Medical Research Council: Career development award

You can apply for support to become an independent researcher, if your research focus is within Medical Research Council (MRC) remit to improve human health.

You must:

• have a PhD or equivalent
• show evidence of career progression
• show clear plans for establishing independence and developing as a leader in your area of research

There is no limit on the amount of funding you can apply for.

We will fund your salary and project costs for up to five years (pro-rata for part-time fellowships). We will fund 80% of the full economic cost.

You may choose to apply for joint funding from one of the collaborating organisations.

Who can apply?

Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

Who is eligible to apply

To be eligible to apply for the career development award you must:

• have completed a PhD or equivalent
• have the skills and experience that match those of the ‘transition to independence’ career stage in the MRC applicant skills and experience criteria, such as showing evidence of career progression and productivity across past appointments
• have your own research plans that do not significantly overlap with those of your current group leaders or proposed sponsors
• have the support of an eligible research organisation

There are no eligibility rules based on age or years of postdoctoral experience.

International applicants

Applications are welcomed from applicants of all nationalities, including those not currently based in the UK.

Who is not eligible to apply

You are not eligible to apply if:

• you have applied for this MRC fellowship within the last year
• you have applied for this MRC fellowship twice before
• you have applied for any UKRI fellowship and your application is being assessed
• you have applied for an MRC new investigator research grant and your application is being assessed
• you have been awarded an MRC new investigator research grant, because that award also supports the transition to independence
• you have been awarded a comparable fellowship or new investigator grant from any organisation

You cannot hold a salaried position and a fellowship at the same time. If you are awarded a fellowship, you will need to give up the permanent position for the duration of the fellowship or change to a proleptic appointment.

If you want to retain an existing position and combine this with research funding, we recommend you look at one of our grant funding opportunities instead.

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

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI.

We are supportive of applicants wishing to combine their research training with caring responsibilities. All of our fellowship awards may be held on a part-time basis or within flexible working arrangements.

Explore MRC flexible working practices.

Further fellowship guidance

Further information related to all aspects of the fellowship application process, can be found in the MRC guidance for fellowship applicants.

If you’re unsure whether you are eligible to apply, email fellows@mrc.ukri.org before beginning your application.

What we’re looking for?

The aim of the fellowship is to support talented researchers who have gained a higher research degree to:

• lead their own research plans
• establish their own research team
• make the transition to independent researcher

We welcome applications from across all areas of our remit to improve human health. This may range from basic studies with relevance to mechanisms of disease, to translational and developmental clinical research.

This may range from basic studies with relevance to mechanisms of disease, to translational and developmental clinical research.

Our science areas include:

• infections and immunity
• molecular and cellular medicine
• population and systems medicine
• neurosciences and mental health
• translation
• global health
• methodology
• public health

Explore MRC’s areas of scientific remit.

We also welcome proposals for interdisciplinary approaches or research that will address global health issues and be of benefit to those living in low and middle-income countries.

We may consider requests to fund new longitudinal population studies through an MRC fellowship award, but you must have approval from the longitudinal population studies strategic advisory panel (LPS-SAP) before you apply for the fellowship.

Explore the process and timeline for LPS-SAP approval.

Requirements

You must be able to:

• explain why a fellowship is the best way to support your long-term career goals and chosen career path to become an independent researcher in a medical research field
• describe how a fellowship would help you to move to the next level in your career through a step change in your current role
• show how your skills and experience match those of the transition to independence career stage in our applicant skills and experience criteria

You also must have at least one sponsor, who:

• is a senior member of the department where you are applying to host your fellowship
• acts as a supporter for the application and the fellowship, but does not have a supervisory role
• has expertise in the research area and acts as guarantor for the quality of the proposed work, suitability of you as a fellowship candidate and the quality of training and development you will receive
• you can have additional sponsors if necessary to support all areas of the proposed work and they may be from other organisations

What the fellowship gives you

This fellowship provides a competitive salary, giving you the chance to concentrate fully on your research, training and development.

You may spend up to six hours a week, pro-rata for part-time fellowships, on other commitments such as teaching, demonstrating, or other funded projects.

Explore MRC’s guidance on research staff development.

We may allow greater flexibility on the time dedicated to non-fellowship activities (for example, those detailed above or obtaining grant support) during the second half of a fellowship.

Email the programme manager at fellows@mrc.ukri.org to discuss your plans.

Explore what to expect as an MRC fellow.

For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section.

Duration

The career development award provides support for up to five years (pro-rata for part-time fellowships). We expect you to take advantage of the full five years’ funding available. However, we understand that plans for the later stages of a fellowship will not be as defined as the initial years.

If you are intending to apply for a shorter period, you should contact the programme manager at fellows@mrc.ukri.org before applying.

These periods are based on full-time equivalents. You may hold an award on a part-time basis to meet personal commitments, but not because of other professional commitments.

Any start dates you wish to propose outside of the above earliest and latest start dates, must be discussed with MRC prior to the 15 to 16 October 2025 decision meeting.

Funding available

There is no limit to the amount of funding you can request, however all costs must be fully justified and demonstrate value for money.

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 (FEC) and 100% of permitted exceptions.

Explore full economic costing.

What we will fund

The career development award will cover the cost of your salary.

The fellowship will also provide funding for:

• support for other posts such as research and technical staff
• research consumables
• equipment
• travel costs
• training activities
• data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs
• estates and indirect costs
• public partnerships and related activities, including payments to public contributors
• NHS research costs, when they are associated with NHS studies

The award will also support a period of research overseas, at a second UK research organisation or in industry, whichever is most appropriate. We encourage successful applicants to take advantage of these opportunities to establish collaborative networks and cross-sector development.

You may spend up to 12 months of your award at a second organisation. Applicants intending to spend longer periods overseas you should contact us at fellows@mrc.ukri.org before applying.

Requests for support beyond research and innovation associate and technical posts can only be included in exceptional circumstances and must be discussed with the office in advance.

What we will not fund

We will not fund:

• costs for PhD studentships
• publication costs
• funding to use as a ‘bridge’ between grants
• costs for sponsors
• costs for mentors

Joint funders

We collaborate with royal colleges and charity funders to offer jointly-funded career development awards.

These awards offer the prestige of having the relevant organisation co-fund your fellowship and may offer additional opportunities to report on your project, present your work at meetings and take part in professional networking.

We are inviting applications for the following jointly-funded career development award opportunities:

• The Borne Foundation
• DEBRA (the butterfly skin charity)
• Diabetes UK
• Kidney Research UK
• Macular Society
• Multiple Sclerosis Society
• Parkinson’s UK

We will offer all jointly funded fellowships under standard UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and MRC terms and conditions, except where the co-funder has specified additional terms and conditions.

See additional information for further details of the joint funders.

Team project partner

You may include team project partners that will support your fellowship 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 team project partner 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 with a core team role or who is from your organisation 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.

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)

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.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

 

 

 

Visit funding web page
(https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/career-development-award/)