Medical Research Council

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: £800 million
• Success Rate: 24% (2022-23)
• Decision Time: 4-8 weeks (from shortlisting to notification)
• Grant Range: £10,000 - £26,500,000 (varies by scheme)
• Geographic Focus: UK national and international (with significant focus on global health research)

Contact Details

Website: https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/ and https://mrc.ukri.org/

General Funding Enquiries: rfpd@mrc.ukri.org

Peer Review Queries: PeerReview@mrc.ukri.org

Press Enquiries: 01793 298902 or press@ukri.org

Research Funding Policy & Delivery Team: RFPD@Headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

Response Time: Aim to respond within 10 working days

Overview

The Medical Research Council (MRC) was founded in 1913 and is now a council of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The MRC is responsible for coordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom, spending approximately £800 million annually through research grants and career awards. In 2017/18, the MRC's gross research expenditure was £814.1 million, allocated as follows: £380.2 million on grants to researchers in universities, medical schools and research organisations, £150 million on programmes within MRC's own units and institutes, £194.1 million on programmes within university units and partnership institutes, and £71.4 million on studentships and fellowships. The MRC's vision is to accelerate improvements in human health and economic prosperity for everyone, regardless of background, place or upbringing, by supporting world-class biomedical research and innovation. In December 2024, the MRC launched its first two Centres of Research Excellence (CoRE), each receiving up to £50 million over 14 years to develop transformative advanced therapeutics.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Research Grants: Suitable for focused research projects that may be short- or long-term in nature. Can support method development, research facilities, and may involve multiple research groups or institutions. MRC funds 80% of the full economic cost. Rolling application basis.

Programme Grants: Support for up to five years, including a portion of salaries for Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators. MRC funds 80% of the full economic cost. Must contact programme manager at least six weeks before submission deadline. Fixed deadlines twice yearly.

Career Development Award (CDA): Up to five years' support for researchers transitioning to independence. No funding limit, but requests must be justified. Covers full personal salary costs, research staff, consumables, travel, and equipment. MRC funds 80% of full economic cost. Fixed deadlines twice yearly.

PhD Studentships: The MRC funds around 1,900 PhD studentships annually through universities, MRC units, institutes and centres. Covers tuition fees, monthly stipend of £20,780 per year, and additional support for research training.

MRC Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE): Up to £26.5 million (FEC) for the first seven years, with MRC funding 80% of the FEC. For developing transformative advanced therapeutics and gene therapies.

Experimental Medicine Scheme: Approximately £11 million available annually, distributed twice a year. Two-stage application process with 35% success rate at stage one and 47% at stage two (16% overall success rate).

Network/Methodology Research Funding: Research projects up to £50,000 maximum (higher amounts may be considered exceptionally). Discrete workshops or consensus meetings up to £10,000.

Global Health Research: Approximately £100 million per year on global health research, covering all areas including mental health, cancer, maternal, child and adolescent health in low and middle-income countries.

Priority Areas

• New investigator research grants: Supporting early-career researchers
• Experimental medicine: Understanding disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets using human participants
• Advanced therapeutics: Cell or gene therapy, regenerative medicine, nucleic acids, antibodies and other innovative medicines
• Understanding the emergence of human disease across scales
• ME/CFS research
• Data science: Supporting cutting-edge research using large datasets, funding infrastructure and tools for data collection and analysis
• Fundamental discovery science: Advancing frontiers of knowledge across the breadth of biomedical research
• Mental health, cancer, maternal, child and adolescent health
• Heart disease and cardiovascular research
• Rare genetic disorders and therapeutic genomics

What They Don't Fund

• Programmatic approaches or research involving randomised trials of clinical treatments (through Research Grants - these may be funded through other schemes)
• Patent costs and other intellectual property costs (universities already receive funding for these from Higher Education Innovation Funding)
• PhD studentship costs (within MRC research or programme grants - these are funded through separate mechanisms)
• 'Bridge' funding between grants under any grant schemes
• Computers and laptops for research staff on continuing contracts (including PIs and CoIs) - expect universities to provide these
• Previously declined applications within 12 months of original submission date (unless invited in writing to resubmit by the MRC)
• Funding that duplicates existing core support

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Governance and Leadership

Current Leadership

Executive Chair: Professor Patrick Chinnery - appointed by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. Professor Chinnery is a leading Cambridge neuroscientist.

