Mesothelioma UK

Registered charity 1177039 · since 2018mesothelioma.uk.com·Northern Ireland, United Kingdom·Updated 30 October 2026

At a glance

Open to applications

Fixed application deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

Mesothelioma UK funds research relevant to mesothelioma, so a small nonprofit whose work is not about that disease is unlikely to fit.
Its grants go to universities, medical schools and research institutes in the UK and Northern Ireland, and a contract researcher may apply only alongside one of these, so a charity that is not itself such an institution should check this closely before approaching it.
The charity states that up to £40,000 of grant funding is available, though it gives no typical grant size, so a request within that figure matches the stated scale.
Applications open in April and close in June, and the first step is an outline application, with a full application invited only if the applicant is selected for Stage 2, so an outline needs to be ready well before the June close.
Applications are peer reviewed for impact, innovation, methods and achievability, and must include patient and public involvement and plans for dissemination; equipment-only, consumables-only and running-cost requests are not funded.

Overview

Mesothelioma UK is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1177039).

Mesothelioma UK is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. It exists to fund pioneering research, promote equitable access to clinical trials and advocate for a National Mesothelioma Audit, with a twofold mission to improve the lives of those living with the disease today and to help prevent future cases. It funds clinical, scientific and patient experience and supportive care research, and its research grants support universities, medical schools and research institutes in the UK and Northern Ireland.

What they fund

Priority Areas

Mesothelioma UK funds research relevant to mesothelioma and scientific and patient needs. Its research grants support universities, medical schools and research institutes in the UK and Northern Ireland; eligible contract researchers may apply alongside a university or research institute. It funds clinical, scientific and patient experience/supportive-care research, and its stated aims include prevention, new treatments and quality of life. Its research aims to improve care, treatment, outcomes and patient experience. Applications are peer reviewed for potential impact, innovation, methods and achievability, and funded research is disseminated so practice, patients and healthcare providers can benefit from the evidence.

Themes

Prevention
New treatments
Quality of life
Clinical research
Patient experience research
Supportive care research

Geographic Focus

UK; Northern Ireland.

What they don't fund

research funding only:
- applications for consumables or running costs only
- applications that do not comply with international regulations
- applications from a Commercial Entity
- applications from Outside the UK and Northern Ireland
- research that is not mesothelioma cancer specific
- applications that do not fit with the research criteria
- research that has already been completed in this area
- research that has little or no potential impact on patients diagnosed with mesothelioma or their families
- proposals that do not have the ability to change opinion or practice
- research that is not felt to be innovative/creative
- proposals that do not represent ‘Value for Money’
- proposals which consist solely of evaluations of existing health services
- proposals where the stated impacts/outcomes do not occur within the period of the project funding
- applications that do not follow the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and the Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice
- applications for equipment only (not normally considered)

How to apply

Applications are assessed in two stages; applicants selected for Stage 2 are invited to complete a full application.

Deadlines: Submit the outline application by the deadline stated for the call.

Application windows:

Opens in April, closes in June

Who can apply:

Awards are provided for grants to universities, medical schools and research institutes within the UK and Northern Ireland.
If a contract researcher wants to apply for funding on their own merit, they will be considered if they have a proven track record and are willing to work alongside a UK or Northern Ireland university or research institute.

What to send:

Applicants need to complete the outline application form.
If selected for Stage 2, applicants are asked to submit a full application.

Applying again: Yes, each grant round is assessed by the Research and Audit Scientific Committee on its own merit.

Application success factors

What the charity says:

The committee and external reviewers assess potential impact, an innovative research question, methods and achievability within the timeline.
Applicants should demonstrate active engagement with Patient & Public Involvement throughout the research.
Applicants must outline plans for engagement, communication and dissemination of research.
Grant recipients are expected to complete progress reports during their research projects.
The Board of Trustees makes the final funding decision after recommendations from the RASC.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

United Kingdom
Northern Ireland

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to Mesothelioma UK.

MND AssociationFixed deadlinesGave £10.4M Haemochromatosis UKFixed deadlines Leukaemia UKFixed deadlinesGave £1.1M Action for MENo public processGave £33,366 Asthma + Lung UKFixed deadlinesGave £3.2M MS SocietyFixed deadlinesGave £5.2M Ovarian Cancer ActionRollingGave £776k Pelican Cancer FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £11,000 Scleroderma and Raynaud's UKFixed deadlinesGave £159k Melanoma FocusFixed deadlines

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 March 2021	£1,478,055	£1,364,695	£1,020,909	Accounts for year to 31 March 2021
year to 31 March 2022	£1,318,755	£1,574,876	£1,124,159	Accounts for year to 31 March 2022
year to 31 March 2023	£1,610,457	£1,839,233	£73,404	Accounts for year to 31 March 2023
year to 31 March 2024	£1,771,508	£1,658,494	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2024
year to 31 March 2025	£1,716,914	£1,601,584	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2025

Income vs grants paid

IncomeGrants paid

Total value each financial year

YE 2021

£1M grants

YE 2022

£1.1M grants

YE 2023

£73,404 grants

Grants paid stayed within income across the 3 years shown.

Grants paid, year to 31 March 2021; year to 31 March 2022; year to 31 March 2023: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).

— No grants figure for those years.

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.