Fight for Sight UK Vision Research Network Doctoral Training Programme

Doctoral funding programme for research institutions in the UK to host PhD research projects focusing on the molecular and cellular basis of retinal degeneration.

Fight for Sight is a UK research charity that funds ground-breaking scientific research, across all career stages, to better understand, prevent, diagnose and treat vision loss. Its 2024-2029 Research Strategy (pdf link) will allocate £20 million to research grants, PhD studentships and training fellowships to support scientific research and train and retain the best researchers in the field.

The Fight for Sight research priorities seek to address the four stages of the vision loss pathway:

• Understanding – increase understanding of how eye diseases and conditions start and develop.
• Prevention – develop new ways of preventing eye diseases and conditions.
• Diagnosis – enable eye diseases and conditions to be detected earlier.
• Treatment – develop new and improved treatments for eye diseases and conditions.

Fight for Sight is launching a new Doctoral Training Programme (DTP) in 2025 to support universities and research institutions in the UK seeking to host PhD research projects aiming to further understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of retinal degeneration. The programme will find stipend, fees and research costs over a maximum of four years for basic, translational or clinical projects that are conducted under the supervision of a team including a host supervisor and co-supervisor at different UK institutions.

The DTP is the first step in the creation of the UK Vision Research Network (UKVRN) – a strategic, collaborative, multi-disciplinary network focused on vision research with translational potential.