The Wellcome Trust Chonnettia Jones, PhD Head of Science Integration, Structures March 2015 1

Outline History and overview of the Wellcome Trust Refreshed Funding Framework Funding opportunities Future directions Workshops: Securing grant funding as an established researcher Propelling your early-career research with Wellcome Trust Funding 2

\sdfasdf Our History The Wellcome Trust was set up in 1936 under the will of Sir Henry Wellcome, who invested the entire share of his pharmaceutical company, The Wellcome Foundation, in a charitable trust. Our Invested Endowment is currently worth around £19 billion. Investments in property, public and private equities, hedge funds, property and cash. We spend about £700 million on charitable activities per year. The Trust was established in 1936 from £1M bequeathed by the pharmaceutical millionaire, Henry Wellcome. We are the UK’s largest charity and the second largest charity in the world that funds biomedical research. Last year we spent about £700 million on charitable activities, about 75% of that in biomedical research.

Our 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. Five Strategic Challenges: Maximising the health benefits of genetics and genomics Understanding the brain Combating infectious diseases Investigating development, ageing and chronic disease Connecting environment, nutrition and health

Governance Framework and Funding Divisions Board of Governors Chair Sir William Castell Chair-elect Eliza Manningham-Buller Executive Board Director Jeremy Farrar C&S Simon Chaplin Innovations Stephen Caddick Investments Danny Truell Finance Tim Livett Legal Susan Wallcraft People Ted Smith Science Kevin Moses Celllular, Developmental & Physiological Sciences Genetics and Molecular Sciences Infection and Immunobiology Neuroscience and Mental Health Population Health Strategy Clare Matterson

Our current grant portfolio

Refreshed Funding Framework Strategic funding: To transform fields, fill gaps, or initiate major new developments Response-mode funding, for: People - support for individuals and career pathways Teams - support for research groups and collaborative activities Seeds – support for the development of ideas for future support Resources - support for enabling work that underpins research Places - support for cross-disciplinary and synergistic working Strategic funding – priorities set by the Trust, small percentage of the total Trust spend per year (~15%) Response-mode funding – research driven by the external scientific community, majority of the funding (~ 85%)

Science Funding

Grant funding schemes in science Science Funding Grant funding schemes in science People Investigator Awards Fellowships Teams Collaborative Awards new Seeds Seed Awards new Resources Biomedical resources Multi-user equipment grants Places Centres

People

Personal support for researchers Science Funding Personal support for researchers PhD Four-year PhD Studentship Programmes Senior Research Fellowships Investigator Awards Research Career Development Fellowships Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships Intermediate Clinical Fellowships Postdoctoral Research Training Fellowships for Clinicians BASIC Principal Research Fellowships Senior Fellowships Training Fellowships Intermediate Fellowships Masters Fellowships PUBLIC HEALTH & TROPICAL MEDICINE Research Career Re-entry Fellowships Clinical PhD Programmes CLINICAL Research Training Fellowships - As of today, we support more than 1500 people through different personal support schemes - Support is matched to career stage, different types of science (lab, field, clinic, office/theoretical), UK and overseas - Support ranges from basic PhD programmes to clinical training programmes through to early career researchers to more senior researchers EARLY INTERMEDIATE SENIOR

Investigator Awards – Key Features Funding for world-class researchers and clinicians in an established academic post (salary provided by the host institution), with a compelling long-term vision for their research Flexible funding support for researchers at all career stages (normally 7+ years post-PhD) – from newly appointed lecturers, to mid-career researchers, up to senior or emeritus professors Applicants are considered according to their career stage and experience, with any career breaks or time out of academic research taken into consideration Research question drives duration and value of awards - up to £3m over 7 years

Fellowships - Key Features To attract, train and retain the best researchers (including basic and clinical research) Schemes designed for each stage of the research career Salary of the Fellow provided Plus research costs – including the salaries of the Fellow’s research team, consumables, equipment and other expenses Award size and duration varies, depending on the career stage and scheme

Basic Science Research Fellowships Long-term support for researchers of international standing with an established track record at the highest level. Considered three times a year. Principal Research Fellowships For outstanding researchers (7-12 years post-doc) to continue their independent programmes of research. Considered three times a year. Senior Research Fellowships For outstanding young researchers (up to 7 years post-doc) to build an independent research career. Considered three times a year. Research Career Development Fellows Anyone interested in any of our fellowship schemes should contact the office. We are always happy to provide advice to ensure that you apply for the most appropriate scheme. Important to note that fellowships are competitive at every level and there is no guarantee that you will progress through the different levels. We encourage you to consider support from other funding agencies. Note, we allow concurrent applications for personal support scheme For post-doctoral scientists to re-establish a research career (away for 2+ years). Considered twice per year. Research Career Re-entry Fellowships Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships For the highly talented newly qualified post-doctoral researchers (up to 2 years post-doc). Considered twice a year.

