We fund and support the most promising health research wherever we discover great opportunities in areas that are underfunded.
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Eating disorders are devastating – anorexia alone has the highest death rate of any psychiatric disorder – yet our understanding of what causes them is limited.
Read more about Eating DisordersRead more
Rates of self-harm have risen in young people, but we still know little about why people harm themselves. Research is urgently needed.
Climate change is a severe threat to human health globally. Urgent action is needed to understand and tackle the health impacts of climate change. Read more
From viral hepatitis (£3.7m funded) to emerging pandemics like COVID-19, viral infections pose a constant threat to UK and worldwide public health.
Chronic pain affects 28m people in the UK and nearly 30% of the entire global population – yet research is severely underfunded. Read more about painRead more
AMR is a global threat to human health. To stop the spread of drug-resistant illness and disease, a new approach is desperately needed
Read more about Antimicrobial resistanceRead more
A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying respiratory diseases is needed, to improve the treatment options available.
Autoimmune diseases
£2.3m
Autoimmune conditions like lupus (£1.5m funded) and autoimmune hepatitis (£600k funded) are difficult to diagnose and treat, often leaving patients without answers for years. More research is desperately needed.
Cardiovascular diseases
£2m
Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of death across the UK. Research investment is vital to save lives. We have also invested in research into stroke in young people (£1.2m funded), in this area.
Adolescent skin disorders
£1.6m
For adolescents, skin disorders can be physically and mentally scarring, yet effective treatments are scarce.
Eye health £1.6m
Currently only 3% of research funding is spent on eye diseases and sight loss. Better solutions are desperately needed to protect vision and quality of life.
Hearing loss £1.3m
Better, tailored solutions are needed for the 9 million people in the UK who have significant hearing loss.
Our Changing Policy and Practice Awards help ensure that discoveries made by Foundation or MRC-funded researchers reach a wider audience and directly impact on healthcare policy, treatments, and public behaviour.
Read more about Changing policy and practiceRead moreData based on awards made between 2008 to 2025
Eating disorders are devastating – anorexia alone has the highest death rate of any psychiatric disorder – yet our understanding of what causes them is limited.
Read more about Eating DisordersRead more
Rates of self-harm have risen in young people, but we still know little about why people harm themselves. Research is urgently needed.
Climate change is a severe threat to human health globally. Urgent action is needed to understand and tackle the health impacts of climate change. Read more
From viral hepatitis (£3.7m funded) to emerging pandemics like COVID-19, viral infections pose a constant threat to UK and worldwide public health.
Chronic pain affects 28m people in the UK and nearly 30% of the entire global population – yet research is severely underfunded. Read more about painRead more
AMR is a global threat to human health. To stop the spread of drug-resistant illness and disease, a new approach is desperately needed. Read more about Antimicrobial resistanceRead more
A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying respiratory diseases is needed, to improve the treatment options available.
Autoimmune conditions like lupus (£1.5m funded) and autoimmune hepatitis (£600k funded) are difficult to diagnose and treat, often leaving patients without answers for years. More research is desperately needed.
Cardiovascular diseases
Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of death across the UK. Research investment is vital to save lives. We have also invested in research into stroke in young people (£1.2m funded), in this area.
Adolescent skin disorders
For adolescents, skin disorders can be physically and mentally scarring, yet effective treatments are scarce.
Eye health
Currently only 3% of research funding is spent on eye diseases and sight loss. Better solutions are desperately needed to protect vision and quality of life.
Hearing loss
Better, tailored solutions are needed for the 9 million people in the UK who have significant hearing loss.
Our Changing Policy and Practice Awards help ensure that discoveries made by Foundation or MRC-funded researchers reach a wider audience and directly impact on healthcare policy, treatments, and public behaviour.
Read more about Changing policy and practiceRead moreThanks to our supporters, we've been able to fund a wide range of life-changing medical research. Have a look at the projects we've funded below or visit our News and Events page to read the latest research findings.
Funding to disseminate the clinically relevant research findings about six newly identified inherited neurodevelopmental disorders in the Amish community to affected families, clinicians and education providers.
| Lead researcher: | Dr Emma Baple |
| Research area: | Changing Policy and Practice |
| Disease or condition: | Congenital disorders |
| Research organisation: | University of Exeter |
| Funding type: | Dissemination award |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £60,000 |
Dissemination of findings in a book related to data that has been collected about cases of gigantism, which brings together endocrinology, genetic disease, medical history, local folklore and legends and epidemiology.
| Lead researcher: | Professor Marta Korbonitis |
| Research area: | Changing Policy and Practice |
| Disease or condition: | Congenital disorders |
| Research organisation: | Queen Mary University |
| Funding type: | Dissemination award |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £2,500 |
An award for the dissemination of findings of an MRC-funded study about the consequences of smoking cannabis, particularly the high potency strain commonly known as ‘skunk’.
| Lead researcher: | Professor H Valerie Curran |
| Research area: | Changing Policy and Practice |
| Disease or condition: | Schizophrenia |
| Research organisation: | University College London |
| Funding type: | Dissemination award |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £27,144 |
A fellowship to determine whether there are particular strains of Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) that are more likely to cause post herpetic neuralgia (PHN) (the burning pain associated with shingles) ; and, to understand the mechanism by which VZV becomes active after many years dormant to cause shingles and PHN.
| Lead researcher: | Dr Daniel Depledge |
| Research area: | Infectious diseases |
| Disease or condition: | Human herpes virus |
| Research organisation: | University College London |
| Funding type: | Fellowship |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £302,641 |
A fellowship to study of the role of cellular proteins in neuronal establishment and maintenance of, and reactivation from, α-herpes virus latency.
| Lead researcher: | Dr Mandy Glass |
| Research area: | Infectious diseases |
| Disease or condition: | Human herpes virus |
| Research organisation: | University of Glasgow |
| Funding type: | Fellowship |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £266,900 |
We offer a range of support and development for your career, including funding for research.
We exist to fund research and we want to help support you – the rising stars and the champions of the medical research world.
