Applications Invited for Sarcoma UK Genomic Research Grant 2019

Sarcoma UK launched its Genomic Research Programme in 2018 with the aim of bringing about significant change in sarcoma research. The charity is seeking applications for its Genomic Research Grant to further knowledge and capitalise on genomic research in sarcoma by utilising the opportunity and data from the samples collected in the 100,000 Genomes Project. The vision for the samples has been set by the Sarcoma Genomics England Clinical Interpretation Group (GECIP).

The 100,000 Genomes Project was launched in 2012 with the aim of sequencing 100,000 genomes of patients and their families affected by rare diseases and cancer. It is hoped that a new genomic medicine service will be established to help transform diagnosis and treatment for those affected by cancer.

Applications should be made by the Principle Investigator who must be a UK-based member of the Sarcoma GECIP Domain.

Up to £250,000 will be awarded to one project.

Applications must be submitted by the closing date of 31 October 2019.

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Nuffield Foundation £15million fund for ambitious research projects

Strategic Fund Projects: Call opens 1 October 2019 for submission of outline applications

Seed Corn Funding: Call opens 20 August 2019

Nuffield Foundation have earmarked £15million to fund a small number of projects between 2020 and 2022 that will address key issues affecting UK society and shaping the public policy agenda.

Strategic Fund projects are expected to be of a scale and scope not normally funded through Nuffield’s standard process.  In particular, they are encouraging projects which bring a broad, multi-disciplinary approach to addressing the questions and issues they examine.  Successful applications will take account, in some regard, of the cross-cutting themes, set out in their Strategy.

• How do digital technologies and digital communications alleviate, exacerbate and shift vulnerability, and affect concepts of trust, evidence, and authority?
• In what ways do factors such as socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, community, and geography affect the vulnerability of people to different types of risk, and how can this be mitigated?
• What interventions might promote opportunity and reduce adversity through different life stages, and promote social inclusion between and across generations?
• What are the social and economic implications of physical and mental disability and chronic illness?
• How can social policy institutions make better use of research, evidence, and data in order to understand better the needs of those they serve, and improve services and outcomes?

Nuffield expect to fund a small number of projects of varying size – we envisage in the range of £1m to £3m. They will consider collaborative applications from more than one institution and will also consider co-funded projects.

Applications for the Strategic Fund should:

• Demonstrate a rigorous approach to research whilst at the same time articulating the distinctive and significant questions for society that will connect with a range of potential audiences.
• Open up possibilities for fresh interdisciplinary approaches and encourage the use of innovative methods.
• Give opportunities to a new generation of the best research talent as well as encouraging the best ideas.
• Show how the proposed work would involve not only academics but those in policy, practice, the voluntary sector, and wider civic society.
• Set out the intended impact of the project and how that might be achieved.
• Set out an ambitious communications and dissemination strategy and be prepared to work closely with the Nuffield Foundation in developing and implementing it.

While projects must directly concern UK issues and society, projects involving international comparisons are encouraged.

Application Process

Full details of the application process will be available in the Strategic Fund Guide for Applicants, which will be available in September 2019.  In summary, the application process will be:

1. Submission of an outline application that provides a clear and compelling account of the proposal, how it meets the criteria for our Strategic Fund, and the impact it is expected to achieve.
2. Invitation to submit a full application (where an outline application has been shortlisted).
3. Review of full applications, after which applicants will be invited to respond to reviewers’ comments.
4. Final funding decisions made by Nuffield Foundation Trustees, informed by a recommendation from Foundation staff.

Seed corn funding

To enable applicants to explore original thinking around ideas and methods before submitting outline proposals, Nuffield are giving applicants the opportunity to apply for seed corn grants to support the development of ideas for Strategic Fund applications.  However, they do not expect every Strategic Fund outline application to require seed corn funding.

The seed corn application process will be straightforward – a short form setting out the nature of the proposed work and how it relates to your initial thinking around a Strategic Fund bid. The sums available will vary depending on the nature of each request, but we anticipate awarding grants of around £5,000. The application process for seed corn funding is separate from applying to the Strategic Fund.

Seed corn funding will be available on an ongoing basis from September 2019.  Nuffield will make a decision on seed corn applications quickly: all funding decisions will be made within 20 working days of submission, but they will aim to respond to the majority of applicants within 10 working days. The process will be:

1. Applicants submit seed corn applications via the online portal (from 20 August).
2. From 2 September, Nuffield Foundation staff assess applications and make decisions on funding (contacting applicants for queries or clarification where needed).
3. Applicants are informed of the outcome (there will be no further feedback).
4. Successful applicants receive funding (normally within two weeks of the decision).
5. After the completion of the work, seed corn grant holders submit a short report to the Nuffield Foundation.

Full guidance will be published in September.  In the meantime, further information can be found in the ‘call for applicants’ document and by registering for updates and reminders.

