Dementia Research Funding

Four fully funded 3.5-year AHRC PhD studentships at the University of Sheffield for arts and humanities research, starting 2027/28. Apply for a PhD place by 14 December.

Research Council of Finland Academy Research Fellowships: four years and up to €700,000 for researchers 2–7 years post-PhD, based in Finland. Closes 11 November.

Novo Nordisk Foundation fellowships: two years at MIT, then a year back in Denmark, up to DKK 3.6m, for postdocs with Danish ties. Closes 29 January.

Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships: eight-year awards for early career researchers who need flexible working due to caring or health. Closes 29 October.

NIHR Research Professorships fund up to five research leaders in England to translate research into practice. Non-medical professions prioritised. Closes 9 December.

NIA K07 Academic Leadership Award: five years’ support for established US investigators to build aging and dementia research capacity. Three deadlines a year.

British Academy funding to run writing workshops that help early career researchers in developing countries publish in leading journals. Closes 2 December.

CIFAR Global Scholars: unrestricted research funding, leadership training and an international network for new PIs, including in brain research. Closes 4 November.

Fully funded PhD scholarships at the University of Auckland, covering a tax-free stipend and tuition fees for up to 42 months. Next round closes 1 November.

Guarantors of Brain fellowships for UK clinicians and translational neuroscientists: Entry, clinical postdoc and non-clinical postdoc awards. Closes 27 October.

Crick fellowships for clinicians combining a funded MSc in AI and machine learning with a PhD or postdoc at the Crick. Applications close 11 November 2026.

MRC funds academic teams to screen compounds from AstraZeneca’s 2 million molecule library, with up to four projects a year. Applications close 28 January 2027.

Royal Society Short Industry Fellowships fund three to six months working between a UK university and industry. Applications close 7 October 2026 at 3pm.

Up to $1m for AI-enabled primary tauopathy research from the Rainwater Tau Consortium’s new Learning Research Network. Letters of intent close 30 October 2026.

Up to 3 years of NIHR funding for protected research time for senior clinicians and practitioners with a PhD or MD. Dementia is a strategic theme.

SPCR’s 3is Enablement Fund backs inclusion, public involvement and impact work in primary care research, with a dedicated stream for early career researchers.

ERC Consolidator Grants offer up to €2m over five years to researchers 5 to 15 years post-PhD building their own team in Europe. Closes 12 January 2027.

DAAD funds research stays in Germany of 2 to 12 months for PhD students and up to 6 months for early postdocs. UK applicants: next rounds close 1 Oct and 23 Feb.

Funded PhDs from NIHR ARC North West Coast, with two dementia projects and several more with a clear dementia angle. Applications close 13 October 2026.

Part the Cloud funds early-phase dementia drug trials, AI-discovered candidates and combination therapies, up to $2m. Letters of intent close 20 October 2026.

Fully funded three-year UK Commonweatlh PhD Scholarships for candidates from 17 least developed and vulnerable Commonwealth countries.

Up to 12 months of flexible NIHR funding to prepare a competitive career development award application. Open to all career stages.

IBRO/Dana Brain Awareness Week Grants fund outreach events held in 2027 outside Europe that raise public awareness of the brain. Applications close 15 October.

IBRO Neuroscience Training Grants help PhD students and early postdocs cover fees, travel and living costs for courses starting January to August 2027.

British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants support UK-based postdoctoral researchers in the humanities and social sciences with direct research costs.

MND Association biomedical project grants of up to three years for research into the causes, mechanisms and treatment of MND. Summaries due 23 October 2026.

Leverhulme Research Fellowships give experienced UK academics up to £70,000 and 3 to 24 months to complete original research. Closes 5 November 2026.

EquaDem Pilot Funding: up to £16,000 for 12 to 18 month projects testing solutions to inequalities in dementia diagnosis and care. Closes 5pm, 27 Nov.

NIHR Mentoring Programme cohort 3 is open to both mentors and mentees. Twelve months of cross-institution mentoring, matched by NIHR. Closes 1pm on 15 October.

Researcher-led methodology funding from NIHR and MRC’s Better Methods, Better Research programme. Up to £625,000 FEC, one stage. Closes 1pm on 1 December.

NIHR and MRC Better Methods, Better Research: up to £625,000 to develop evaluative methodologies for social care research. Closes 1pm on 1 December.

NIHR Undergraduate Internship Programme cohort 4: early career researchers in England can apply to host up to three fully funded interns. Closes 4 Nov.

Apply for the BMBH Emerging Scholars Program: an 18-month fellowship for postdocs and assistant professors studying brain ageing in Black men. Closes 26 Oct.

European University Institute offers Max Weber postdoctoral fellowships for early career scholars in history, humanities and social sciences.

