Funding opportunity: Experimental medicine – invited stage two application. Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), invites invited-stage applicants to submit stage two applications to investigate the causes, progression, and treatment of human disease. This opportunity emphasizes mechanistic hypotheses tested through an experimental intervention or challenge in humans and offers substantial funding with flexible project length. Open to eligible organizations, the program aims to support ambitious, translational science that advances understanding and treatment of disease through rigorous, mechanism-driven research.
The Experimental medicine: invited stage two application program supports projects that address mechanistic questions in human disease through an experimental intervention or controlled challenge. Funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) under the UKRI umbrella, the initiative provides grants intended to accelerate discovery and translation by linking mechanistic insight to potential clinical impact. There is no predefined cap on funding or project duration, enabling ambitious, long-term investigations that align with the strategic goals of improving human health. As an ongoing opportunity, success at stage two hinges on prior invitation following a successful stage one submission, underscoring a rigorous selection process designed to identify research with strong scientific and translational merit.
Key characteristics of the funding opportunity include a substantial total fund and a favorable cost coverage model. The program makes 80% of full economic cost (FEC) eligible for funding, allowing recipient organizations to plan and allocate resources with confidence. The opportunity's scope centers on human biology and disease mechanisms, requiring an experimental intervention or human challenge as part of the research design. With these elements, applicants must demonstrate a clear mechanistic hypothesis and a plan for translating mechanistic findings toward improved diagnostics, therapies, or understanding of disease progression.
Eligibility is defined by invitation to stage two and alignment with organizational requirements. The program emphasizes leadership by the applicant and active engagement in the research, with flexibility to broaden the team beyond those who contributed to stage one. The funding mechanism recognizes diverse career stages, including opportunities for new investigators who are transitioning toward independence, provided criteria are met. Candidates must be affiliated with an eligible organization and prepared to uphold the responsibilities of funding and project delivery across the proposed timeframe.
The stage two invitation process requires that the applicant be able to direct the project and actively contribute to the work. The program allows inclusion of additional team members who were not part of the stage one submission, offering scope to strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration. Organizations must be prepared to extend employment contracts for the duration of the project if needed, and to provide essential support such as mentorship and career development for early career researchers. This commitment ensures continuity of personnel and enables researchers to pursue long-term career trajectories within the funding period.
New investigator eligibility welcomes early career researchers ready to advance toward independent leadership. Applicants in this category must obtain support from their research organization and demonstrate qualities aligned with the transition to independence. The application should present the new investigator as the sole intellectual leader of the project and proposed work, illustrating a clear path to sustained leadership beyond the grant period. The new investigator route is designed to cultivate independence while leveraging organizational support to facilitate career progression and scientific impact.
International researchers may participate as project co-leads (international) and contribute significantly to the design and execution of the project. The program recognizes the value of international collaboration and encourages the inclusion of international partners as essential contributors. When international co-leads are involved, justification for their role and expected impact should be clearly explained within the application, ensuring alignment with project aims and capability to deliver results. All other international collaborators should be included as project partners to reflect the global scope of the work.
Funding parameters establish a flexible yet rigorous framework, enabling sizeable, ambitious research while maintaining responsible financial planning. The program provides 80% of full economic cost coverage, with the remaining 20% typically met by the hosting organization or partner institutions, in line with standard research funding practices. The absence of a formal cap on the funding amount or project duration allows investigators to design comprehensive studies that address complex mechanistic questions over extended periods, provided they remain scientifically sound and feasible within the organization’s capacity. All projects must be anchored in a mechanistic hypothesis and incorporate a human-intervention element to test the mechanism in a translational context.
Core eligibility criteria emphasize location and organizational support. Researchers must be based at eligible organizations and must secure the necessary institutional backing to sustain the project through its lifecycle. For new investigators, mentorship and career development support are essential components, ensuring that researchers build a sustainable trajectory in experimental medicine and related fields. The program recognizes that successful projects require robust infrastructure, mentorship, and institutional commitment to the investigator’s development and the research goals.
This opportunity operates on a staged process beginning with a stage one submission, followed by invitation to stage two for selected applicants. The opportunity is labeled as upcoming, with specific dates guiding when applications may be submitted in earnest after invitation. Applicants should plan to align their proposals with the mechanistic focus and the requirement for a human intervention to test hypotheses. The staged process emphasizes rigorous evaluation of scientific merit, feasibility, and potential health impact, alongside organizational capacity to deliver the proposed research.
Key dates and milestones to note include publication, opening, and closing times, which anchor the cycle for stage two submissions. While invitations are issued following successful stage one assessments, potential applicants should prepare by developing a strong mechanistic framework, a clear plan for human intervention, and a robust organizational support structure. The dates below provide guidance for planning and submission timelines:
Additional process considerations include ensuring alignment with eligibility requirements, compliance with institutional policies, and readiness to address stage two eligibility criteria. Applicants invited to stage two should prepare a comprehensive research plan detailing the mechanistic hypothesis, the planned experimental human intervention, milestones, and metrics for evaluating scientific and translational impact. Institutions should be prepared to provide mentorship, career development opportunities for early career researchers, and a stable employment framework to sustain the project through its lifecycle. As a result, applicants can pursue ambitious, transformative science while benefiting from institutional investment in capability development and research excellence.
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Submission Deadline
Mar 11, 2026
Collaboration
International collaboration
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