Macular Society PhD Studentships and Research Grants Open for Application
Research grants of up to £250,000 and PhD studentships up to £100,000 to support clinical or laboratory research into macular disease.
The Macular Society is the UK’s national charity for people affected by central vision loss. Its mission is to support people living with macular disease and fund research to develop a cure for macular disease. Since 1987, the Society has contributed more than £5.1 million to research projects.
The Macular Society research funds support research of potential benefit to people with any form of macular disease (e.g. myopic macular degeneration, central serous retinopathy, macular hole, retinal vein occlusions and diabetic macular oedema) including AMD and macular dystrophies. This may include research into causes and prevention, early detection, treatments or improving quality of life.
Applications are invited for the 2021 Macular Society research funds, which include Research Grants and PhD Studentships.
The Research Grants are available to researchers based at UK institutions conducting clinical or laboratory-based research projects into macular disease. Grants are £250,000 over three years to support direct project costs.
The PhD Studentships are available to PhD candidates based at a UK institution conducting clinical or laboratory-based research projects into macular disease. The studentships are up to £100,000 over three years to cover stipend, fees and consumables.
PhD studentship projects can focus on any of the following:
- Basic research
- Epidemiology
- Clinical research
- Gene therapy
- Stem cells
- Visual rehabilitation
- New technology
For both Research Grants and PhD Studentships, the relevance of proposed projects to the ten priority areas identified for AMD research in the Sight Loss and Vision Priority Setting Partnership published in 2013 will be taken into account when assessing the application. Applicants should also consult the Macular Society Research Strategy 2020-2030 before applying.
There is a two stage application process: a preliminary application followed by a full application. All application forms and guidelines are available from the Macular Society website.
Preliminary applications for the 2021 application round should be submitted by the deadline of 28 May 2021 (17:00).
Preliminary applications will be reviewed and shortlisted by the Research Committee in July 2021. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full application by September 2021. Following peer review, successful applicants will be announced in May 2022.