Wellcome Trust
/OVERVIEW: The U.K.-based Wellcome Trust supports scholarship and research in the fields of infectious diseases, the public health effects of climate change, and mental health. Its researcher awards support scientists and researchers working in higher education and at other organizations throughout every stage of their career, from undergraduate student scientists to established researchers looking to grow and lead their own teams.
IP TAKE: The Wellcome Trust primarily conducts its grantmaking through the lens of global health. Even researchers applying for climate change grants should be able to show how their research addresses health impacts. Funding for researchers working in any of its funding areas is drawn from a common pool of support, and awards are not separated by field of study. This means that mental health researchers will be competing against researchers working in infectious diseases who will be competing against climate and health researchers. Thus, grantmaking is competitive. Luckily, Wellcome awards hundreds of fellowships, scholarships, and research grants each year, and its pockets run deep.
The Wellcome Trust is a very transparent and accessible funder. It regularly publishes news and reports about its activities and maintains a searchable database of project summaries submitted by previous grantees. The majority of its grants have open application processes with multiple grant cycles each year. Individual researchers seeking grants from Wellcome should note that they must have the endorsement of an eligible organization, for instance the university or research institute to which they belong, and in many cases must conduct the application through the research support administration of said organization.
PROFILE: Wellcome Trust, one of the largest charitable foundations in the world, was established by the estate of Sir Henry Wellcome, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur, upon his death in 1936. Wellcome was a cofounder of Burroughs Wellcome & Co., which, following a series of mergers between 1995 and 2000, is now an integral part of the pharmaceutical giant GSK (GlaxoSmithKline). Based in London, the Wellcome Trust’s mission is to “support science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone.” Its Programs currently target three broad areas of health: Mental Health, Infectious Disease, and the intersection of Climate and Health.
Wellcome also funds Discovery Research, which supports advances in health from “unexpected sources.” It supports these funding areas through several different programs, or what it calls “Schemes,” that focus on different stages of researchers’ career, running the gamut from undergraduate education research to career development awards aimed at aiding established researchers.
Grants for Science Research
The Wellcome Trust’s Discovery Research grants fund “ambitious, curiosity-driven research across a range of academic disciplines.” Its funding in this area breaks down into three types targeted at researchers at different stages in their careers.
Wellcome Early-Career Awards provide up to five years of salary plus research expenses for researchers with three years or less of post-doctoral experience to pursue innovative projects that “deliver shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing.”
Wellcome Career Development Awards provides up to eight years of support for “mid-career researchers from any discipline who have the potential to be international research leaders.”
Wellcome Discovery Awards make grants to “established researchers and teams from any discipline who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing.”
Wellcome also continues to maintain its STEM education-based programs. Its Undergraduate Education programs offer scholarships based in research environments and internships at Wellcome's London headquarters. The Postgraduate Training programs provide fellowships for master’s or Ph.D. students in biomedical science, population health or humanities and social science. The Postdoctoral Research program focuses on support for recently graduated or almost finished Ph.D. students in biomedical science, population health or humanities and social science. It also supports researchers Leading a research programme, who have significant postdoctoral research experience and are ready to lead their own team.
Grants for Climate Change and Global Health
The Wellcome Trust’s grants for Climate and Health aim to catalyze “a transformation in the scale of research into the impacts of climate change on human health.” It seeks to fund research projects that can “define the interventions and policies that can respond to the climate crisis in a way that protects and improves human health.” Such projects address global health issues arising from climate change, such as the increase of tropical diseases, microbes potentially released from arctic thawing, and food insecurity resulting from climate changes effects on farming capabilities. Wellcome is also concerned with the increase in severity of natural disasters, such as tropical storms, hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and heatwaves. It prioritizes funding projects that involve “quantitative data on the effects of climate change on health,” “identifying the benefits to health of urgent climate change mitigation actions,” “establishing evidence on how to protect health through climate change adaption actions,” and “creating a global climate and health community with the skills and tools necessary to make a significant impact.” Wellcome also funds research into climate change diseases through its Discovery Research grants.
Grants for Diseases
The Wellcome Trust’s grants for Infectious Disease research fund projects that “increase our understanding of the sources of infectious disease and the factors that drive disease escalation,” as well as developing “accessible and affordable solutions to control the impact of infections” in collaboration with local communities, policymakers, and nonprofits. Wellcome’s research interests are currently focused on improving our knowledge of disease reservoirs, environmental zoonotic threats, and drug resistance to better understand the origins and potential solutions to increasing impacts of disease. The trust is also interested in improving clinical trial methods, regulatory policies, data architecture, and prevention protocols. Wellcome also funds research into infectious diseases through its Discovery Research grants.
Grants for Mental Health
The Wellcome Trust’s grants for Mental Health aim to “find innovative ways to intervene as early as possible in depression, anxiety, and psychosis in order to improve the life trajectory of millions of people globally.” It supports research projects working to understand “how the brain, body, and environment interact,” find improved ways of identifying and grouping people suffering from or at risk of mental health conditions, and develop new forms of intervention, whether “pharmacological or non-pharmacological.” Wellcome is open to exploring holistic solutions that incorporate all sources of support, including healthcare providers, workplaces, educational institutions, friends and family, and the medical research community. It is also working to standardize data collection and analysis methods and advocating for science-based approaches to mental health policy. Wellcome also funds research into mental health through its Discovery Research grants.
Important Grant Details:
Wellcome’s grants may range anywhere from $100,000 to $1.5 million. To learn more about the trust’s grantees, explore its list of grants awarded. Grantseekers are advised to research the foundation’s granting schemes carefully to find the most appropriate program.
Wellcome primarily funds organizations based in the UK and Ireland. It also supports nonprofit organizations in “low- and middle-income countries” in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. It does not fund operations in India or mainland China.
Deadlines vary by grant and several granting programs have multiple cycles per year. Grantseekers should familiarize themselves with the application guidelines of their chosen grant before applying.
Individual applicants must be sponsored by an eligible host organization, which may be an institute of higher education, research institute, nonprofit, or healthcare organization.
Wellcome will not fund individuals or organizations that are the target of international sanctions or located in a country that is the target of international sanctions.
Wellcome will not fund activities that may involve the transfer of grant funds to mainland China.
Wellcome will not fund individuals or organizations who are employed by or currently receiving research funds from the tobacco industry.
Wellcome does not generally award funding to organizations whose primary purpose is to distribute grants.
Grantseekers may reach out to Wellcome through its contact form or by phone at +44-(0)20-7611-8888 for further inquiries.
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