School of Biology

 

Deadline:  27 February 2012

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs invites applications for a project on using systems toxicology to reconstruct molecular pathways of adverse outcome: can chemical mixture toxicity be predicted to aid environmental risk assessment and regulation? The purpose of this project is to investigate and construct a model to enable initial assessments to be made of the potential adverse outcomes of common chemical mixtures. The aim is to develop a reverse engineering approach to lead to the identification of health impacts on a selected fish species of complex mixtures of environmental pollutants on organisms and demonstrate the linkages between toxicants and health impacts via alterations in molecular signalling pathways and metabolism. ERG 1119

Deadline:  10 April 2012 for Registration

The Technology Strategy Board, Scottish Enterprise and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) are to invest up to £10.5m in collaborative research and development to support successful deployment and operation of the first series of wave and tidal energy arrays.

The wave and tidal stream energy industry is at a critical stage as it moves from single device prototypes towards first arrays of full-scale devices. The industry needs to demonstrate that energy from wave and tidal power can successfully be generated at scale and to reduce the cost of the energy produced. As the industry plans arrays for the first time, new technical barriers are emerging that are common across the industry.

Through this competition, we are encouraging innovation that can address these key common challenges. This will de-risk deployment of early arrays by removing technical barriers and reducing the cost of energy produced. The results of this competition are expected to help UK businesses to build sustainable economic growth by exploiting new innovative technologies in a growing market and by removing barriers to successful array deployment. The competition also aims to facilitate industry joint working in defining and developing the best solutions using expertise from across the supply chain (including parallel sectors), and in disseminating learning and progress from projects.

Proposals must be collaborative and business-led. The competition opens on 5 March 2012. The deadline for registration is at noon on 10 April 2012 and the deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 17 April 2012. Successful projects will generally attract up to 50% public funding.

A briefing event for potential applicants will be held in London on 14 March 2012 and consortia-building events will be held ahead of the competition opening.

Deadlines:  16 February 2012 (Physical Sciences and Engineering), 14 March 2012 (Life Sciences) and 11 April 2012 (Social Sciences and Humanities)

Applications can be made in any field of research with particular emphasis on the frontiers of science, scholarship and engineering. In particular, proposals of an interdisciplinary nature which cross the boundaries between different fields of research, pioneering proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research or proposals introducing unconventional, innovative approaches and scientific inventions are encouraged.

Applicants for the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant are expected to be active researchers and to have a track-record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years which must be presented in the application. There is little prospect of an application succeeding in the absence of such a record, which identifies investigators as exceptional leaders in terms of originality and significance of their research contributions.

The UK Research Office is holding a series of information and proposal writing events for researchers who are interested in applying for the current ERC Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants calls. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis:

University of Edinburgh, Thursday 1st December 2011

University College London, Friday 2nd December 2011

University of Manchester, Wednesday 14th December 2011

Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Thursday 15th December 2011

http://www.ukro.ac.uk/erc/events/Pages/index.aspx

Deadline:  None

The Mathematical Sciences Programme’s small grants call is to enable researchers to develop new collaborations and study new techniques with recognised and established members of the community. There is no closing date, and proposals can be submitted at any time, but the maximum full economic cost of grants must not exceed £30,000. The call supports applications for one or more of the following: visiting researchers, visits to overseas organisations and small research workshops. Proposals will be assessed in competition with each other based on the referee reports and judged against the criteria for assessment published on the web site.

Deadline:  No Fixed Closing Date
 
If you have an excellent idea for a research project, the best way to seek funding for it is through the standard grants open call. There is considerable flexibility when it comes to subject area, too. As long as you always make sure that your suggested topic falls within ESRC's remit, you are free to concentrate on any research area. 

Deadline:  None

A Daphne Jackson Fellowship is a unique Fellowship designed to return scientists, engineers and technologists to their careers after a break of at least 2 years, although this may include part-time work aimed at trying to keep up to date. Fellowships are normally undertaken on a part time basis in a university or research establishment in the UK. They are flexible and include a tailored training programme designed to update the skills and knowledge of the Fellow thus allowing them to return at the appropriate level to their career. The Fellowship is normally part time for two years and the Fellow is paid a salary, with a small additional allowance for expenses such as conference attendance.  Fellowships are held within a university research laboratory or in a suitable research division in an industrial establishment in the UK.

