Application deadlines for Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board funding are usually around January, May and September although sometimes dates can change so check the funding opportunity list for details.
Search funding opportunities.
You can submit to any one of the available deadlines in the year.
You may only submit to the new investigator scheme twice. You can submit a second application only if your first is not successful. You must wait at least a year after your first submission before submitting a second application.
Applying through Je-S
You must apply through the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system.
For more information, please read the Je-S how to apply guidance (PDF, 140KB).
If you need further help, you can contact the Je-S help desk on 01793 444164 or by email on jeshelp@je-s.ukri.org.
You should give your administrative department sufficient notice that you intend to apply. Your organisation must submit your application before 16:00 on the deadline date.
When applying select:
- council: MRC
- document type: standard proposal
- scheme: research grant
- call/type/mode: New Investigator Research Grants (NIRG) Only Research Boards Jan 2022.
Guidance for applicants
The MRC guidance for applicants:
- helps you check your eligibility
- guides you through preparing an application
- shows you how to prepare a case for support
- provides details of any ethical and regulatory requirements that may apply.
Your new investigator research grant application must include a letter of support confirming that you have originated the research question and written the research application.
Letter of support
Research organisations must also attach to all applications a statement of support signed by a senior authority. It should:
- support the application including through long-term financial commitment
- describe why the organisation considers you to be a suitable candidate for a new investigator grant
- lay out plans for how the organisation will mentor, guide and support your career development
- detail how they will financially support non-project time
- confirm that you are a recognised and valued part of their team, integrated into the research organisation, and able to develop your independence and the focus of your research
- detail the internal process the application has gone through before submission
- describe how the research organisation will support you following the end of the award
- provide details of a named senior academic who has supported you during the development of your application and who will continue to do so.
This letter of support should also describe how the host organisation will support you, for instance:
- guidance and training on setting up a research group, building partnerships and collaborations, or with public engagement
- rapid access to resources at the research organisation through knowledge of appropriate processes and systems
- access to career development support and advice to enable future career transitions
- support for any proposed leadership activities
- access to laboratory space or investment in equipment to establish the applicant’s laboratory, access to communal departmental resources.
CV form
You must apply using the new investigator research grant CV and salary template form (DOCX, 33KB).
Co-investigators, supervisors and collaborators
Co-investigators are only permitted when they bring expertise to the project which is outside your own skill set. For each named co-investigator, you must include:
- CV (two page limit per co-investigator)
- publications list (one page limit per co-investigator).
Your current supervisor or lab head cannot be a co-investigator. However, if they are providing expertise to the project, in your case for support you should include:
- what expertise they are providing
- the nature of any future relationship and overlapping research interests.
Other researchers may be included as named collaborators in your case for support, but do not include CVs for them in the application.
Industrial partners
If you want to include one or more industry partners as a project partner, you must also:
- complete the project partner section in Je-S
- submit an MRC industrial collaboration agreement (MICA) form and heads of terms
- include ‘MICA’ as a prefix to your project title.
Find out more about MRC industry collaboration agreements.
Re-applying (resubmission)
You should complete the ‘related proposals’ section of the proposal form and choose the ‘resubmission’ option in the ‘how related’ section.
Your proposal should have taken into account any comments or feedback received from the previous submission and details of how the proposal has been improved should be included in the cover letter.