17 September 2019, 23:00 GMT+1           obligatory Intention to Submit via online survey

15 October 2019, 16:00 BST                        joint Full application via Je-S

16 October 2019, 17:00 AEST                      Australian budget through RGMS

UKRI-NHMRC Built Environment and Prevention Research Scheme

https://mrc.ukri.org/funding/browse/ukri-nhmrc/built-environment-prevention-research-scheme/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

~ £4M funding from MRC / Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) / ESRC for approx. 5 collaborative research projects of 3 years’ duration, commencing on 15 May 2020 (£2M for UK components and $4M AUD for Australian research collaborators) focused on improving population health through the primary prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) associated with the built environment. This joint funding scheme with NHMRC will extend MRC and ESRC’s research portfolio on prevention, which includes the UK Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP).

This scheme is being run under the umbrella of the Fund for International Collaboration (FIC).

The objectives of the funding call are to:

• invest in competitive and innovative collaborative research projects between researchers from Australia and the UK that will enable the pursuit of shared research interests on preventing NCDs associated with the built environment. The investment will strengthen collaborations between academic researchers in institutions across both countries.
• to deliver multidisciplinary approaches to preventing NCDs that address the influences of the built environment on NCDs.

There is a need both in the UK and Australia to improve our understanding of the factors that work to shape and support healthy, liveable and resilient built environments, and to develop approaches for improving the built environment to prevent NCDs. The areas listed below are given as examples of aspects of the built environment in which multidisciplinary research proposals are welcomed. Applicants should note that proposals need not be restricted to the examples cited as applications across the breadth the built environment are encouraged. Examples include:

• urban planning and regeneration
• city design, including increasing conditions that promote health such as ‘active travel’ and access to green space
• housing
• transportation systems
• air quality, both indoor and outdoor, and noise
• the indoor environment
• neighbourhood diversity, including social regeneration and social cohesion, and access to health services
• the relationship between the built environment, extreme weather events, and their impact on health.

It is also important that we learn how to best use the instruments available to us, including policies, programs, design and technology, to promote and maintain health and wellbeing.

Developing multidisciplinary approaches to improving the built environment and preventing NCDs requires links between a range of academic researchers (for example public health, biomedicine, engineering, social science, atmospheric chemistry and climate science) and end users such as policy makers, practitioners, health professionals, the public and industry (where appropriate to the research question). Diverse teams, with a mix of skills that are appropriate to the research questions are strongly encouraged under this funding scheme. Both the UK and Australia recognise that drawing on the expertise from different disciplines and users, including across both countries, brings opportunity to deliver new knowledge on how best to address the influences of the built environment on NCDs. Research proposals should include mechanisms for translating their outputs into policy and practice, and for building long-term relationships between academics and users.

Research proposals must sit within, or across, the remits of the participating funders, with interdisciplinarity encouraged. Proposals must seek to generate research outcomes relevant to the prevention of NCDs in the UK and Australia.

UK PIs/Australian CIs may only submit one application to this scheme as PI/CI but may be involved in more applications if listed as a UK co-investigator/Australian associate investigator.

Please let Gwen Averley know gwen.averley@ncl.ac.uk if you are thinking of applying to this call in case we can help with linking to relevant interdisciplinary research groups.

EoI_RENKEI_Researcher_Workshop_Ncl

RENKEI Researcher Workshop-ClimateChange2019_final

Item 1: NERC Independent Research Fellowships – Briefing session 13^th August

Item 2: NERC Public Engagement Strategy and new opportunities for funding

Item 3: Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund opportunity – Manufacturing made smarter: round 1 (fast start)

Item 4: Research Council Constructing a Digital Environment – Workshop and Funding Opportunity

Item 5: UKRI Review of Support for Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Item 6: EPSRC Analytical Science Community Workshop

Item 7: EPSRC Showcasing Physical Sciences Impact Event

Item 8: RENKEI Call for Expressions of Interest to participate in the RENKEI Climate Change workshop 02-04 Dec

Item 9: UK-Japan funding opportunities (JSPS/The Royal Society)

Item 10: REMINDER Opportunity to sit on EPSRC Strategic Advisory Teams (SATs)

If you have any questions about the items below please contact a member of the Research Funding Development Team.

Item 1: NERC Independent Research Fellowships – Briefing session 13^th August

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Independent Research Fellowships opportunity is open with an application deadline of 01 October 2019, see https://nerc.ukri.org/funding/available/fellowships/irf/.

We are holding a briefing session on Tuesday 13 August, from 11.00am-12.30pm in Armstrong Building room 3.39, where you will receive information about the opportunity and advice from a successful applicant, Dr Celine Guervilly.

The fellowships are designed to develop scientific leadership among the most promising early-career environmental scientists (with up to 8 year full-time postdoctoral experience, excluding leave), by giving all fellows five years’ support, which will allow them sufficient time to develop their research programmes and to gain international recognition. Note, those in the closing stages of their PhD may be eligible.

