Funder: Cancer Research UK
Due Dates (Anticipated): February 2027 (Full) | March 2027 (Outline) | September 2027 (Full) | October 2027 (Outline)
Funding Amounts: Typically up to £2.5 million over seven years, plus the host’s salary contribution
Summary: Supports clinician scientists establishing independent cancer research programmes and progressing to clinical academic leadership.
Key Information: The UK host must contribute 50% of the fellow’s salary overall and commit to a route to an open-ended salaried research position.
Description
Cancer Research UK’s Clinical Future Leaders Fellowship supports clinician scientists transitioning to research independence and leadership. It provides long-term support to establish an independent research group, alongside mentoring, training and career development. Its remit includes basic cancer biology, preclinical studies, imaging, radiotherapy, engineering and physical sciences applied to cancer, population research and early detection.
Programmes should clearly articulate a cancer-related question and normally have a strong discovery element. Priorities include early detection, prevention, children and young people’s cancers, and cancers of unmet need: brain, lung, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver and stomach cancer. Research elsewhere within the scientific remit, including rare cancers, is also eligible. The goal is to change how cancer is understood, prevented, diagnosed or treated.