Former Executive Chair: Professor Fiona Watt FRS FMedSci served as Executive Chair from 2018 to 2022, becoming the first woman to lead the MRC since its foundation in 1913. She is now Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

Parent Organisation: The MRC is part of UKRI, led by Chief Executive Dame Ottoline Leyser.

Governance Structure

The MRC is advised by a council which directs and oversees corporate policy and science strategy, ensures effective management, and makes policy and spending decisions. Council members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and are drawn from industry, academia, government and the NHS. Members of the council also chair specialist boards on specific areas of research.

Day-to-day management is overseen by the Executive Board, a decision-making body chaired by the Executive Chair.

The Major Investments Board brings together the chairs of MRC's research boards, representatives from the MRC management board, MRC Council and independent members to provide horizon-scanning, review, and oversight of MRC's major investments portfolio.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Application System: Applications are submitted through your host research organisation using the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system or UKRI Funding Service.

Pre-Application Requirements (Programme Grants): You must contact the programme manager of the relevant MRC research board to confirm whether your application fits the scheme. This mandatory step must be completed at least six weeks before the submission deadline.

Submission: Your host research organisation must complete the final submission before the deadline. Late applications will not be considered.

Application Timing: Research grants are available on a rolling basis. Other schemes have fixed deadlines (e.g., Programme Grants, Career Development Awards have twice-yearly deadlines).

Decision Timeline

Shortlisting: MRC shortlisting of applications typically takes place four to five weeks before the funding decision meeting.

Initial Notification: Applicants are notified by email with the outcome of shortlisting as soon as operationally possible after the shortlisting meeting.

Final Decision: Following the funding decision meeting, MRC aims to inform each applicant of the funding decision by email (successful and unsuccessful) within 10 working days.

Start Date: The anticipated start date should be realistic and would normally be between one month and six months after the date of the decision-making board or panel.

Overall Timeline: From shortlisting to decision notification is typically 4-8 weeks.

Success Rates

Overall Success Rate (2022-23): 24% of applications (335 in total) were approved.

Experimental Medicine Scheme:

• Stage 1 success rate: 35%
• Stage 2 success rate: 47%
• Overall success rate: 16%

The MRC publishes comprehensive data on success rates for grants and fellowships by type and demographics on their website. UKRI also publishes information about funding decisions made by research council boards and panels.

Reapplication Policy

12-Month Rule: Applications previously declined by the MRC, another research council or other funding body will not be considered by the MRC within 12 months from the original submission date, unless invited in writing to resubmit by the MRC.

Substantial Changes Required: The MRC does not accept uninvited resubmissions of proposals. They expect proposals to be substantially changed before submitting the same research idea as a new proposal. If your amendments only address panel and reviewer comments or make only minor changes, your proposal will count as a resubmission and will be rejected.

Centre of Research Excellence: Unsuccessful applications cannot be resubmitted unless invited by the panel.

Application Success Factors

Direct Advice from the Funder

The MRC emphasises that all research funded must be conducted to the highest standards of rigour and integrity throughout the research process, from initial planning to reporting and dissemination of results.

Key Resources for Applicants:

• MRC offers a video on “generating ideas for research, selecting the right funder, and application process tips”
• Blog post available: “Funding decisions: insider insights”
• Detailed guidance and worked examples for experimental design issues in applications involving animal research

What the MRC Values

Research Excellence: The MRC prioritizes world-class biomedical research and supports fundamental discovery science alongside translational research.

Data Science and FAIR Principles: The MRC encourages FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles in research.

Breadth and Responsiveness: Funding is available for any area of science relevant to the MRC, allowing them to maintain breadth of expertise and respond rapidly to current and future challenges.

Career Development: Strong commitment to supporting researchers across all career stages, with competitive salaries and protected time for fellows to concentrate on research, training and development.

Global Impact: Research that addresses health inequalities in developing countries and low and middle-income countries.

Recent Funded Projects (2024 Examples)

MRC/BHF Centre of Research Excellence in Advanced Cardiac Therapies (£50m over 14 years): Developing gene therapies for heart disease, focusing on heart repair and regeneration following heart attack and for heart failure patients. Led by Professors Paul Riley (Oxford), Andrew Baker (Edinburgh), and Mauro Giacca (King's College London).

MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Therapeutic Genomics (£50m over 14 years): Making rare genetic disorders treatable through mass production of affordable gene therapies. Addressing severe seizures in infants, certain types of blindness, immune disorders, and severe neurological disorders. Led by Professor Stephan Sanders and co-director Professor Deborah Gill (Oxford), with Chemistry Nobel Prize winner Professor Jennifer Doudna (Innovative Genomics Institute).

Strategic Alignment

The MRC has renewed its commitment to supporting excellent fundamental discovery science while also strategically funding specific research areas for time-limited periods. They balance researcher-led continuous funding opportunities with strategic priorities in areas like advanced therapeutics, experimental medicine, and data science.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

1. Success rates are highly competitive - with only 24% overall success rate, applications must be exceptionally well-crafted and demonstrate clear excellence and rigour throughout.

1. Choose the right scheme carefully - with varied funding mechanisms from £10,000 workshops to £26.5 million centres, selecting the appropriate scheme is critical. For Programme Grants, mandatory pre-application contact with the programme manager at least six weeks before deadline is required.

1. Plan for the 12-month resubmission rule - unsuccessful applications cannot be resubmitted within 12 months unless invited, and any new submission must be substantially different, not just minor revisions addressing reviewer comments.

1. Emphasize rigour and integrity - the MRC places paramount importance on research being conducted to the highest standards throughout the entire research process, from planning to dissemination.

1. Consider global health impact - with £100 million annually dedicated to global health research, projects addressing health inequalities in low and middle-income countries are a strategic priority.

1. Align with data science principles - incorporating FAIR data principles and demonstrating how your research will contribute to or utilize large datasets can strengthen applications.

1. Timeline management is crucial - shortlisting occurs 4-5 weeks before decision meetings, with final decisions communicated within 10 working days. Plan for start dates 1-6 months after board/panel decisions.

Similar Funders

These funders frequently fund the same charities:

• Wellcome Trust
• Welsh Government
• Cancer Research UK
• PEACOCK CHARITABLE TRUST
• Academy of Medical Sciences
• PILKINGTON CHARITIES FUND
• THE ANNANDALE CHARITABLE TRUST
• The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation
• THE SIMON GIBSON CHARITABLE TRUST
• THE CADOGAN CHARITY
• Edith Murphy Foundation
• Garfield Weston Foundation
• P F Charitable Trust
• King's College
• King's College London
• University of East Anglia
• THE CONSTANCE TRAVIS CHARITABLE TRUST
• SMITH CHARITABLE TRUST
• THE GOLDCREST CHARITABLE TRUST
• MAKING CHANGES

References

1. Medical Research Council - UKRI official website: https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/
2. MRC main website: https://mrc.ukri.org/
3. “MRC facts and figures” - UKRI: https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/mrc/spending-and-accountability/facts-and-figures/
4. “All published success rate data” - MRC: https://mrc.ukri.org/research/funded-research/success-rates/all-published-success-rate-data/
5. “Application timelines” - MRC UKRI: https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/guidance-for-applicants/application-timelines/
6. “Types of funding we offer” - MRC: https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/guidance-for-applicants/types-of-funding-we-offer/
7. “MRC research priorities” - UKRI: https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/remit-programmes-and-priorities/our-research-portfolio-and-priorities/
8. Times Higher Education: "Social science success rates 'shockingly low'" - reporting MRC success rates of 24% in 2022-23
9. “1.5 Multiple applications” - MRC guidance on reapplication policy: https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/guidance-for-applicants/check-if-you-are-eligible-for-funding/1-5-multiple-applications/
10. “MRC launches two £50m centres for cutting-edge gene therapies” - UKRI News, December 2024: https://www.ukri.org/news/mrc-launches-two-50m-centres-for-cutting-edge-gene-therapies/
11. “Professor Patrick Chinnery appointed as MRC Executive Chair” - UKRI: https://www.ukri.org/news/professor-patrick-chinnery-appointed-as-mrc-executive-chair/
12. “Contact us” - MRC: https://mrc.ukri.org/about/contact/
13. “Global Health and International Partnerships” - MRC: https://mrc.ukri.org/funding/science-areas/global-health-and-international-partnerships/
14. “How MRC is governed” - UKRI: https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/mrc/how-we-are-governed/