Opportunity status:
Open
Funders:
Funding type:
Grant
Total fund:
£1,000,000
Maximum award:
£270,000
Publication date:
5 February 2025
Opening date:
10 February 2025 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
9 September 2025 4:00pm UK time
Last updated: 12 June 2025 -
Apply for funding to run a high throughput screen (HTS) using AstraZeneca’s compound library and screening robots. Funding uplift in this round will be given to applications related to pain or women’s health (including conditions related to metabolic disorders).
Two funding opportunities a year with new thematic focus each round. Future areas will include:
* mental health
* dementias (including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s)
The funding opportunity remains open to all targets, however applications in the areas specified in the funding opportunity guidance will be given a strategic uplift at ranking.
To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. .
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
Who is not eligible to apply
Research applications that are led by commercial entities are not eligible. Applications may not include collaborations with additional commercial parties.
You are also not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as a project lead if you are based at an international research organisation. This does not include MRC Unit The Gambia or MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that are eligible to apply as project lead. Before applying for funding, check the .
Equality, diversity and inclusion
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
for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.
Scope
The small molecule HTS using AstraZeneca facilities funding opportunity aims to support academic researchers in discovering potential starting points for small molecule medicinal drugs.
Academic researchers will benefit from unprecedented access to over two million molecules in AstraZeneca’s compound library, as well as its state-of-the-art high-throughput screening facilities.
Medical Research Council (MRC) will provide funding to support up to four projects per year. As capacity is limited, projects will be prioritised for funding and for time slots within the facility. The timeframe for commencement of the studies will vary, although the expectation is within six months of the funding decision.
AstraZeneca may offer to fund a project in its entirety if, based on the application, it considers that route to be the most appropriate funding mechanism for that individual study. In such cases, these will be taken forward through direct collaboration with the company without any further MRC involvement. Applicants who do not wish to accept this offer may continue to seek MRC support through the initiative.
AstraZeneca will provide technical input to support assay optimisation, investigation of alternative readout technologies and pilot HTS screen, prior to transfer of the assay to the HTS platform. Depending on the results of the optimisation, a compound set of between 100,000 and 1,000,000 of the library will be screened.
Minimum assay development guidelines
There are a number of minimum assay development guidelines which when considered as a whole will need to provide evidence that a screen could be conducted. Funds are provided to complete the assay development, so a less well-developed assay is not a barrier to your application being competitive.
Duration
The duration of this award is typically 15 months, however the duration can be from 12 (minimum) to a maximum of 18 months.
Funding available
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £270,000 (£250,000 cost to MRC).
We will fund 100% FEC of the work conducted at AstraZeneca.
We will fund 80% FEC of any work conducted at the research organisation or related to staff costs, subsistence and travel.
What we will fund
We will fund costs related to the staff and consumable costs incurred at AstraZeneca for the optimisation and execution of the HTS. These include:
* £20,000 (100% FEC Exceptions) for optimisation and establishment of an HTS
* £150,000 (100% FEC Exceptions) for execution of the HTS
* cost of travel, accommodation and subsistence for a host institution researcher to work at AstraZeneca in Cambridge for three months (80% FEC)
* costs for elements of the screening cascade that cannot be undertaken at AstraZeneca and must be undertaken at the host organisation (80% FEC)
* minimal percentage of full time equivalent for the project lead (80% FEC)
What we will not fund
We will not fund conference attendance.
Supporting skills and talent
This funding opportunity highly encourages a researcher from the host institution to embed themselves at the AstraZeneca facilities in Cambridge for a period of up to three months total, in order to help with the establishment of the assay and conducting the HTS. The three months can be split into shorter chunks based on requirements of the project. Any application not requesting funding to support a visit to the AstraZeneca facility, should state why it is not viable although it will not affect the evaluation of the merits of the project, as it is understood that not all researchers can accommodate a prolonged period away from home.
We encourage you to follow the principles of the and the .
Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.
As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.
View, including where you can find additional support.
We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
If the lead research organisation is an NHS organisation, check it is available in the Funding Service. You are encouraged to check this early as there may be additional steps for the organisation to be set up before you can apply.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.
To apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
1. Confirm you are the project lead.
2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email
Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. You should:
* use images sparingly and only to convey important information that cannot easily be put into words
* insert each new image onto a new line
* provide a descriptive legend for each image immediately underneath it (this counts towards your word limit)
* ensure files are smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Watch our .
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
* * *
References
Applications should be self-contained, and hyperlinks should only be used to provide links directly to reference information. To ensure the information’s integrity is maintained, where possible, persistent identifiers such as digital object identifiers should be used. Assessors are not required to access links to carry out assessment or recommend a funding decision. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
References should be included in the appropriate question section of the application and be easily identifiable by the assessors, for example (Smith, Research Paper, 2019).
You must not include links to web resources to extend your application.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.
For more information see our policy on the .
Deadline
We must receive your application by 9 September 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
Personal data
Processing personal data
Medical Research Council (MRC), as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.
We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our .
MRC, as part of UKRI, will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with AstraZeneca so that they can participate in the assessment process. For more information on how AstraZeneca uses personal information, visit .
Sensitive information
If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email
Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].
Typical examples of confidential information include:
* individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
* declaration of interest
* additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
* conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
* the application is an invited resubmission
For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read .
Publication of outcomes
MRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at .
If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the.
Summary
Word limit: 550
In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.
We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:
* opinion-formers
* policymakers
* the public
* the wider research community
Guidance for writing a summary
Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:
* context
* the challenge the project addresses
* aims and objectives
* potential applications and benefits
Core team
List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:
* project lead (PL)
* project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
* specialist
* professional enabling staff
* research and innovation associate
* technician
* researcher co-lead (RcL)
Only list one individual as project lead. If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage.