorts, registries and datasets, combines epidemiology with lab work, and validates findings independently. Recommendations differ by risk factor, so read the workshop report for the one you’re working on.
Who can apply
The call is open internationally, but at least one co-applicant must be at a UK academic institution. Teams must be interdisciplinary and bring in real expertise from outside MND, such as epidemiology, epigenetics, metabolism or biostatistics. Multi-institution teams are welcome and will need a Collaboration Agreement. Senior postdocs working towards independence can apply as lead or co-applicants, with letters of support. Companies can be co-applicants but won’t receive any of the money. If you’re putting a team together, our blog on collaborating across borders and disciplines and our podcast on starting and managing academic collaborations are a good place to start.
Funding
Awards are up to £1 million over three years, from a pot of up to £4 million. The money can cover research staff (including PhD studentships, postdocs, technicians and statisticians), consumables, collaboration costs such as placements and the Network’s annual showcase, and open science costs. Every team must cost in a project manager at 0.2 to 0.4 FTE. Salaries for named researchers on permanent contracts aren’t covered, nor are indirect costs, and equipment needs pre-approval. Grants are paid in GBP. The Network expects a real commitment to open science, so it’s worth knowing what’s in it for you.
Key dates
- 11 November 2026: Request for Applications released
- 21 January 2027: expression of interest deadline
- Early March 2027: invitations to full application
- Mid-April 2027: full application deadline
- Mid-May 2027: reviewer comments shared
- Early June 2027: rebuttal deadline
- July 2027: award decisions
- Late 2027: projects start
Expressions of interest are judged by the Discovery Network Advisory Board on scientific merit, potential impact, the team’s suitability and how well the interdisciplinary collaboration hangs together. Full applications also go to external peer review. For context on the odds, the 2024 round had 21 expressions of interest and funded four projects, and 2025 had nine and funded one.
How to apply
Applications go through the Foundation’s Flexi-Grant system. The Foundation encourages you to talk through your idea first by emailing research@myname5doddie.co.uk. Looking for collaborators? Sign up to the Foundation’s Collaboration Directory to find others with the expertise you need.
Read the full details and apply
Visit funding web page
(https://www.myname5doddie.co.uk/for-researchers/apply-for-funding/discovery-network/)