Wellcome funding opportunities in health-related ethics Jacob Leveridge & Liz Shaw Medical Humanities Programme, Wellcome Trust

Outline of talk 1.Wellcome Trust & Strategic Plan 2.What is Biomedical Ethics (BmE)? 3.What is research in BmE? 4.Some e.g.s 5.Funding priorities 6.Other BmE schemes 7.Other funding opportunities

An independent research- funding charity Established 1936 Funded from private endowment Managed for long-term stability and growth Interests range from science to history of medicine The Wellcome Trust

Strategic Plan One vision Three focus areas Five challenges

Our new vision and mission Our vision is to achieve extraordinary improvements in human and animal health Our mission is to support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health

Three focus areas… Supporting outstanding researchers supporting the best researchers at all stages of their careers; creating the best research environments; influencing the policy landscape Accelerating the application of research stimulating Technology Transfer, clinical research and uptake to policy & practice Exploring medicine in historical and cultural contexts fostering medical humanities, education & public engagement

Five major challenges… Maximising the health benefits of genetics and genomics Understanding the brain Combating infectious diseases Investigating development, ageing & chronic disease Connecting environment, nutrition and health

What is Biomedical Ethics (BmE)? Some form of engagement with ethical/moral dilemmas arising in development & delivery of healthcare or use of medical techniques in non-healthcare contexts Trust interested in both research & public engagement As far as research concerned, includes - research ethics - translational ethics - clinical & healthcare practice ethics - public health & health policy ethics

What is research in BmE? 3 broad kinds of ethical enquiry Empirical ethics – what is e.g. finding out what particular group of people think about, or how they negotiate, ethical dilemmas Normative ethics – what ought to be (or not) - a systematic analysis of what ought or ought not to be done Meta-ethics – nature of ethical properties, statements, judgments

What kinds of research in BmE is the Trust interested in? Purely normative analysis – philosophical or other systematic analysis of what ought or ought not to be done Purely philosophical or other systematic conceptual analysis of key concept(s) employed in ethical analysis Combination of empirical research with philosophical ethical/conceptual analysis or sustained critical reflection on how data inform/challenge questions about what ought or ought not to be done or key ethical concepts

A couple of examples Dr Gareth Owen (Psychiatry, IoP) ‘A phenomenological study of decision-making capacity in psychiatric disorders’ - How can & should notion of mental capacity be interpreted & applied in context of psychiatric disorder? - Clinical/empirical Q: What is phenomenology of decision-making incapacity in schizophrenia, severe depression & frontal brain syndrome, is this phenomenology similar or different across & within disorders? - Legal Q: How should ‘use or weigh’ inability be interpreted in these disorders? - Philosophical Q: Can study of decision-making incapacity in these disorders advance philosophical understanding of autonomy?

Dr Paul Baines (Paediatric Intensive Care Medicine, Keele) ‘Making medical decisions for children: a philosophical approach’ - How ought we to make medical decisions for children (esp. in face of disagreements between parents and treating clinical team)? - How parent's rights & parent's interests are and ought to be balanced with child's interests in deciding correct course

Funding priorities Review of Programme in 2006/07 Recommendations included more targeted support for capacity-building – SAs, RFs …And greater support for clinicians, other health professionals & scientists interested in doing research in BmE

Research Fellowships in Biomedical Ethics Purpose For individuals not yet in established academic posts, to undertake period of postdoctoral research What’s included? Salary for up to three years Essential research expenses + set amount for travel to conferences etc. Support available for research training in new discipline Application process Applications two times a year, deadlines 1 Aug, 1 Dec Preliminary applications min six weeks before full application deadline Prelims: outline (2pp max), approx costs, CV & publications, sponsor’s name and contact details, letter of support from HoD

University Awards in Biomedical Ethics Purpose For universities to attract/retain outstanding research staff at an early to mid-stage in their careers, with support for up to five years, university guarantees permanent post after that, usually at lecturer level What’s included? Full salary for three years, 50% in Y4 and 25% in Y5 Travel expenses to attend meetings for five years Research expenses for first three years Application process Applications three times a year, deadlines 1 Aug, 1 Dec, 1 Mar Preliminary applications min six weeks before full application deadline Prelims: outline (2pp max), approx costs, CV & publications, letter of support from HoD, statement from dean confirming salary costs & post as above

RFs & RLAs in BmE for Healthcare Practitioners & Scientists Purpose For clinicians, GPs, other health professionals, to undertake period of research within remit of Biomedical Ethics Programme Research Fellowships in Biomedical Ethics for Healthcare Practitioners & Scientists For longer period of research, clinical/other practitioner salary for up to 4 years p/t + research expenses + travel allowance, can request support for training in new discipline; can also be used to enrol for PhD Research Leave Awards in Biomedical Ethics for Healthcare Practitioners & Scientists To be released from duties to undertake short period of research, 3-12 months f/t, salary of temporary cover for candidate + research expenses + travel allowance

