UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards
UKRI Translation: MRC Impact Acceleration Awards support academic teams testing one high-risk step in developing medical products or interventions, generating data to guide further development or a decision to stop.
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: November 11, 2026, 4:00pm UK time (Closing date)
Funding Amounts: £50,000–£300,000 full economic cost; 6–18 months
Summary: MRC supports academic teams to test one high-risk step in developing a medical product or intervention.
Key Information: Project leads must be based at an MRC-eligible research organisation and may submit only one application as lead.
Description
The Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, offers Impact Acceleration Awards for academically led projects developing new or repurposed medical products and interventions. Each project must address one high-risk development step, using an approach supported by earlier work, and generate critical data to guide onward development or show that the approach should not progress. The award sits between smaller Impact Acceleration Account projects and larger MRC Proof of Concept awards.
Work can concern medicines, vaccines, advanced therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, digital healthcare, imaging, surgical tools, and behavioural or psychological interventions. All human diseases are in scope, including UK and global health challenges. Priorities include precision prevention, earlier diagnosis, advanced treatments, treatment-outcome monitoring, and improved disease management.
