Epilepsy Research Institute Uk

Charity Number: 1100394

Annual Expenditure: £1.7M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £1.7-2 million (2024-2025)
  • Success Rate: 30% (at full application stage for Emerging Leader Fellowship)
  • Decision Time: Not publicly specified
  • Grant Range: £30,000 - £300,000
  • Geographic Focus: UK national (UK-resident researchers at UK institutions)

Contact Details

Website: www.epilepsy-institute.org.uk

Email: info@epilepsy-institute.org.uk

Phone: 020 3882 9438

Researcher Portal: The Hub (online portal for researchers working in epilepsy)

Overview

The Epilepsy Research Institute UK (charity number 1100394), formerly known as Epilepsy Research UK, was formed by the merger of the Epilepsy Research Foundation and the Fund for Epilepsy in April 2007. The organization is the UK's only national charity exclusively dedicated to driving and enabling life-changing, life-saving epilepsy research. With an annual investment of £1.7-2 million in research grants, the Institute serves as the central hub for the UK epilepsy research community. The organization currently supports nearly 40 active research projects across 18 institutions, involving over 100 researchers and collaborators in the UK and internationally. For every £1 invested, the Institute leverages an additional £5.41 in follow-on funding. Under the leadership of CEO Rosemarie Pardington (appointed January 2024), the Institute has set an ambitious goal to secure £110 million for epilepsy research by 2030. The organization's strategic plan is underpinned by six key themes aligned to research priorities identified through a community-led James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership that engaged over 5,000 people.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Institute offers several types of research grants through an annual grant round:

  • Entry Fellowship Award: Up to £30,000 across 2 years - For researchers within three years of obtaining their PhD (inaugural award launched recently)
  • Explore Pilot Studies: Up to £30,000 across 2 years - For early-stage feasibility projects
  • Endeavour Project Grants: Up to £200,000 across 3 years - Large-scale, ambitious studies tackling pressing challenges in epilepsy
  • Emerging Leader Fellowship Award: Up to £300,000 across 1-4 years (FTE) - Supporting rising stars to develop transformative research programmes
  • Doctoral Training Centre Grant: Multi-year investment (e.g., training seven PhD students at University of Liverpool and University of Manchester)

Applications are managed through The Hub, the Institute's online portal for researchers. Grant rounds typically open annually (most recent round opened August 2024).

Priority Areas

The Institute funds research investigating:

  • Causes, treatments, and prevention of epilepsy and associated conditions
  • Collaborative, multidisciplinary research approaches
  • Community-identified research priorities from the Top Ten Epilepsy Research Priorities (James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership)
  • Early career and established researcher-led groundbreaking research

Strategic themes (aligned with community priorities):

  • Accelerate discovery
  • Foster collaboration
  • Drive investment
  • Translate research into positive outcomes
  • Device-based treatments through partnership with MRC Centre of Research Excellence
  • Enabling technologies
  • Reproduction and hormones

What They Don't Fund

Specific exclusions are not publicly listed on the website. However, eligibility criteria indicate:

  • Researchers must be UK residents affiliated with UK academic institutions
  • Applicants must be graduates in medicine, sciences allied to medicine, neuroscience, engineering, or mathematics
  • Existing Epilepsy Research UK grant holders must have up-to-date reporting on current grants to be eligible for new funding
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Governance and Leadership

Key Personnel

Chief Executive Officer: Rosemarie Pardington (appointed January 2024)

  • Previously held executive roles at Leonard Cheshire Disability and Young Epilepsy
  • Vision: “Our vision is to drive transformative progress in epilepsy research, advancing understanding, revolutionising treatment and achieving a future free from epilepsy.”

Chair of Trustees: Professor Matthew Walker

  • Professor of Neurology at UCL Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London
  • Elected Chair in 2017
  • Published over 200 scientific articles, chapters, and books
  • Quote: “Epilepsy Research UK serves an immensely important role as the only charity in the UK dedicated to funding epilepsy research, and it is critical to ensure that it is in a position to continue to fund high quality research that will have an impact upon the lives of people with epilepsy.”

