Springboard for research careers

Through our Springboard scheme we provide funding and careers support for biomedical researchers to launch their research careers. This is part of our work to make the UK the best place in the world to have a career in medical sciences.

Summary

Our Springboard scheme provides up to £125,000 over two years to support the research and professional development of newly independent biomedical scientists.

Who can apply

You can apply if you:

• hold an academic post that incorporates research
• are in your first independent (salaried) position (i.e. group-leader level, line managed not supervised)
• are within five years (FTE) of appointment to this position
• have sufficient time remaining in your current post to complete the proposed Springboard project, and are based within one of the eligible higher education institutions.

Who cannot apply

You cannot apply if you:

• have a clinical contract
• already receive research funding as the Principal or Co- Investigator exceeding £150,000 for the two-year Springboard grant (excluding your personal salary, overhead and indirect costs).
• have a Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Career Development Fellowship, CRUK Career Establishment Award, Medical Research Council (MRC) Career Development Award, MRC New Investigator Research Grant, a Royal Society University Research Fellowship, a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowship, a Wellcome Trust Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship or a Wellcome Trust Seed Award. 

When to apply

• May – June 

Key dates

• March – May: Internal triage process at higher education institution
• May – June: Online application
• July: Eligibility check
• August – September: Peer review
• October: Pre-panel triage with Chair
• October – November: Panel review
• November/December: Panel meeting
• February: Outcome notification 

Duration

Two years

Funding amount 

Up to £125,000

How to apply

The research-active higher education institutions listed below may put forward up to four applications per round.

Contact the Springboard Champion within your higher education institution, who can tell you about how the internal selection will operate. If you are selected by your institution, we will invite you to submit a full application.

How to submit your full application

Read:

• Before you apply

You will need to apply using our online grant management system Flexi-Grant. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Institutions and Springboard Champions

• Aston University, Professor Afzal-ur Rahman Mohamed
• Bangor University, Professor Kami Koldweyn
• Birbeck, University of London, Professor Carolyn Moores
• Bournemouth University, Professor Richard Stafford
• Brunel University London, Professor Felicity N. E. Gavins
• Cardiff Metropolitan University, Professor Barry McDonnell
• Cardiff University, Professor Valerie O'Donnell FMedSci
• City St George's, University of London, Professor Tom Harrison FMedSci
• Coventry University, Professor Laura Roden
• Cranfield University, Professor Keith Rogers
• De Montfort University, Professor Anwar Baydoun
• Durham University, Professor Martin Cann
• Edge Hill University, Professor Jeremy Brown
• Glasgow-Caledonian University, Professor Sharron Dolan
• Heriot-Watt University, Professor Nicholas Leslie
• Imperial College London, Professor Matthew Pickering FMedsci
• Keele University, Professor Krysia Dziedzic
• King's College London, Professor Abigail Tucker
• Leeds Beckett University, Professor Gary Jones
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Professor Giancarlo Biangini
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Professor Andrew Prentice FMedSci
• London South Bank University, Professor Daniel Frings
• Loughborough University, Professor Mark Lewis
• Manchester Metropolitan University, Professor Tristan McKay  
• Newcastle University, Professor Sophie Hambleton FMedSci
• Northumbria University, Professor Dianne Ford
• Nottingham Trent University, Professor Mark Christian
• Oxford Brookes University, Professor Koula Asimakopoulou
• Queen Mary University of London, Professor Susana Godinho
• Queen's University of Belfast, Professor Jose Bengoechea
• Royal Holloway, University of London, Professor Robin Williams
• Royal Veterinary College, Professor Oliver Pybus
• Scotland's Rural College, Professor Mike Hutchings
• Sheffield Hallam, Professor David Smith
• Swansea University, Professor Deya Gonzalez
• The Open University, Professor Francesco Crea
• Teesside University, Professor Vikki Rand 
• Ulster University, Professor Julie-Anne Little
• University College London, Professor Caswell Barry
• University of Aberdeen, Professor Ian Stansfield
• University of Bath, Professor Laurence Hurst FMedSci
• University of Birmingham, Professor Aga Gambus             
• University of Bradford, Professor Klaus Pors
• University of Brighton, Professor Katherine Staines
• University of Bristol, Professor Alistair Poole
• University of Cambridge, Professor Franklin Aigbirhio FRSC FMedSci
• University of Central Lancashire, Professor Jim Richards
• University of Derby, Professor Myra Conway
• University of Dundee, Professor Kate Storey FRS FRSE FMedSci
• University of East Anglia, Professor Maria O'Connell
• University of Edinburgh, Dr Musa Hassan
• University of Essex, Professor Chiara Di Cesare
• University of Exeter, Professor Krasi Tsaaneva
• University of Glasgow, Professor Rick Maizels FRSE FMedSci
• University of Greenwich, Professor Kevin Lam
• University of Hertfordshire, Professor Lisa Lione
• University of Huddersfield, Professor Roger Phillips
• University of Hull, Professor John Greenman
• University of Kent, Professor Michelle Garrett
• University of Lancaster, Professor Roger Pickup
• University of Leeds, Professor Robert Ariens
• University of Leicester, Professor Charalambos Kyriacou FMedSci
• University of Lincoln, Professor Paul E. Squires
• University of Liverpool, Professor Claire Eyers
• University of Manchester, Professor Robert Lucas FMedSci
• University of Nottingham, Professor Toshana Foster
• University of Oxford, Professor Krina Zandervan
• University of Plymouth, Professor Kevin Jones
• University of Portsmouth, Professor Joy Watts
• University of Reading, Professor Lisa Methven
• University of Roehampton, Professor Derek Renshaw
• University of Salford, Dr Sarah Withers
• University of Sheffield, Professor Marysia Placzek
• University of Southampton, Professor Jon Dawson
• University of St Andrews, Professor Terry Smith
• University of Stirling, Professor Alistair Jump
• University of Strathclyde, Professor Robin Plevin   
• University of Suffolk, Professor Paula Kersten
• University of Sunderland, Professor Jane Armstrong       
• University of Surrey, Professor Rachel Simmonds
• University of Sussex, Professor Evie Soutoglou
• University of the West of England, Bristol, Professor Tony Killard
• University of Warwick, Professor Charles Craddock FMedSci
• University of West London, Professor Hermine Mkrtchyan
• University of Westminster, Professor Brendon Noble
• University of Wolverhampton, Dr Mark Morris
• University of York, Professor Robert White
• York St John University, Professor Garry Tew

