Opportunity status:
Open
Funders:
UK Research and Innovation,, ,, ,, ,
Co-funders:
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£15,000,000
Publication date:
18 June 2025
Opening date:
18 June 2025 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
23 September 2025 4:00pm UK time
Apply for funding to undertake ambitious transdisciplinary research to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
You must be based by a research organisation eligible to apply for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.
Your team and research project will bring new perspectives crossing Councils’ remits to understand and provide solutions to tackle AMR.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £3,000,000, funded at 80% of the FEC and 100% of permitted exceptions, including project co-leads (international).
You must have submitted a notification of intent at pre-application stage to be eligible to make a full application.
You can only apply to this funding opportunity if you have submitted a notification of intent.
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
Who is eligible to apply
This funding opportunity is open to individuals based at standard eligible organisations, including grant holders for the Transdisciplinary networks to tackle AMR funding opportunity.
For applicants who do not have a contract of employment for the duration of the proposed project, by submitting an application the research organisation is confirming, if it is successful:
* contracts will be extended beyond the end date of the project
* all necessary support for the project and the applicants will be provided, including mentorship and career development for early career researchers
The project team
Given the transdisciplinary nature of the funding opportunity:
* the project lead should be the individual who will act as our main contact and coordinator of the transdisciplinary research project. The project lead’s research organisation will be responsible for all administration relating to the award
* the project lead can be from any discipline
* the project lead must have a record of delivering research
* the intellectual leadership of the project team can be shared with project co-leads
* only project co-leads who are providing a substantial commitment to the project should be included on the application
* the inclusion of early career researchers is encouraged. There is also an expectation that early career researchers will be embedded in the governance structures of the transdisciplinary research project
* a project manager, project management arrangements or both, should be included in the project
* the research proposed, and therefore team expertise, must cross the disciplinary remits of at least three UKRI research councils, and may include areas typically supported by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Applicants may only be the project lead on one application to this funding opportunity but may be co-lead on other applications provided they have the capacity to meet these commitments.
Early career researchers
For the purposes of this funding opportunity, an early career researcher is an individual who has yet to achieve independence or is a current recipient of a transition to independence award such as a UKRI new investigator grant or fellowship.
There are no eligibility rules based on years of postdoctoral experience. Early career researchers:
* can hold a lecturer appointment, a junior fellowship, or be in another research staff position
* must not have received, or currently be in receipt of, competitively obtained research funding as a project lead (other than current recipients of fellowships and new investigator grants) where such funding includes or included salary costs for one or more additional team members
Early career researchers can also be fellowship award holders, but they will:
* need to check the terms and conditions of their fellowship award relating to involvement in other projects
* seek permission from the funder of the fellowship, if applicable
* indicate research organisation support in the application
* not be eligible for salary costs whilst the fellowship is still active
If you are unsure of your eligibility as an early career researcher, email us at
Who is not eligible to apply
You are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as the project lead if you are based at an international research organisation. This does not include project leads from MRC Unit The Gambia or MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who are eligible.
International researchers
International researchers can apply as ‘project co-leads (international)’ if they provide expertise not available in the UK and make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project. A project co-lead (international) is an individual employed by an international research organisation who otherwise fits the normal definition of a co-lead. The contribution and added value to the research collaboration should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see ‘Applicant and team capability to deliver’.
Read the for more information on international involvement.
Project partners
A project partner is a collaborating organisation in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU, who will have an integral role in the proposed research.
Project partners could include:
* members of the business community
* policymakers and others in the public, private and third sectors
* practitioners such as clinicians, crop breeders, farmers, veterinarians, landowners
* representatives from civil society, humanitarian and independent non-government organisations
* people with lived experience
* local communities
Organisations that are applicants on the project, including any named applicants’ organisations, cannot also be a project partner.
Project partners are expected to provide contributions to the delivery of the project, either in cash or in kind, and should not therefore be seeking to claim funds from UKRI.
