Neurosciences and mental health new investigator

Apply for funding to:

• research neurosciences and mental health
• take the next step towards becoming an independent principal investigator.

You must have:

• a postgraduate degree
• the support of a host research organisation eligible for MRC funding.

You are not eligible if any of these apply:

• you have held an award with a duration of three years or more and direct science costs of more than £50,000 per year
• you have applied unsuccessfully to this scheme twice
• you are waiting for the outcome of a UKRI fellowship application.

There is no limit to the funding you can apply for, but the typical full economic cost of a project is under £1 million. MRC will usually fund 80% of the full economic cost.

This funding usually lasts three years and covers up to 50% of your salary.

This is an ongoing scheme. Application rounds open every February, June and October.

What we're looking for:

The MRC’s Neurosciences and Mental Health Board funds research in neurosciences, mental health and disorders of the human nervous system. We aim to transform our understanding of the physiology and behaviour of the human nervous system throughout the life course in health and in illness, as well as how to treat and prevent disorders of the brain.

The research we support includes the interactions between the nervous system and other parts of the body, the brain, mental health and physical health. We are also interested in how episodes throughout life impact on lifelong mental and neurological health.

Research we fund includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

• neurodegeneration
• clinical neurology and neuroinflammation
• mental health
• addictions and substance misuse
• behavioural and learning disorders including autism
• cognitive and behavioural neuroscience and cognitive systems
• sensory neuroscience including vision and hearing
• neurobiology and neurophysiology
• underpinning support, such as neuroimaging technology, brain banking and neuroinformatics.

Find out more about the science areas MRC supports and our current board opportunity areas.

We encourage you to contact us first to discuss your application, especially if you believe your research may cross MRC research board or research council interests. If your application fits another research board remit better then we may decide to transfer it there to be assessed.

We expect you will want to combine your research project with other activities. For example:

• time spent on other research grants or clinical duties
• teaching
• administration duties
• other time spent in faculty.

You may spend up to 50% of your contracted working time on this project and we will cap our contribution to your salary at this level.

If you want to spend more time than this on your project, you must provide a strong scientific rationale and your host institution will need to underwrite the extra time.

The salary requested should be in line with the research organisation’s usual new investigator levels.

New investigator research grants usually last three years and are not renewable. It may be possible to apply for a longer period but you will need to justify why this is necessary. Projects help applicants in the transition to independence so will not usually be for shorter periods.

Co-investigators can be involved, but must bring expertise to the project which is outside the applicant’s field. Your current supervisor or lab head should not be a co-investigator.

You can request funding for costs such as:

• a salary contribution, capped at 50% of your total working time
• the salary for any hours that your co-investigators will spend working on the project
• support for extra research or technical posts
• consumables and equipment
• travel costs
• data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs
• estates or indirect costs.

There is no set limit to the funding available, but your application must be for an amount that:

is appropriate to the project you can justify in delivering the objectives of the proposed research. Your application must show 100% of the full economic cost. We will fund up to 80% of the full economic cost of your research to your institution. Find out more about full economic costing.

We will not fund:

• research involving trials of clinical treatments
• costs for PhD studentships
• publication costs.

Who can apply:

The new investigator research grant is aimed at researchers who are capable of becoming independent principal investigators and who are now ready to take the next step towards that goal.

About the MRC new investigator research grant.

You do not need a specific number of years of postdoctoral experience to be eligible to apply.

You may apply for funding to carry out research at your current UK research organisation or any other eligible UK institution you want to move to.

You must:

• have the support of an eligible research organisation
• be able to show that your skills and experience match those in the ‘transition to independence’ stage of the MRC applicant skills and experience table, such as showing evidence of career progress and clear plans to develop your own research niche
• provide a clear rationale of why this grant will best support your long-term career goals and chosen career route
• have at least a postgraduate degree, although most applicants have a PhD or medical degree
• be the sole intellectual leader of the proposed project, although we will allow co-investigators when they bring expertise to the project which is outside the applicant’s field.

The focus of this funding opportunity is neurosciences and mental health research. There are similar opportunities across other areas of medical research within MRC remit, including:

• infections and immunity
• molecular and cellular medicine
• population and systems medicine
• better methods, better research.

There are also other types of awards including:

• research
• programmes
• partnerships.

You should contact us if you are not sure which opportunity to apply to.

You are still eligible to apply if you:

• are employed as a postdoctoral research assistant, but this grant cannot start until your current work finishes
• hold a lecturer appointment, a junior fellowship or another research staff position
• hold, or have held, an early career training fellowship such as an MRC skills development fellowship
• do not have a contract with your chosen host institution.

Who is not eligible:

You are not eligible to apply if you have achieved independence, for example by receiving substantial grant income as a principal investigator. ‘Substantial grant income’ is typically defined as grants or fellowships up to three years long, with more than £50,000 direct science costs (excluding the principal investigator’s salary) per year.

You are also not eligible if you have:

• applied to the scheme twice unsuccessfully
• an application for any UKRI fellowship under consideration, including MRC Career Development Awards and MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship.

If you have any doubts about your eligibility, you should contact the relevant MRC programme manager to check if you are eligible to apply.