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.
A unique programme of research to understand how very rare genetic errors in children with intellectual disabilities (ID) can increase the risk of mental illness.
| Lead researcher: | Prof David Skuse |
| Research area: | Mental health |
| Disease or condition: | Congenital disorders |
| Research organisation: | University College London |
| Funding type: | Research grant |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £900,000 |
An infrastructure grant providing £1.94m to establish a national clinical research database and biobank of data and samples from 10,000 patients to support HCV research in the UK.
| Lead researcher: | Prof John Mclauchlan |
| Research area: | Infectious diseases |
| Disease or condition: | Hepatitis |
| Research organisation: | University of Glasgow |
| Funding type: | Infrastructure grant |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £1,976,918 |
We provided £2m support for a national PhD training programme to train academic psychiatrists in the modern neuroscience techniques needed by the future leaders of mental health research.
| Lead researcher: | Prof Stephen Lawrie |
| Research area: | Mental health |
| Research organisation: | University of Edinburgh |
| Funding type: | Studentship |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £1,977,354 |
The creation of a dedicated National PhD Training Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to build a network of new researchers to help tackle this huge health challenge.
| Lead researcher: | Dr Matthew Avison |
| Research area: | Antimicrobial resistance |
| Disease or condition: | Bacterial and Viral Infection |
| Research organisation: | University of Bristol |
| Funding type: | Studentship |
| Status: | Live |
| Amount: | £4,000,000 |
| Lead researcher: | Dr Becky Mars |
| Research area: | Mental health |
| Disease or condition: | Self-harm |
| Research organisation: | University of Bristol |
| Funding type: | Research grant |
| Status: | Completed |
| Amount: | £203,484 |
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.