Smaller grants MHH Small Grants Up to £5k for symposia, conferences, travel, meetings to discuss project idea or work up proposal, research expenses etc. within broad purview of medical humanities Dissemination Awards For dissemination of WT-funded BmE research to new audiences or in new or particularly innovative ways WT/POST Fellowships For WT-funded BmE final year doctoral students or early-stage postdocs to spend 3 months in POST

International Ethics programme Project Scoping Travel Grants - For short-term visits by LMIC scholars within their own country, or to another country, to discuss ideas for ethics research collabs Symposia – For capacity-building to conduct research in ethics, or scholarly discussion of ethical issues in LMICs Small Project Grants & Project Grants - For research Studentships – Can be held at UK institutions

Places: Strong track record in global health research Geographic focus Major Overseas Programmes Focus countries Other eligible countries

Investigator Awards Extension of successful existing Fellowships model to those in established academic posts, who might previously have come in for Programme Grants & Project Grants (which replacing) Greater focus on individual researcher and their needs, greater flexibility since not so much about particular research project or programme but more about key research question(s) & individual researcher’s vision & approach to answering those Qs New IAs & Senior IAs £ k/yr for up to 7 years Being rolled out across Science Funding from Oct 2010, MH from Oct 2011

Other funding opportunities Strategic Awards Highly flexible, support expansive research & capacity-building programmes that don’t obviously fit existing mechanisms, esp. multi-disciplinary programmes, esp. to support strategically-important topics, 5 challenges Medical History & Humanities Programme Historically-grounded research addressing important questions at interface of science, medicine & humanities, drawing on other disciplines in medical humanities & social sciences Public Engagement Programme Support for projects aiming to inform & inspire public about biomedical sciences & their social, ethical & historical contexts

Medical Humanities

Strategic awards Brian Hurwitz, Kings College London The Boundaries of Illness Martyn Evans, Durham Medicine and Human Flourishing Medical Humanities some examples

Wellcome Trust Book Prize Wellcome Library Wellcome Collection Wellcome Trust Book Prize

Medical History & Humanities We encourage research applications that address important questions at the interface of science, medicine and the humanities. We expect that these questions will further develop our understanding of the impact of medicine and medical sciences on human and animal health. Research must be historically grounded, drawing, where appropriate, on wider disciplines, in particular the humanities (e.g. Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, etc.).

Medical History and Humanities some recent examples… Before ‘Translational Medicine’: Bench-Clinic Relations since 1950 Franco Basaglia and Mental Health Reform in Italy A translation of 6 volumes of the works of Galen of Pergamum (129–210 CE), ‘the Prince of Physicians’. The Casebooks Project: Simon Forman and Richard Napier's Medical Records,

Programme Grants Long-term funding for up to 5 yrs, focused theme Pilot Grants 2 yrs support to develop competitive Programme Grant applications, by developing & piloting research Qs, methodology, collabs UAs, RFs, RLAs, PhD Studentships RLAs for Clinicians & Scientists Overview of MHH schemes

Enables clinicians or scientists to undertake full-time research at a centre or department with academic expertise in medical history Provides the salary of a locum or replacement lecturer for the duration of the award Up to 6 months support Research Leave Awards in Medical History for Clinicians & Scientists

Supporting projects that aim to inform and inspire the public about biomedical science and its social/historical contexts To engage with society to foster an informed climate within which the medical Humanities and biomedical science can flourish Public Engagement

THEATRE IN EDUCATION ARTS EXHIBITIONS SCIENCE/HISTORY LECTURES/TALKS WEBSITES PEOPLE’S PANELS EDUCATION PROGRAMMES SCIENCE CENTRES PUBLIC DEBATE INTERACTIVE WEBSITES NEWS/ NEWSPAPER COVERAGE LIBRARY RESOURCES TV PROGRAMMES MAGAZINE ARTICLES ATTITUDE RESEARCH CITIZEN JURY OPINION POLLS SOCIAL RESEARCH CONSULTATIONS FOCUS GROUPS ADVISORY/USER COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION CONSENSUS CONFERENCE PUBLIC IMPACT ON RESEARCH/POLICY DIALOGUEINFORMATION

People Awards Society Awards Arts Awards Broadcast Development Awards Public Engagement Grant Schemes

People & Society Awards People £30k Exhibitions Events & debates Education projects Drama productions Films Festivals (Science, History & Literature)

People Award: Interior Traces Radio drama, video, performance & debate that looks at how our images & imaginings of the brain have radically changed (& may further change) medicine, law, ethics & our sense of self Events in Wellcome Collection, Dana Centre, Birkbeck Cinema

Society Award: Debating Matters Inter-school sixth form debating competition Emphasis on content not rhetoric/style Increasing participation from state schools At least 1/3 of debates on biomedical topics Adapted for use in Ireland & India

Two schemes: Small £30k Dance, drama, performance arts, visual arts, music, film, craft, photography, creative writing or digital media Projects must involve creation of new work Broadcast Development Awards Seed funding for getting early-stage ideas for TV, radio or new media projects to a ‘pitchable’ stage Arts Awards

Arts Award: The Lion’s Face Opera & education programme Social, emotional & physical impacts of Alzheimer’s

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