Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: September 17, 2026 (EOI, 4:00pm UK time) | November 5, 2026 (Full application, 4:00pm UK time)
Funding Amounts: Up to £4 million MRC contribution (£5 million full economic cost) over up to five years; £15 million total fund
Summary: Supports human experimental studies testing biological mechanisms that explain variation in responses to biomedical prevention interventions.
Key Information: Only teams invited following a successful mandatory expression of interest may submit a full application.
Description
Run by the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, this opportunity funds experimental medicine research into why biomedical prevention interventions work differently across people. Studies must test a defined mechanistic hypothesis through a biomedical intervention or challenge in humans, focused on pre-disease, early disease or disease emergence. Interventions must have established safety profiles, and studies must measure validated biological readouts rather than infer mechanisms solely from observational data.
The programme seeks evidence that improves the targeting, timing and delivery of prevention, making approaches more effective, efficient and equitable. Projects may investigate existing validated prevention interventions or mechanisms that could inform future approaches. MRC particularly welcomes work addressing gaps in multiple long-term conditions and metabolic disease and, where relevant, underrepresented populations.