Apply for up to £21 million in MRC CoRE funding to tackle a complex, interdisciplinary health challenge through an ambitious long-term research programme.

Apply for a fully funded Chevening Scholarship to study a one-year master’s in the UK. Open to emerging global leaders. Deadline: 6 October 2026.

Black heritage early career researchers: apply for up to £703,800 through the Royal Society’s four-year Career Development Fellowship in STEM.

NIHR INSIGHT funding is open to institutions in Wales and three English regions to deliver engagement activities and research master’s studentships.

Apply for Public Health Research Funding Call to evaluate real-world, non-NHS interventions addressing health inequalities across the UK.

Apply for NIHR HSDR funding for high-quality research addressing NHS and social care priorities and the needs of service managers and leaders.

NIHR’s Senior Research Leader Programme funds health and care professionals to strengthen research leadership, capacity and collaboration.

FENS/IBRO Fundingfor laboratory visits for Master’s and PhD students and early-career postdocs in Europe to broaden their methodological training.

UK researchers: lead / join a Horizon Europe consortium improving socio-economic outcomes for people with dementia and informal carers.

NIHR DSE Awards fund up to two years of salary, training, conferences and mentoring to help postdoctoral researchers compete for future NIHR funding.

NIHR funding for definitive trials evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of social care interventions for adults, children, families and carers.

NIHR funding for research evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve outcomes for adults with faecal incontinence.

MRC Impact Acceleration Awards offer £50,000–£300,000 for single-step projects to de-risk development of medicines, devices, diagnostics and interventions.

UKRI MRC Research Equipment Grant offers £200,000–£1m for mid-range capital equipment to strengthen biomedical research capability at eligible UK organisations.

Apply for an EPSRC New Investigator Award to develop your research vision, establish a research group and build independence and leadership.

Apply for a 1- or 2-year Max Weber postdoctoral fellowship at the EUI, with a €2,500 monthly grant, research funding and career support.

Applications are open for the 2027–28 Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health at UCSF. Join a global hybrid fellowship. Apply by 2 November.

NIHR funding is available for research into how big data and data linkage in local or regional government affect health and health inequalities.

Up to £500k for AI and machine learning RAD X UKDRI fellowships supporting pioneering dementia research, global collaboration and emerging research leaders.

ARUK’s Clinical Research Award funds ambitious experimental medicine studies, early-phase trials and trial sub-studies to advance dementia therapies.

Alzheimer’s Research UK Doctoral Clinical Fellowships offer up to £400,000 to help UK clinicians gain a PhD and build careers in dementia research.

Alzheimer’s Research UK Advanced Clinical Fellowships support UK clinicians combining dementia research and practice, with up to 50% protected research time.

Alzheimer’s Research UK Project Awards offer up to £500,000 over four years for ambitious, hypothesis-driven dementia research with clear outcomes.

Alzheimer’s Research UK Programme Awards offer up to £1.5m over five years for ambitious, integrated programmes tackling major challenges in dementia.

Alzheimer’s Research UK Pilot Awards offer up to £100,000 for bold, early-stage dementia research ideas, new collaborations and multidisciplinary work.

UKRI ESRC will invest up to £5.85m in a doctoral focal award plus to build data-driven research skills across social science career stages.

Invited applicants can seek MRC Proof of Concept stage two funding to develop therapeutics, devices, diagnostics and interventions up to phase 2a.

Apply for MRC Proof of Concept funding to develop and test therapeutics, devices, diagnostics and interventions, from prototype to phase 2a.

NIHR HTA Application Development Awards fund work to shape future HTA applications on health and social care interventions.

UKDTN Clinical Trial fellowships support dementia trial delivery by building skills, career pathways and a stronger specialist workforce.

The NIHR Academy Member Event Fund provides support to plan and hold events that promote NIHR Academy programmes and strategic priorities. 

MRC experimental medicine grants: fund mechanistic studies with an experimental intervention or challenge in humans. No funding cap. Round closes October

Funding to support excellent new investigator-led research across the breadth of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council scientific remit

BBSRC standard research grants: up to £2m FEC over 5 years for investigator-led bioscience at eligible UK research organisations. BBSRC funds 80% of costs.

ISTAART offers grants for PIA led conferences workshops and events that encourage collaboration mentoring and new ideas in dementia research worldwide

UK Human Functional Genomics Initiative launches a bursary to help researchers build academia industry partnerships in functional genomics. Apply now.

Vivensa Foundation funding supports PhD by Publication routes for UK ageing researchers with existing peer reviewed work covering fees and submission costs UK.

NIHR PHR Rapid Funding Scheme supports small time sensitive public health studies to enable rapid baseline data and feasibility work ahead of full evaluations.