Clinical Science Fellowships For outstanding clinical researchers to establish themselves as leading investigators in clinical academic medicine. Considered twice a year. Senior Research Fellowships For clinicians to continue research at postdoctoral level and maintain a clinical career. Considered twice a year. Intermediate Clinical Fellowships For clinicians who have recently gained a higher degree to carry out post-doctoral research. Considered twice a year. Clinical Postdoctoral Training Fellowships MB/PhD Fellowships For medical, dental and veterinary graduates with little/no research experience to pursue training in a research lab towards a PhD or MD. Considered three times a year. Research Training Fellowships

Science Funding Seeds

Science Funding Seed Awards Responsive, flexible funding, enabling researchers to develop a novel idea To generate resources, tools and/or preliminary data leading to a larger research application Up to £100,000 over 2 years Not for researchers with a current personal award or other substantive funding Only one award per lifetime Considered 3 times per year

Science Funding Teams

Science Funding Collaborative Awards Collaborative research projects trying to solve a problem that can only be achieved by teams working together Up to £4 m over 5 years Considered 3 times per year First deadline date for preliminary applications: May 2015 Awarded following interview

Science Funding Resources

Multi-user Equipment Grants and Biomedical Resources Science Funding Multi-user Equipment Grants and Biomedical Resources Multi-user equipment that support multiple research programmes Up to £1m Contribution from host institution expected Biomedical resources for the benefit of the wider scientific community May include cohorts, databases, shared resources Annual competition

Places

International Funding WT Centres in Neuroimaging (UCL), Human Genetics (Oxford), Cell Biology (Edinburgh), Stem Cell (Cambridge), Cell-Matrix Research (Manchester), Molecular Parasitology (Glasgow), Cancer & Developmental Biology (Cambridge), Mitochondrial Research (Newcastle) WT Centres for Research in Clinical Tropical Medicine: Bloomsbury, Imperial, Oxford, Liverpool Europe & Central Asia £77m Mahidol–Oxford Tropical Research Unit, Thailand UK £2,048m North America £49m WT/DBT India Alliance Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam Southeast Asia & Pacific £101m Latin America & The Caribbean £14m Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenya Sub-Saharan Africa £168m Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, South Africa Malawi–Liverpool–Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya

Science Funding Further information For general grant enquiries: sciencegrants@wellcome.ac.uk or +44 (0)20 7611 5757

Science Funding Further information For guidance on the scientific scope or suitability of your application for a particular scheme, please contact our Science division: Basic Careers and Clinical Activities Dr. Candy Hassall Neuroscience & Mental Health Dr. John Isaac Genetics and Molecular Sciences Dr. Michael Dunn Infection and Immunobiology Dr. Mike Turner Cellular, Developmental and Physiological Sciences Dr. Alison Cave Population Health Dr. Mike Turner (interim)

Science Funding Other opportunities

Support and flexibility for our researchers Flexible Support Support and flexibility for our researchers Flexibility in our funding Maternity/paternity/adoption sick leave supplements and extensions Flexible (part-time) working and career breaks In addition to taking into account part-time working, we will “stop the clock” for eligibility for the primary carer (either the mother or father) when applying for our schemes by an additional six months per child, irrespective of the actual period of parental leave taken. Each case will be considered individually http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Our-vision/Flexible-research-careers/index.htm

Research Career Re-Entry Fellowships For post-doctoral scientists to re-establish a research career, with the opportunity for updating research skills Applicants must have been away from research for at least 2 years Career breaks may have been for any reason (e.g. family committments, illness, career changes) Up to 4 years support, taken on a full or part-time basis Applications considered twice a year Career Re-entry Fellowships are for postdoctoral scientists who have recently decided to recommence a scientific research career after a continuous break of at least two years. It gives scientists the opportunity to return to high-quality research, with the potential to undertake refresher or further training. Particularly suitable for applicants wishing to return to research after a break for family commitments. We will accept applications from individuals with more than two years of postdoctoral research experience. The fellowship is tenable for two to four years, depending on seniority before career break, and may be taken up on a full or part-time basis. Four year fellowships are for researchers who already possess strong research track record. Two year fellowships are for researchers who have demonstrated the potential for a strong research career prior to the break. The award will fund: the salary of the Fellow for two or four years research expenses for materials and consumables; animals; small items of equipment; and fieldwork and data collection. support to attend scientific meetings. Funds for retraining (where appropriate) Research assistance, in exceptional cases.

Innovations Innovations Support proof-of-concept research and development for new healthcare products Stimulate development of new products and technologies with translational potential Encourage the commercial application of research to meet medical needs by facilitating their route to the market For information, contact: innovations@wellcome.ac.uk

Support for public engagement Raising awareness of biomedical science and the medical humanities and the issues that they raise Stimulating interest, excitement and debate Supporting formal and informal learning Fund Engagement Activities For information, contact: PEgrants@wellcome.ac.uk Types of projects we fund can include: Workshops, events, debates, discussions and exhibitions in public venues Deliberative or opinion gathering projects Teaching materials or techniques to encourage wider discusssions Projects that utilise the collections of the Wellcome Library and Wellcome Collection

Future Directions

Future priorities for the Wellcome Trust Strengthen and leverage current partnerships and external collaborations, build new partnerships Harness expertise from the external scientific community to inform future strategic priorities Establish rapid and robust response mechanisms to emerging opportunities (e.g. Ebola) 32

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