Guts UK Development Grants – Early Career Researchers

These awards are aimed at early career researchers not yet in a substantive position or within three years of appointment to a substantive academic post. Allowance will be made for applicants whose career has been subject to an interruption for family or personal reasons. These grants are for translational or proof of concept research in any area of gastroenterology (including pancreatology and hepatology).

An early career researcher – for the purposes of this scheme is a researcher with up to 10 years (FTE) relevant experience post completion of a PhD.

We strongly encourage applications that are aligned to our current research priorities which can be found on our website.

• Six grants are available up to £15,000 each.

It is envisaged that the research project could allow the collection of pilot or proof-of-concept data that will enable a high-quality competitive application to be made subsequently to a research council or other large funder, such as the National Institute of Health Research.

Applications will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Scientific excellence (plausibility, feasibility, importance, originality, potential to elicit clinically useful results).
• Value for money.
• Relevance to Guts UK’s research priority themes.
• Suitability of research team (track record of the applicants).
• The potential difference the research will make to the lives of patients.
• The potential for further funding and/or follow up studies.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

These grants are open to early career researchers not yet in a substantive position or within three years of appointment to a substantive academic post. This award is not for salary costs for principal applicants who must have their salary covered by other funds. Funding will be available only in the UK.

Allowance will be made for applicants whose career has been subject to an interruption for family or personal reasons. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

BUDGET AND RESEARCH DURATION

The maximum allowed budget is £15,000. Only the direct costs associated with the project will be funded. Early career development grants are not intended to be used as ‘top-up’ funds to meet a shortfall in funding from another body. Overhead allocation or other indirect costs, including senior or supervisory posts which are already covered by other funding will not be funded. Publication, open access, and public relations costs, attendance at conferences and equipment or capital costs will not be funded either. All costs must be clearly explained and justified. Awards are provided for up to 24 months.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Guts UK are keen that the research starts as soon as possible after the award of the grant. Ethical approval, if required by the project, will be needed before the work commences. All licences pertaining to research using animals must be valid and in place.

Provided the study meets the NIHR’s definition of a ‘research study’, the selected project(s) will also be eligible for adoption by the UK Clinical Research Network and therefore will be eligible for NIHR support. For clinical research proposals, applicants are encouraged to contact their local NIHR Clinical Research Network for advice as early as possible.

APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply, download the following documents:

• Application Form
• Application Form Guidelines
• Scope and Eligibility Criteria
• Guts UK Research Grants Terms and Conditions

Please email your completed application to [email protected] (including copies of supporting letters/emails). The deadline for applications is Monday 30th June 2025 at 5pm.

The deadline for applications will be Monday 30th June 2025 at 5pm. Applications will initially be reviewed by a subset of the Guts UK Research Awards Committee. Applications meeting the scoring threshold will then be subject to two in-depth reviews, in line with the Association of Medical Research Charities’ guidance. Following this, all shortlisted applications will be assessed by the Guts UK Research Awards Committee at a meeting to be held in October 2025. Lastly, recommendations for funding will be taken to the Guts UK Board of Trustees for ratification. The successful applicant will be notified by early December 2025.  

Please note: Any queries relating to submission of the application must be referred directly to Guts UK. Applicants or their colleagues may not contact a Research Awards Committee member or Guts UK Trustee to discuss any aspect of an application or the decision reached on it.

If you have questions about this funding opportunity or would like to sign up for research award updates, email [email protected]