Asthma + Lung UK

Registered charity 326730 · since 1984asthmaandlung.org.uk·United Kingdom·Updated 30 October 2026

At a glance

£3.2M

Annual giving, year to 30 June 2025

From filed accounts

Open to applications

Fixed application deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

Asthma + Lung UK funds research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung conditions, so it suits a research project with a clear patient benefit rather than general service delivery.
Its published programmes name ceilings, from up to £30,000 for a PhD bursary for healthcare professionals to up to £500,000 for a clinical trial, but no typical grant size is stated, so match your request to the ceiling of the programme you choose.
Check the eligibility rules before you start: Programme Development Grants need a UK-based principal applicant and host and must focus on the Treatment Lung Research Grand Challenge, Junior Fellowships need a UK research institution and a PhD or equivalent, and Pre-doctoral Early Career Fellowships are open only to healthcare professionals committed to follow-on PhD funding.
Applications are made through a Flexi-Grant account and must be submitted before the closing deadline for the round, which closes on 25 January at 12 noon.
Reviewers assess patient relevance and patient and public involvement, and the funder recommends the highest-scoring applications that fit the budget, so include a credible patient involvement plan and a plain-English lay summary.

Overview

Asthma + Lung UK is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 326730).

Asthma + Lung UK exists to help people with lung disease by funding research into understanding, treating and preventing it. Its awards include Clinical Trial, Junior Fellowship, Senior Fellowship, PhD Studentship, PhD Bursary for healthcare professionals, Project Grant, Pre-doctoral Early Career Fellowships for healthcare professionals and Pump-priming Grant awards, with themes in lung health research and mesothelioma research. Its annual report records £3,210,000 paid in its latest reported year.

What they fund

Priority Areas

Asthma + Lung UK funds research to improve how lung conditions are prevented, diagnosed and treated. Its award types include clinical trials, project and pump-priming grants, fellowships, studentships and bursaries for healthcare professionals. The work includes testing new or existing treatments, tackling priority challenges in respiratory research, supporting researchers at different career stages and helping healthcare professionals develop research projects and pursue PhDs. Some schemes require a UK-based host or grant-holding institution, and research collaborations, including national and international partnerships, are encouraged. The organisation's review process considers patient relevance and appropriate patient and public involvement, with patient representatives contributing to assessment.

Themes

Lung health research
Mesothelioma research

Geographic Focus

UK.

What they don't fund

Programme Development Grants only:
- The principal applicant and host/grant-holding institution must be based in the UK
- The principal applicant must be medically qualified and/or, a post-doctoral scientist and/or an allied healthcare professional
- Applications must focus on tackling one or more of the goal(s) of the Treatment Lung Research Grand Challenge
Junior Fellowships only:
- Be based at a UK research institution
- Hold a PhD or equivalent research qualification (for example, an MD(Res))
- Be working in clinical, laboratory, and/or epidemiological research
- Be applying as the Principle Applicant of the research project
- Have at least one named supervisor or mentor who will be included as a co-applicant
- Not have previously been a Principal Grant holder for a post doctoral grant award in excess of £100,000
Pre-doctoral Early Career Fellowships for Healthcare Professionals only: Applicants must be committed to applying for follow-on funding upon completion of this grant that will support their journey towards a PhD or equivalent qualification; This award is open to any healthcare professional, including allied healthcare professionals

How to apply

The prospective principal grant-holder or investigator registers for a Flexi-Grant account and starts the application online.

Deadlines: Submit each application before the closing deadline for its grant round.

Application windows:

Closes on 25 January at 12 noon

Who can apply:

Programme Development Grants
- The principal applicant and host/grant-holding institution must be based in the UK.
- The principal applicant must be medically qualified and/or, a post-doctoral scientist and/or an allied healthcare professional.
Junior Fellowships
- Be based at a UK research institution.
- Hold a PhD or equivalent research qualification (for example, an MD(Res)).
- Be working in clinical, laboratory, and/or epidemiological research.
- Be applying as the Principle Applicant of the research project.
- Have at least one named supervisor or mentor who will be included as a co-applicant.
- Not have previously been a Principal Grant holder for a post doctoral grant award in excess of £100,000.

Application success factors

What the charity says:

Applications with the highest scores that fall within the available budget are recommended for funding.
Patient representatives assess whether research is relevant to patients and includes appropriate patient and public involvement.
Lay summaries should use plain English and give lay reviewers enough information to make informed decisions.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

United Kingdom

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to Asthma + Lung UK.

Glaucoma UKFixed deadlinesGave £814k Action for Pulmonary FibrosisFixed deadlinesGave £29,580 Ruth Strauss FoundationFixed deadlines Mesothelioma UKFixed deadlines Roy Castle Lung Cancer FoundationNo public processGave £235k Arthritis UKFixed deadlinesGave £14.4M Leukaemia UKFixed deadlinesGave £1.1M Children with Cancer UKMixed deadlinesGave £4.2M British Heart FoundationRollingGave £111M British Skin FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £954k

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 30 June 2021	£15,105,000	£15,399,000	£4,360,000	Accounts for year to 30 June 2021
year to 30 June 2022	£13,906,970	£16,777,388	£3,749,894	Accounts for year to 30 June 2022
year to 30 June 2023	£14,863,000	£14,944,000	£1,924,000	Accounts for year to 30 June 2023
year to 30 June 2024	£14,769,000	£18,498,000	£2,500,000	Accounts for year to 30 June 2024
year to 30 June 2025	£16,112,000	£15,869,000	£3,210,000	Accounts for year to 30 June 2025

Income vs grants paid

IncomeGrants paid

Total value each financial year

YE 2021

£4.4M grants

YE 2022

£3.7M grants

YE 2023

£1.9M grants

YE 2024

£2.5M grants

YE 2025

£3.2M paid

Grants paid stayed within income across the 5 years shown.

Grants paid, year to 30 June 2021; year to 30 June 2022; year to 30 June 2023; year to 30 June 2024: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
Grants paid, year to 30 June 2025: grants paid out in the year.

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.