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JDRF has now rebranded to Breakthrough T1D.
Our name has changed, our mission has not.

Research funding calls from other organisations

We are not alone in our mission to eradicate type 1 diabetes. Find funding opportunities for research into type 1 diabetes and its complications that are available from other funders.
Content last reviewed and updated: 30.01.2025

Open research funding calls

Diabetes specific opportunities

None

Non-diabetes specific opportunities

Pre-Application Support Fund (Round 5)

The Pre-Application Support Fund offers extra support to prepare a competitive application for an NIHR career development award.

It is is open to all career stages and provides extra support to those who need it.

It provides funding to support those who might not otherwise be able to apply for one of NIHR awards. In doing so, the scheme aims to create more opportunities for groups and professions currently under-represented within NIHR.

The deadline for this funding call is 1pm on 27 March 2025.

Find out more about this opportunity on the NIHR website.

NIHR NICE rolling funding opportunity (HTA Programme)

The Health Technology Assessment Programme (HTA) is inviting outline applications to their commissioned workstream. They are interested in receiving applications to meet recommendations in research identified in NICE guidance that has been published or updated in the last 5 years.

Applications must be within the remit of the HTA Programme, and the primary outcome measure must be health related.

The deadline for this funding call is 1pm on 7 May 2025.

Find out more about this opportunity on the NIHR website.

NIHR – HTA Programme researcher-led primary research

The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme is looking to fund primary research. In this researcher-led workstream, they are interested in receiving proposals addressing any health problem in areas not otherwise well covered in other HTA Programme portfolio.

The deadline for this funding call is 1pm on 7 May 2025.

Find out more about this opportunity on the NIHR website.

Improving health and social care services for working age people with multiple long-term conditions

The Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme is looking to fund ambitious research about the quality, accessibility and organisation of health and social care services for working age people with multiple long-term conditions.

The deadline for this funding call is 1pm on 20 May 2025.

Find out more about this opportunity on the NIHR website.

Australia-UK platform studies in areas of unmet clinical need

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australia and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UK are inviting applications for ambitious platform studies in areas of unmet medical need. The platform must be internationally collaborative, with joint leads based in Australia and the United Kingdom.

To find out more about this call join the Webinar (1.5hrs) on 19 November 08:00 UK (UTC+0) / 19:00 AEDT(UTC+11). To register for the webinar, please sign up via our online form. Submit any questions by 12 November via the same online form.

Find out more about this opportunity on the NIHR website.

Stage 1 deadline: 23 July 2025 10:00 UK (UTC+1) / 19:00 AEST(UTC+10)
Stage 1 funding decisions: September 2025
Stage 2 deadline: 27 November 2025 10:00 UK (UTC+0) / 21:00 AEDT (UTC+11)
External peer reviews sent to applicants for rebuttal: December 2025 – January 2026
Final Stage 2 funding decision: February 2026
Funding award starts: Q3-4 2026 (calendar year)

EME Programme Researcher-led

The Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme funds ambitious studies evaluating interventions that have the potential to make a step-change in the promotion of health, treatment of disease and improvement of rehabilitation or long-term care.

The deadline for this funding call is 1pm on 8 April 2025.

Find out more about this opportunity on the NIHR website.

Ambitious data-enabled ‘e-trials’

The HTA Programme is inviting applications for studies using innovative data-enabled clinical trial designs to answer important research questions in health and social care.

Through this funding opportunity, the HTA Programme is hoping to attract ambitious data-enabled trial proposals (or “e-trials”) that can use routine data sources for key trial processes, such as patient identification, intervention delivery and for collecting outcomes in an efficient way. Proposed interventions need to be mature enough to be tested on a national scale.

The deadline for this funding call is 1pm on 2 April 2025.

Find out more about this opportunity on the NIHR website.

UK organisations funding type 1 diabetes research

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, a partnership between JDRF, Diabetes UK and the Steve Morgan Foundation, is funding research in three key areas which have the most potential to improve the lives of people with type 1 and lead to cures. The three areas are: new types of insulin, creating new beta cells and stopping the immune attack from taking place.

Diabetes Care Trust, in collaboration with the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists, offers funding of up to £50,000 for high quality clinically based studies.

The Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation awards research fellowships and pump priming awards for research related to causes, cures or complications of diabetes.

Diabetes UK funds research into all types of diabetes, including type 1.

The Novo Nordisk UK Research Foundation offers research grants and fellowships to support all types of diabetes research.