Deadline:  No Closing Date

The Connect A scheme facilitates and promotes new partnerships between universities and research institutes and public/private sector science users (industry, business, commerce or public sector agencies). The funds are for planning and initiating collaborative research not eligible for funding through other schemes (LINK, KTP, CASE or contract research).

Awards are made up to £4,000 for the total directly incurred costs per application. Funds will support two basic types of pump priming activities:

• Proof of concept proposals for a specific research activity relating to ideas emerging from the science base that have potential application but have a high degree of technical risk and perhaps lack a clearly defined end user. Project costs sought should be those eligible under standard NERC research grants.
• Costs for workshops or seminars on a theme both partners are interested in. Participants should be from both communities. Funding can be sought for accommodation, hire of audio-visual equipment, travel costs for speakers/rapporteurs and ancillary costs.

Deadline:  None

The Research Networking Scheme is intended to support forums for the discussion and exchange of ideas on a specified thematic area, issue or problem, which includes Care for the Future and Science in Culture. The intention is to facilitate interactions between researchers and stakeholders through, for example, a short-term series of workshops, seminars, networking activities or other events. The aim of these activities is to stimulate new debate across boundaries, for example, disciplinary, conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and/or international. Proposals should explore new areas, be multi-institutional, can include creative or innovative approaches or entrepreneurship and can be submitted for full economic costs up to £30,000 for a period of up to two years.

Deadline:  None

These are science-led, responsive mode Industrial Partnership Awards (IPAs) where an industrial partner contributes in cash (not ‘in-kind’) at least 10% of the full economic cost of the project. The BBSRC funding covers the remainder of the cost at 80% of fEC rate. Applicants should describe the value of the partnership and its mutual benefits. The company partner should be registered in the UK or have a UK R&D or manufacturing site. Where a suitable company cannot be found in the UK, an overseas company may be used. However, such collaborations are judged on a case-by-case basis, and clear justification must be provided.

Applications are assessed by the Research Committees, alongside standard applications, using the same criteria. IPA projects are normally funded in preference to standard grants of equivalent scientific merit, because of the industrial contribution.

Deadline:  None

This is a 'proof of concept' fund to support the commercialisation of ideas arising from research funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council, and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council. Pathfinder awards are available to carry out work that will help you develop a greater understanding of the commercial aspects and possibilities of your research, and hence a more robust, better informed application for a full Follow-on Fund grant. Although not a formal requirement for subsequent application to the full Follow-on Fund, undertaking Pathfinder work of the type described is an approach strongly encouraged by NERC's Assessment Panel. Awards are typically in region of £7k - £10k (FEC), although up to £20k may be awarded in exceptional cases.

Deadline:  None

Projects must also address an unmet need in healthcare or in applied medical research, offer a potential new solution, and have a realistic expectation that the innovation will be developed further by the market. However, for Strategic Translation Awards the Trust will normally actively participate in the stewardship of the project and lead on intellectual property management and exploitation. A wide range of biomedical developments can be considered, including therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics, enabling technologies (including research tools), medical devices and regenerative medicine.

Deadline:  None

The aim of the postdoctoral mobility mechanism is to encourage the effective transfer into different research disciplines of knowledge gained by post-doctoral Research Assistants (PDRAs) working on existing EPSRC research grants and enhance the competencies and career opportunities of these researchers. This opportunity complements support for Visiting Researchers available to established researchers who wish to spend periods of time in a different discipline department in a university located in a different region of the UK. Any proposal that involves transfer of knowledge between two distinctly different disciplines can be considered. However, the balance of the research proposed for the follow-on year must be within EPSRC remit.

Deadline:  (No Deadline)

The Expeditions Council is editorially driven; projects must have the potential to yield compelling stories and images. Applications are also judged on the qualifications of applicants and their teams and on the merit and uniqueness of the project. Applicants are expected to have qualifications and experience pertinent to the expedition or project they propose, and advanced academic degrees are not required. Those planning work in countries other than their own should consider including at least one local collaborator as part of their expedition team. In addition to financial support, the Expeditions Council offers its grantees the opportunity to work effectively with the National Geographic's many divisions. Grantees are therefore able to share the results of their expeditions with National Geographic's global audience.

Deadline:  No Deadline

Work shadowing placements are suitable for researchers and other staff involved in environmental science research at any stage of their career, excluding students. The host partner organisation must be a relevant user of NERC research such as a government department, public agency or charity. Placements are for up to one month and NERC will pay travel and subsistence only. While the funded period for a work shadowing placement is up to four weeks, this does not need to be taken in one block, but can be taken over a period of three months.