JING Resources: Funding and support information

We have collated some information about funding and support opportunities for cancer researchers. Please note that these include details of some of the funding offered by the main core funders of cancer research and is not an exhaustive list. For example some smaller charities may also have relevant funding schemes.

NIHR Academy
The NIHR Academy is responsible for the development and coordination of NIHR academic training, career development and research capacity development. The purpose of the NIHR Academy is to develop a highly skilled academic research workforce capable of advancing the best research, which improves health and benefits society and the economy.

NIHR Academy members: include those on the NIHR academic path and those who play a recognised NIHR role supporting academic career development. NIHR Academic Members range from Masters Studentships to Professorships and Senior Investigators. They can access a portfolio of NIHR Academy development and support activities.

NIHR Academy Associate Members: those who are part of the NIHR research training ecosystem. They are either on a research career trajectory or play an NIHR role in supporting research training. Associates will have access to NIHR Academy webinars and online resources. 

Offerings:
NIHR awards

  • Pre-Doctoral Fellowship
  • Doctoral Fellowship
  • Partnership Fellowships
  • Advanced Fellowship

Ongoing support if in research of relevant NIHR award via NIHR Academy

  • Future-Focused leadership programme: Emerging research leaders scheme
  • Future-Focused leadership programme: Leader's Scheme

Associate Principlal Investigator Scheme: aims to develop health and care professionals to become Principal Investigators (PIs) of the future. It is a six month in-work training opportunity, providing practical experience for healthcare professionals starting their research career.

Principal Investigator Essentials (via NIHR Learn)

Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is committed to supporting the next generation of cancer researchers and have opportunities throughout the research career, whether new to the lab, or growing your fully fledged independent research group. They have a broad range of fellowships, bursaries, job opportunities and studentships to cater for your situation, whether you're an academic researcher or a clinician scientist, and whether you require a fully funding fellowship or grants to advance individual projects. They have a competency framework to guide you to consider which funding opportunity is right for you to support your transition to the next career level.

Awards

Cancer Resarch UK also offer early to mid-career researchers the opportunity to observe their panel and committee meetings across their funding remit.

Accelerate: ALADDIN
ALADDIN is a multi-stakeholder educational programme on strategic and regulatory science in paediatric cancer drug development. There are four key activities that make up this programme:

You can also view the ALADDIN webinars on their YouTube channel

The National Oncology Trainees Collaborative for Healthcare Research (NOTCH)
A UK -wide multi-centre oncology research collaborative that is trainee born and bred - aiming to involve trainees in their multi-centre projects across the UK. Aim is to ensure that oncology trainess from both clinical and medical oncology disciplines receive research training and experience, and in doing so delivering meaningfurl research that impacts positively on the care patients receive

Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer in Europe (ITCC): Training the Education Committee
Every two years the Education and Training Committee organises an ITCC Educational Training Day. This is aimed at multidisciplinary professional groups (doctors, nurses, biologists and data managers). The two-day course provides an intensive update on all aspects of paediatric drug development.

UK Research and Innovation

UK Research and Innovation offer funding and support across all academic disciplines and industrial areas from the medical and biological sciences to astronomy, physics, chemistry and engineering, social sciences, economica, environmental sciences, and the arts and humanities.

Wellcome Trust
Welcome Trust offer funding and other support at key career stages for researchers in biomedical science, population health, and humanities and social science.

Mentoring / Career support

  • StellarHE Leadership Course: Six month programme aimed at people from black and minority ethnic background who aspire to become leaders at Higher Education Institutions.
  • Cancer Research UK Women of Influence Mentorship: This mentorship scheme pairs exceptional scientists with leading businesswomen to provide early career researchers with support from outside of academia at a critical time in their development.

If you have any other funding or support opportunities that you think junior investigators in the ECMC network would find of interest please let the ECMC Programme Office know: hannah.brown@cancer.org.uk