However, where there are specific circumstances where project partners require funding for minor directly incurred costs such as travel and subsistence, this will usually be paid at 80% FEC unless otherwise stated by us. These costs will be subject to peer review.
Each project partner must provide a statement of support. Refer to the ‘How to apply’ ‘Project partners: letters (or emails) of support’ section for further information. If your application involves industry partners, they must provide information if the relationship falls within the .
Who cannot be included as a team project partner
Any individual included in your application cannot also be a project partner.
Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation. This includes other departments within the same organisation.
If you are collaborating with someone in your organisation, consider including them in the core team as project co-lead or specialist. They cannot be a project partner.
Project subcontractor
A project subcontractor is defined as a third-party individual who is not employed as staff on the grant and who is subcontracted by a participating organisation to deliver a specific piece of work. Subcontractors will be allowed in line with .
Project partner and subcontractor entitlement to project outputs and intellectual property
Entitlement to the outputs of a project or intellectual property will be determined between the parties involved, however any access to project outputs or intellectual property must be in line with any relevant Subsidy Control regulation.
Under UKRI terms and conditions for research grants you must ensure at all times that the grant funding awarded to you is compliant with the. Any entitlements will need to be set out in a formal collaboration agreement if a grant is awarded, as per FEC grant condition RGC 12.1.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
* career breaks
* support for people with caring responsibilities
* flexible working
* alternative working patterns
UKRI can offer during the application and assessment process.
Aim
This funding opportunity is phase two of a UKRI flagship programme investment to better prepare for the slow-moving pandemic of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as part of the UKRI tackling infections strategic theme. It follows which funded. The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) are co-funders of this funding opportunity.
The phase two aims to align with the ambitions of the and the in containing, controlling and mitigating the silent pandemic of AMR by supporting focused, larger scale transdisciplinary research projects. The funded research will provide key insights and deliver informed interventions to address antimicrobial resistance. Receipt of phase one funding is not a requirement to apply for this funding opportunity.
Through this funding opportunity, we want to fund transdisciplinary AMR projects across a broad range of areas, including the. Funded projects are expected to become national or international focal points for AMR research and innovation. They should build transdisciplinary and integrative research capability through the co-creation of applications that bring different disciplines and stakeholders together and attracting new expertise to the field. They will produce outputs that have positive and tangible impacts towards tackling AMR. As a group of funded projects alongside the phase one networks, they will work collectively to share learning and expertise where appropriate.
Scope
This flagship initiative is an opportunity to better understand, detect, and disrupt the emergence of AMR in animals, humans, and plants using a One Health and Planetary Health approaches. It aims to reduce, replace, optimise, improve access to and innovate the use of antimicrobials by supporting transdisciplinary research that will improve our understanding of and provide new opportunities to prevent and combat AMR.
Resistance by all microbes is within the scope of this funding opportunity, including:
* bacteria
* fungi and oomycetes
* protozoa and helminth
* viruses
Resistance within and between all reservoirs of AMR are within the scope of this funding opportunity, including:
* animals (includes aquaculture, companion, farmed and wild)
* humans
* human-made environments, such as health and care facilities, veterinary facilities, farm buildings, abattoirs, glasshouses and vertical farms, sewage systems and waste streams
* natural environments including, for example, soil, water, waterways plants (including trees)
* the food chain
Applications that are not pathogen, disease, or host specific, for example, developing new modelling approaches, pathway design, analytics and data requirements are also in scope. Such projects should be well characterised and demonstrate applicability beyond the study system. Applications may also explore the role of culture, human behaviour, history, linguistics and communication, and other humanities and social sciences in understanding, detecting and disrupting AMR.
You are encouraged to consider aligning your project to one or more of the following potential areas of thematic interest aligning with the research priorities as set out in the UK NAP, although these do not represent an exhaustive list.