Board of Trustees includes:

  • Rebekah Smith (representing Institute Founding Partner Epilepsy Action)
  • Mark Devlin (representing Institute Founding Partner Young Epilepsy)
  • Lesslie Young (representing Institute Founding Partner Epilepsy Scotland)
  • Medical and lay trustees with expertise in epilepsy, legal, and financial governance

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

  1. Registration: Sign up to The Hub, the Institute's online portal for researchers working in epilepsy
  2. Application Submission: Submit applications through The Hub during the annual grant round (typically opens in August)
  3. Initial Review: Applications undergo initial assessment
  4. Shape Network Application Clinics: Shortlisted applicants are invited to virtual meetings with two members of the Shape Network (the UK's largest network of research-interested people affected by epilepsy) to discuss proposed research and seek input on patient involvement
  5. Full Application Stage: Shortlisted researchers proceed to full application
  6. Final Decision: Awards announced (recent awards announced for implementation starting in 2025)

Decision Timeline

Specific decision timelines are not publicly disclosed. However, the process includes multiple stages:

  • Grant round opening (e.g., August 2024)
  • Initial application review
  • Shape Network Application Clinics for shortlisted applicants
  • Full application assessment
  • Awards announcement (recent 2025 awards announced late 2024)

Success Rates

30% success rate at the full application stage for the Emerging Leader Fellowship Award (2024/2025 round)

The Institute expects to fund between one and three Emerging Leader Fellowships per round and asks institutions to only put forward a responsible number of applications to encourage equity and fairness.

Reapplication Policy

Specific reapplication policies for unsuccessful applicants are not publicly disclosed. Researchers should check The Hub or contact the Institute directly for guidance on reapplying after an unsuccessful application.

Application Success Factors

Key Advice from the Funder

Collaborative and Multidisciplinary Approach: The Institute specifically encourages collaborative, multidisciplinary applications from researchers around the UK.

Patient and Public Involvement: Applications must demonstrate meaningful involvement of people affected by epilepsy. The Shape Network Application Clinics provide an opportunity for researchers to discuss how people affected by epilepsy can best be involved in proposed research.

Alignment with Community Priorities: Research should align with the Top Ten Epilepsy Research Priorities identified through the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership, which engaged over 5,000 people affected by and working in epilepsy.

Institutional Support: Institutions are asked to limit the number of applications they submit to encourage equity and fairness in the competition.

Examples of Recently Funded Projects (2025)

Entry Fellowship:

  • Dr. Francesca Chaloner: Exploring non-invasive brain stimulation to reduce seizures in people with epilepsy and Alzheimer's

Emerging Leader Fellowships:

  • Dr. Robert Graham: Studying acetylcholine patterns to improve seizure prediction
  • Dr. Marisol Sampedro Castañeda: Investigating rare genetic mutations affecting calcium flow in brain cells related to severe childhood epilepsies

Endeavour Project Grant:

  • Dr. Craig Heath: Investigating whether men taking sodium valproate risk passing on health issues to their children

Language and Terminology

The Institute uses terminology emphasizing:

  • “Radically advancing research”
  • “Life-changing, life-saving research”
  • “Groundbreaking” and “transformative” research
  • “A life free from epilepsy” (vision statement)
  • Community engagement and patient priorities

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Patient involvement is central: All shortlisted applications go through Shape Network Application Clinics where researchers discuss their work with people affected by epilepsy. Strong patient and public involvement plans are essential.
  • Align with community priorities: Applications should clearly demonstrate alignment with the Top Ten Epilepsy Research Priorities identified through the community-led Priority Setting Partnership.
  • Multidisciplinary collaboration is encouraged: The Institute actively seeks collaborative applications across disciplines and institutions.
  • Career stage matters: Different grant streams are designed for specific career stages (Entry Fellowship for within 3 years of PhD, Emerging Leader for rising stars, Endeavour for established researchers).
  • Institutional coordination is expected: Institutions should limit applications to a responsible number, suggesting internal selection processes may strengthen applications.
  • Leverage potential is valued: The Institute has demonstrated strong leverage capacity (£5.41 for every £1 invested), so applications should articulate potential for follow-on funding.
  • Register early on The Hub: Access to detailed guidelines and application information requires registration on The Hub, so researchers should register well before grant rounds open.

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References