Brain Research UK is inviting applications for its 2025 Project Grants, which are a maximum of £300,000 over three years for hypothesis-driven, pre-clinical or clinical research that addresses areas of large unmet need in the field of neurological research and demonstrates a clear pathway to clinical impact.

Applications are accepted from PIs based at UK academic institutions, including universities, hospitals and research institutes, for projects that align with one of the three Brain Research UK priority areas:

• Headache and facial pain – for research addressing the fundamental causes, mechanisms, diagnosis or treatment of headache and facial pain.
• Neuro-oncology – for research addressing the fundamental causes, mechanisms, diagnosis or treatment of primary tumours of the brain or spinal cord, and associated neurological complications.
• Acquired brain and spinal cord injury – for research that aims to protect or restore function in patients following acute brain or spinal cord injury, including research that addresses the mechanisms of the injury, the mechanisms of the recovery process, and determinants of outcome.

Projects must have a mechanistic hypothesis and a clear pathway to translation. Applications for pilot studies and projects to develop biological models of disease (in vivo or other 3D models) will also be accepted, provided that they support the priority themes and support the future testing of a mechanistic hypothesis.

The grants can fund directly incurred research costs, including the employment of project staff (excluding PI salaries) and the purchase of essential equipment (capped at £20,000) and consumables. PhD projects are not eligible for funding, however PhD students may be funded as project staff if they are key to delivery of the project.

Applications are particularly encouraged from early career researchers, who should have no more than ten years of postdoctoral experience. Collaborative projects are also encouraged, including international collaborations led by a UK team.

(This Bulletin item was the subject of a ResearchConnect news alert.)