Apply for Medical Research Council funding to support research projects focused on molecular and cellular medicine. You must be employed by a research organisation eligible to apply for Medical Research Council (MRC) funding. You can involve more than one research group or organisation in the project.
There is no limit to the funding you can apply for, but it should be appropriate to the project. We will usually fund up to 80% of your project’s full economic cost.
Projects can last up to five years, but they typically last three to four years.
This is an ongoing funding opportunity.
Who can apply?
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.
Who is eligible to apply
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
- focus your application within the research area of molecular and cellular medicine
For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:
- contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
- all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers
Who is not eligible to apply
You are 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.
International researchers
As MRC is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers can apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’.
Project co-leads (international) make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project. Their contribution and added value to the research should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see Applicant and team capability to deliver.
Read the UKRI project co-lead (international) eligibility for more details. Please contact us if you are uncertain about eligibility.
You should include all other international collaborators as project partners.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
- career breaks
- support for people with caring responsibilities
- flexible working
- alternative working patterns
UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.
What we’re looking for?
Scope
We’re looking for new investigators with a proposal for research that increases understanding within the field of molecular and cellular medicine.
The Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board (MCMB) funds research into basic biological mechanisms or technologies relevant to human health and disease.
We aim to increase understanding of:
- the structure and function of molecules and complexes
- the cellular environment during development and mature states
- how biological systems respond to challenges (for example, drugs and toxins) and diseases
We lead MRC’s investments in cancer, from fundamental discovery science to epidemiology, experimental medicine and early translation.
Research focused on specific organ systems or diseases (with the exception of cancer and haematology) is normally supported through our other research boards.
We’re looking to fund research in areas including, but not limited to:
- cell biology
- structural biology and biophysics
- molecular and functional genetics, epigenetics, genomics
- developmental and stem cell biology (excluding neurobiology)
- regenerative medicine
- molecular haematology
- development of new tools and technologies relevant to MCMB remit, such as nanotechnology, chemical biology and synthetic biology
- medical bioinformatics, including biostatistics, computational biology and systems biology
- cancer
- toxicology and adverse health effects of environmental exposures
- pharmacology
Find out more about the molecular and cellular medicine areas of investment
We encourage you to contact us first at mcmb@mrc.ukri.org to discuss your application, especially if you believe your research may cross MRC or research council interests. If your application fits another research board remit better, we may decide to transfer it there to be assessed.
MRC applicant led research grants:
- are suitable for focused short or long-term research projects
- can support method development
- can support development and continuation of research infrastructures and resources specifically relevant to the needs of our research communities, that cannot be supported through other routes
- may involve more than one research group or organisation
For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the ‘Additional information’ section.
Duration
We will fund projects lasting up to five years, although projects typically last three to four years. If your project will last more than three years, you must justify the reason for this.
If your project will last less than two years, it must be for proof of principle or pilot work. We expect proof of principle applications to support high-risk or high-reward research by critically testing a key hypothesis or demonstrating the feasibility of an approach that could lead to fundamentally new avenues of research.
Contact mcmb@mrc.ukri.org for advice if you would like to apply for a short or long-duration project.
Projects should start between one to six months after the funding decision date.
Funding available
There is no limit to the funding you can apply for. Your application must be for an amount that:
- is appropriate to the project
- you can justify in order to deliver the objectives of the proposed research
We will fund 80% of the full economic cost and 100% of permitted exceptions.
Find out more about full economic costing.
What we will fund
You can request funding for costs such as:
- a contribution to the salary of the project lead and co-leads
- support for other posts such as research and technical staff
- research consumables
- equipment
- travel costs
- data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs
- estates and indirect costs
- NHS research costs, when they are associated with NHS studies
- public partnerships and related activities, including payments to public contributors
You can also request costs for work to be undertaken at international organisations by international project co-leads. We will fund 100% of the eligible costs.
The total of such costs requested for international applicants from high-income countries (those not on the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients), India and China must not exceed 30% of the total resources requested.
There is no cap on costs requested for international applicants from DAC list countries.
For more information on international costs and what we will and will not fund see costs we fund and the Collaborate with Researchers in Norway guidance.
What we will not fund
We will not fund:
- research involving randomised trials of clinical treatments
- costs for PhD studentships
- publication costs
- funding to use as a ‘bridge’ between grants
If you are applying using a lead agency agreement, we will not fund the international partners, they will be funded by their respective funding agency.
Team project partner
You may include team project partners that will support your research project through cash or in-kind contributions, such as:
- staff time
- access to equipment
- sites or facilities
- the provision of data
- software or materials
- recruitment of people as research participants
- providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project
Each project partner must provide a statement of support. If your application involves industry partners, they must provide additional information if the relationship falls within the industry collaboration framework.
Find out more about subcontractors and dual roles.
Who cannot be included as a team project partner
Any individual included in your application core team cannot also be a project partner.
Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation, this includes other departments within the same organisation.
If you are collaborating with someone in your organisation, consider including them in the core team as project co-lead, or specialist. They cannot be a project partner.
Supporting skills and talent
We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.
As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.
Further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.
Visit funding web page
(https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/molecular-and-cellular-medicine-research/)
