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What we fund

Our research

We fund and support the most promising health research wherever we discover great opportunities in areas that are underfunded.

Funding the research our society needs

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Our total spend
on research
£57 million
Mental health
and neuroscience
£11.8m
Eating
disorders £4.1m

Eating disorders

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
Self-harm £1.5m

Self-harm

Rates of self-harm have risen in young people, but we still know little about why people harm themselves. Research is urgently needed.

Impact of climate change on health £6.7m

Impact of climate change on health

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 about Impact of climate change on healthRead more

Viral infections £5.6m

Viral infections

From viral hepatitis (£3.7m funded) to emerging pandemics like COVID-19, viral infections pose a constant threat to UK and worldwide public health.

Pain £4.5m

Pain

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

Antimicrobial resistance £4.3m

Antimicrobial resistance

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
Respiratory diseases £2.9m

Respiratory diseases

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying respiratory diseases is needed, to improve the treatment options available.

Autoimmune diseases

£2.3m

Autoimmune diseases

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

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

Adolescent skin disorders

For adolescents, skin disorders can be physically and mentally scarring, yet effective treatments are scarce.

Eye health £1.6m

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 £1.3m

Hearing loss

Better, tailored solutions are needed for the 9 million people in the UK who have significant hearing loss.

£8.0m
Discovery
science
£3.4m
Research capacity
building in Africa
£1.3m Changing policy
and practice

Changing policy and practice

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 more

Data based on awards made between 2008 to 2025

Our total spend
on research
£57 million
Mental health
and neuroscience
£11.8m
Eating
disorders £4.1m

Eating disorders

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
Self-harm £1.5m

Self-harm

Rates of self-harm have risen in young people, but we still know little about why people harm themselves. Research is urgently needed.

Impact of climate change on health £6.7m

Impact of climate change on health

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 about Impact of climate change on healthRead more

Viral infections £5.6m

Viral infections

From viral hepatitis (£3.7m funded) to emerging pandemics like COVID-19, viral infections pose a constant threat to UK and worldwide public health.

Pain £4.5m

Pain

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

Antimicrobial resistance £4.3m

Antimicrobial resistance

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

Respiratory diseases £2.9m

Respiratory diseases

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying respiratory diseases is needed, to improve the treatment options available.

Autoimmune diseases £2.3m

Autoimmune diseases

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.

£2m

Cardiovascular diseases

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.

£1.6m

Adolescent skin disorders

Adolescent skin disorders

For adolescents, skin disorders can be physically and mentally scarring, yet effective treatments are scarce.

£1.6m

Eye health

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.

£1.3m

Hearing loss

Hearing loss

Better, tailored solutions are needed for the 9 million people in the UK who have significant hearing loss.

£8m
Discovery science
£3.4m
Research capacity
building in Africa
£1.3m
Changing policy
and practice

Changing policy and practice

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 more

Thanks 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.

Search our research

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Disease or condition:

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Search results Showing 5 of 7 results

Tackling suicide in young people in Rwanda

Lead researcher: Dr Faith Martin
Research area: Mental health
Disease or condition: Self-harm
Research organisation: Cardiff University
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Completed
Amount: £93,517
Read more

Using data science to identify predictors and patterns of self-harm thoughts and behaviours

Lead researcher: Dr Becky Mars
Research area: Mental health
Disease or condition: Self-harm
Research organisation: University of Bristol
Funding type: Fellowship
Status: Live
Amount: £293,969
Read more

How do young people go from thinking about self-harm to acting on their thoughts?

Lead researcher: Professor Rory O’Connor
Research area: Mental health
Disease or condition: Self-harm
Research organisation: University of Glasgow
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Completed
Amount: £245,269
Read more

Social media, smartphone use and self-harm in young people

Lead researcher: Dr Rina Dutta
Research area: Mental health
Disease or condition: Self-harm
Research organisation: King's College London
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Completed
Amount: £507,754
Read more

Self-harm in children with autism and intellectual disability

Lead researcher: Dr Caroline Richards
Research area: Mental health
Disease or condition: Self-harm
Research organisation: University of Birmingham
Funding type: Research grant
Status: Completed
Amount: £464,459
Read more