The Medical Research Council’s experimental medicine scheme funds studies that test a mechanistic hypothesis about human disease by deliberately intervening in people, using a drug, an immune, physiological or psychological challenge, or another intervention with an established safety profile. The aim is new understanding of how disease works that opens up routes to future treatments or diagnostics. Early career researchers can apply as new investigators.
Stage one applications opened on 8 October 2026 and close at 4pm UK time on 14 April 2027, and the stage one panel meets on 9 and 10 June 2027. Successful applicants are invited to a stage two round running from 15 April to 1 September 2027, or can defer to the following round, from 7 October 2027 to 23 February 2028. The scheme runs continuously, with stage one rounds closing in April and October.
What it funds
Projects must address a clearly stated gap in understanding of human pathophysiology and include an experimental intervention or challenge in humans. That could mean using new readouts or technologies to understand disease mechanisms, or repurposing a drug with a known safety profile as a tool compound. A limited amount of retrospective sample analysis at the start is acceptable if it shapes the main interventional study, and nested studies within larger trials can qualify if they answer a different, mechanistic question.
The scheme does not fund biomarker discovery, characterisation or phenotyping work on its own, challenge studies in animals, preclinical model development, development of new therapeutics or devices, high throughput screening, late-phase efficacy trials, or observational studies with no experimental challenge. Many of those are covered by the MRC research grant, MRC proof of concept funding or the NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme instead.
There is no upper limit on funding or duration. The MRC pays 80% of the full economic cost, and awards usually have at least two milestones with clear go or no-go criteria.
Does it fit dementia research?
Any human disease area is eligible. For dementia, that might mean a pharmacological challenge to probe a disease pathway, or a repurposed drug used as a tool to test a mechanism, read out with imaging or fluid biomarkers, as long as the study is built around a mechanistic hypothesis rather than biomarker discovery. The MRC and LifeArc Repurposing Medicines Toolkit is a useful starting point for repurposing projects, and our blog on enhancing dementia drug discovery with AI looks at the wider pipeline.
Applying as a new investigator
If you are ready to lead your own research but have not yet led a team or held a substantial grant as project lead, you can apply as a new investigator. You can request up to 50% of your time, and projects typically last three years. You cannot apply as a new investigator if you have an MRC early independence fellowship or a Future Leaders Fellowship application under consideration, have already held an award supporting the transition to independence, or have applied for an MRC new investigator award twice before. Including your current or recent supervisor or lab head in the team needs specific justification. Our guide to the challenges of the junior PI is worth a read if you are making that step.
How applications are assessed
Stage one applications are assessed by the MRC’s Experimental Medicine Panel, and its decisions cannot be appealed. You can submit only one application as project lead, and a maximum of two stage one applications for the same project. Stage one asks for a vision, a short description of the intervention, an approach covering the project plan and milestones with a Gantt chart, risk management and participant recruitment, a statistical analysis plan and outline costs. A recorded webinar from November 2024 explains what makes a good experimental medicine application.
How to apply
Apply through the UKRI Funding Service, and talk to your research governance office early about ethics and regulatory approvals. The MRC encourages you to get in touch before applying at experimental.medicine@mrc.ukri.org, especially if your research may cross the boundaries between research councils.
Read the full details and apply
Visit funding web page
(https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/experimental-medicine/)