UK organisations funding research into diabetes complications

British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK offer joint funding to support substantial research projects with relevance to both cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Fight for Sight funds research to encourage and support research that helps increase our understanding of how sight loss co-exists with other long-term conditions including diabetes, inflammatory conditions and Alzheimer’s disease.

Kidney Research UK offers funding for chronic kidney disease and diabetes.

Moorfields Eye Charity is working in partnership with Diabetes UK, Fight for Sight and the Macular Society to launch a call for applications for research which seeks to reduce the risk of sight loss in people living with diabetes.

Sight Research UK funds eye research to provide new and more effective solutions for patients – be it in diagnosis, prevention or treatment.

UK medical research funders

Large research grants

UK Research and Innovation offers funding relevant to type 1 diabetes researchers through the Future Leaders Fellowships Scheme and through the individual Research Councils (see below for details).

Medical Research Council funds research at the forefront of science to prevent illness, develop therapies and improve human health.

Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council invests to push back the frontiers of biology and deliver a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future.

Economic and Social Research Council offers funding for economic, social, behavioural and human data science.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funds engineering and physical sciences for UK capability to benefit society and the economy.

Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency supporting business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions.

National Institutes for Health Research funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing, and promotes economic growth.

Academy of Medical Sciences offers grants to support the careers of the next generation of biomedical and health researchers.

Action Medical Research funds research focused on child health including problems affecting pregnancy, childbirth, babies, children and young people.

The Health Foundation funds research and policy analysis work to shine a light on how to make successful change happen.

Medical Research Foundation provides support for research grants, infrastructure and equipment grants, fellowships and studentships, skill-sharing and collaborations, and the dissemination of research results. MRF are not restricted in having to support a particular disease area or institution.

Medical Research Scotland is Scotland’s largest independent medical research charity committed to encouraging and supporting promising individuals at the start of their research careers, through the award of doctoral studentships but also through support for undergraduates and scientists returning after a career break.

Royal Society provides grants to high quality UK scientific researchers with the aim of fostering collaboration between UK-based and overseas scientists.

Rosetrees Trust’s focuses on testing new ideas across the spectrum of medical research to bring the earliest patient benefit.

Wellcome is a global charitable foundation, supporting discovery research into life, health and wellbeing.

Small research grants

Biochemical Society offers a programme of grants for all career stages supporting research, attendance at scientific conferences, and the sponsorship of events.

British Society for Immunology supports the work of BSI members in the form of grants, awards and prizes.

British Society of Neuroendocrinology aims to promote research and learning into the interplay between the endocrine and nervous systems that control important body processes.

British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes offers a limited number of small project grants that are intended either to promote and support academic research by its members, or promote and support educational projects or surveys.

Society for Endocrinology offers support for members to attend scientific conferences, visit other labs and clinics, fund undergraduate summer placements, support early career projects or develop public engagement initiatives.

International organisations offering funding for type 1 diabetes research

American Diabetes Association provides funding to support innovative scientific discovery that translates to better treatment, healthier lives, and eventual cures for all types of diabetes.

Diabetes Research Connection brings early-career scientists and donors together to fund research aimed to prevent, cure and better care for those with type 1 diabetes.

European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes offers support in all areas of diabetes research through a wide range of joint and stand-alone initiatives.

Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases brings together major international research funding agencies specifically to address the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases in lower-middle income countries and vulnerable populations in high-income countries.

National Institutes of Health run a Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research, or Special Diabetes Program, which supports research on the prevention and cure of type 1 diabetes and its complications.

World Diabetes Foundation funds projects devoted to improving diabetes care and prevention in low-and middle-income countries.

International funding for UK based Medical Research

Although the UK has left the EU, you will continue to receive any EU funding you’ve already been awarded. This includes funding awarded through all Horizon Europe calls that close on or before the 31st of March 2023.  For more information, please see the UKRI Horizon Europe Guarantee funding

Horizon Europe  is an EU research and innovation programme, which aims to facilitate collaboration and strengthen the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges. The programme has a budget of 95.5 billion euro and runs until 2027. The UK government intends to associate to Horizon Europe; therefore, UK scientists, researchers and businesses will be able to access funding under the programme on equivalent terms as organisations in EU countries. The EU is still in the process of formalising the UK’s association, but UK-based applicants can apply, and do not need to wait for the EU to formalise association.

European Research Council funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe.

National Institutes of Health is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, investing more than $32 billion a year to enhance life, and reduce illness and disability.

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