Exposure to antimicrobials
Potential areas for reducing the need for, and unintentional exposure to, antimicrobials could include:
* research on and beyond bacteria, such as tackling the increasing challenges of anti-fungal, antiviral and antiparasitic resistance
* understanding the sources and routes of AMR emergence, for example, the host holobiome and the host as environments within which AMR can develop, and the role of host microbiota in AMR dynamics. Also, understanding AMR in crop diseases (in particular fungal and bacterial diseases) as a transmission pathway crossover risk for humans and animals and the environment; land use and biodiversity loss, particularly as AMR moves through environments; waste streams
* understanding different pathways of AMR transmission and developing and evaluating methods of disruption to these pathways to reduce reliance on antimicrobials. For example, environmental transmission, particularly air-borne transmission, including bioaerosols and circulation (both urban and indoor). Also, human-animal transmission and vice versa, and trade, for example, transportation of livestock and food products
Optimising the use of antimicrobials
Potential areas of research into the optimisation of the use of antimicrobials could include:
* development and evaluation of alternative cost-effective countermeasures for infection and residue control, beyond standard antimicrobials. For example, spanning behavioural interventions within and beyond, such as, health care and veterinary settings, wastewater treatment, novel materials science, phages, immunomodulators, crop protection strategies
* research into health and social care interventions to reduce the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance and consequent morbidity, including research into optimising the use of antimicrobials
Advancing innovation
Potential areas of research into advancing innovation, supply and access could include:
* novel methodologies or approaches to integrate insights from different disciplinary areas, unlocking new routes to future prevention, mitigation or treatments for AMR
* innovative new tools, technologies and methods for future rapid and large-scale diagnostics for detection and surveillance of AMR. New technologies could include the use of AI or machine learning (ML). To have relevance for Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in AI or ML, applications must demonstrate novelty in the creation or developments of the AI or ML tool itself, rather than in the deployment of existing tools
AMR cross-cutting research themes
Potential areas of research into AMR cross-cutting research themes could include:
* understanding AMR as it relates to poverty, health equity and access
* understanding how cultural, social, historical and economical determinants interact with biological factors to produce both drivers and potential solutions of AMR
* understanding the impacts of climate change on AMR and its transmission
* adopting One Health and Planetary Health approaches
Work undertaken both within and beyond the UK is permitted and international partners are encouraged.
Transdisciplinarity
We define transdisciplinarity as research that transgresses boundaries between disciplinary knowledge or integrates different bodies of knowledge and actively co-creates knowledge between academic and societal partners such as policymakers or business. The project must develop a coordinated and coherent approach to address an interrelated set of questions across a broad area of research and innovation within the scope of this funding opportunity.
We encourage projects to build an appropriate team that brings together academic researchers and a range of stakeholders from across UKRI’s and funding partners’ remits. To be eligible, projects must span the disciplinary remit of at least three of UKRI’s research councils, using transdisciplinary approaches to bring fresh perspectives to our understanding of antimicrobial resistance.
We’re looking for innovative partnerships and ambitious applications that could not be funded through standard research council opportunities. We’ll take a portfolio approach, which takes into account the interests and priorities of UKRI and our funding partners to ensure a breadth of proposals are supported. Applications which do not bring together different disciplines alongside stakeholder involvement will be out of scope.
This initiative is intended to stimulate new and creative ways of approaching and addressing a defined research area to deliver potential solutions, empowering researchers to leverage and build connections with disciplines and institutions outside their core expertise. UKRI is a signatory of the, which asserts that people’s lived experiences should be a key driver for health and social care research, and that excellent public involvement has been shown to improve the quality and impact of health and social care research.
We expect applicants to work collaboratively with communities, people with lived experience, practitioners and policy makers, and other stakeholders. These can include government, industry, charities, and NGOs, where research insights are anticipated to feed directly into policy and practice. Partnerships should be equitable and sustainable, with all parties committed to the co-creation and implementation of ideas.
For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section.
Duration
The duration of this award is up to five years.
Funding available
The FEC of your project can be up to £3 million. UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC and 100% of permitted exceptions.