Royal Osteoporosis Society 2022 Research Grants Open to Application

Applications are invited for 2022 Royal Osteoporosis Society research grants programme, including grants for early-career researchers, established researchers and pilot studies.

The Royal Osteoporosis Society grants programme supports research to improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and fragility fractures. The Society is now inviting applications for its 2022 grants programme, which includes grants for early-career researchers, established researchers and pilot projects.

For the 2022 application round, the Society will focus its grant support on ‘Influencing Care’ – the third strategic objective within its current research strategy (Breaking the Silence Strategy 2022-2026 (pdf link). As such, funding will be aimed at pioneering studies with the potential to close the treatment gap for osteoporosis. Studies should aim to improve care and lead to quicker and more accurate diagnosis, overcoming the barriers to rapidly implementing evidence-based clinical interventions into wider practice. Projects which aim to reduce health inequalities in osteoporosis care are also welcomed in line with the cross-cutting Equity strand within the strategy.

Applicants must be based at a university, postgraduate institute, medical school, NHS Trust or Health Board in the UK or other British Islands and hold an employment contract at the institution that they are applying from that covers the proposed duration of the grant.

The Early Career Grants provide a maximum of £30,000 to support early-career researchers carrying out a project for up to two years. The scheme aims to provide support for researchers at the beginning of their careers who have the potential to become the next generation of outstanding osteoporosis researchers. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are on an upward trajectory with great potential and are ready to take the next step towards becoming an independent principal investigator.

Applicants for the Early Career Grants should have a doctorate, or equivalent experience, and may include early-career researchers, clinicians, nurses, pharmacists and members of the allied health professions. Applicants should normally be no more than four years from appointment to their first academic position and should not have already obtained substantial funding from other sources (eg fellowship or large project grants).

The Innovative Grants are awards of up to £10,000 over 12 months to support highly innovative, cutting-edge pilot studies to provide the critical data required to apply for funding from larger funding organisations. Co-applicants/collaborators for the Innovative Grants may be based at institutions outside of the UK.

The Project Grants provide funding over a maximum of three years to support established UK osteoporosis researchers conducting pioneering research designed to answer a single question or a group of related questions. The maximum Project Grant is £100,000 for direct research costs, including staff costs, consumables and equipment.

There is a two stage application process for all of the grants: an expression of interest/short outline application followed by a full application for selected applicants.

Stage 1 outline applications for the 2022 application round must be submitted by the deadline on 6 June 2022.

(This report was the subject of a RESEARCHconnect Newsflash.)