Selection process

Your application will be reviewed by our Fellows and other experts in the field. You will not need to attend an interview. We will update you on the status of your applications at each assessment stage. 

Selection panel

• Professor Neil Gow FRS FRSE FRSB FAAM FECCM FMedSci (Chair), University of Exeter 
• Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg FRS FMedSci (Deputy Chair), University of Oxford 
• Professor Kathryn Abel FMedSci, University of Manchester 
• Professor Eric Aboagye FMedSci, Imperial College London 
• Professor Nicola Curtin FMedSci, Newcastle University 
• Professor Vincent Dion, Cardiff University 
• Professor Alicia El Haj, University of Birmingham 
• Professor Sheila Francis, University of Sheffield 
• Professor Emanuele Giorgi, University of Birmingham 
• Professor Paul Kaye FMedSci, University of York 
• Professor Clare Lloyd FMedSci, Imperial College London 
• Dr Leeanne McGurk, University of Dundee 
• Professor Sarah Reece, University of Edinburgh 
• Professor Danail Stoyanov FREng FMedSci, University College London 
• Professor Jimmy Whitworth FMedSci, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 

Panel members are unable to discuss individual applications. If you have any questions, please contact your institution’s Springboard Champion or the Academy via [email protected]. 

Supporters

British Heart Foundation

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

Wellcome

Video transcript

One of the particular things that we're working on and what the Academy of Medical Sciences has then funded us to work on is the effect of chemotherapy and how this can then have an impact on fertility. And really importantly, what we're also then trying to do is investigate the ability of specific agents or other chemicals that might actually be able to protect the eggs from these chemotherapies. I work on the human ovary and a lot of that work involves collecting ovarian biopsies from healthy women at the time of cesarian section.
 

Attaining the Springboard award I would say was a pretty momentous occasion in my career and actually what it really allows young researchers to do is to be able to get funds. For the first time I now had an award which allowed me to actually hire some technical staff in my own name, contribute to nursing costs which were really important for this project. 

The work that the Academy has actually sponsored as part of this award has been brought to publication and we have demonstrated actually that a certain hormone that we're interested in can actually protect the human ovary from some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy.

And we've also gained a lot of interest from commercial companies on this project. They have recently now given us money as well and we've now had a post-doctoral scientist also join the team. So yeah, in the past year the team has expanded quite significantly and for someone of my career stage that is pretty exciting.

I think that having something like the Springboard award on your CV as a newly independent researcher speaks volumes. I think it's shown that someone in the UK has considered you and your work to be something leading and something that they want to support. For me personally, definitely it came at the right time. I'd only been independent for about 6 months at this point. I encourage all early career researchers from the second they attain their independent positions to try and apply for the Springboard award because getting it within that first sort of 6 to 8 months I think can really change the trajectory of what you're working on.

What our grant holders say

Springboard was a true catalyst. It facilitated access to invaluable mentorship and a robust professional network. This support system has been instrumental in elevating my research to a global stage.

Professor Dennis Wang

Springboard helped accelerate our trajectory from discovery science toward translation. It enabled us to identify key drivers of beta cell identity and optimise how stem cell-derived beta cells are generated. These advances now underpin our non-profit facility, BetaCell Birmingham, which supports researchers working on new treatments for diabetes.

Dr Ildem Akerman