Should you be interested to attend, please let Jarlath McKenna <Jarlath.mckenna@newcastle.ac.uk> know. If you plan to apply with Newcastle but cannot make the briefing session, please note that support from the Research Funding Development team is available.

Item 2: NERC Public Engagement Strategy and new opportunities for funding

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is creating a new strategy for public engagement with environmental science research and has published a draft which is open to feedback. The strategy is available for feedback from 31 July to 7 September. NERC encourages feedback through its online consultation process – external link.

The strategy builds on current and previous investments, from the NERC Community for Engaging Environments, our largest single investment in public engagement, through to grants given to individual researchers.

Following the consultation period, NERC will be publishing the strategy in late 2019.

Consultation event: As part of listening to its communities about the new public engagement with research strategy, NERC will run an event on Tuesday 15 October, to get feedback and understand how we can work with our partners to achieve the strategy. The event will also celebrate research that has successfully demonstrated purposeful engagement in the research community.

To apply to attend the event, please see details on the consultation event page.

Grant to embed engagement: We are inviting proposals for small projects, between £2,000 and £5,000, which will demonstrate how the NERC public engagement with research strategy aligns with activity that our community and institutions are, and plan to be, delivering. The closing date for outline proposals is 16:00 on Monday 30 September 2019. For full information about the grant, please see details of the Announcement of Opportunity.

Item 3: Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund opportunity – Manufacturing made smarter: round 1 (fast start)

Contact: geraint.lewis@ncl.ac.uk

Link to call: https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/404/overview#scope

Competition closes: Wednesday 28 August 2019 12:00pm

Up to £30 million is available for projects to transform the productivity and agility of UK manufacturing. Projects must have the potential for rapid impact. The aim of this competition is to fund projects focussed on the use of industrial digital technologies (IDTs) to transform the productivity and agility of UK manufacturing. Projects must be able to achieve short-term impact and rapid technology development.

Eligibility

• To lead a project the organisation must be a UK based manufacturing business of any size
• An academic institution can collaborate in any number of applications

Specific themes

Projects must focus on at least one of the 4 innovation themes.

1. Smart connected factory, including:

• use of real-time data to optimise operational efficiency
• capture, analysis and visualisation of manufacturing processes

2. Connected and versatile supply chain, including:

• information integration, communication, traceability and trust

3. Design, make, test, including:

• transforming product design through digital technologies
• virtual product testing, verification and validation, quality monitoring and inspection

4. Adaptable, flexible manufacturing operations and skills, including:

• culture change and skills development to fully utilise technologies
• human-centric automation and autonomy to enable expandable, flexible manufacturing systems

If you are interested in this opportunity please contact Geraint Lewis (geraint.lewis@ncl.ac.uk), Head of Enterprise Services.

Item 4: Research Council Constructing a Digital Environment – Workshop and Funding Opportunity

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is inviting individuals to submit expressions of interests (EoIs) to attend workshops for the NERC-led four-year £10·4 million Constructing a Digital Environment programme in either Cardiff (4 October), London (10 October) or Edinburgh (16 October).

The workshops aims to bring together the ‘digital environment’ community, including (but not limited to) environmental science, computer science, informatics, statistics, social science, data science, policymakers and members of industry, and follows on from the first workshop held in Manchester earlier in 2019.

The workshops will include presentations from the NERC Digital Environment Team and the Constructing a Digital Environment Champions Ron Corstanje and Steve Hallett and other project partners. The days will primarily focus on networking and discussions around specific digital environment themes ahead of a future funding opportunity.

The deadline for applications is 4pm on 6^th September. More information can be found here.

Item 5: UKRI Review of Support for Artificial Intelligence (AI)

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and its research and innovation communities, have a key role to play in the development and application of world leading AI technologies.

In order to provide a holistic approach to the support of AI research and innovation across UKRI, which spans the remit, portfolio, and community of UKRI, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is working with colleagues across UKRI to undertake a review of the AI landscape. This review aims to understand current UK support for AI research and innovation, and engage key stakeholders in identifying the opportunities and future directions for AI research and innovation in the UK. The review will result in a UKRI AI Strategy in autumn 2019, which will set out UKRI’s approach to appropriately supporting AI research and innovation in the UK including recommendations for UKRI activities.

To seek input and engagement of stakeholders from the academic and user communities, four regional community AI workshops took place in May this year, in Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham and London, which more than 200 attendees overall.

To ensure that anyone who would like to stay informed about the progress of the UKRI AI review can do so, we have set up a simple smart survey, which you may wish to complete. Over summer 2019, further focussed engagement on specific topics is planned, and we will make colleagues aware of any activities as soon as possible.

Item 6: EPSRC Analytical Science Community Workshop

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is holding an Analytical Science community workshop on the 23 October 2019. This workshop will bring together representatives from both industry and academia working within the EPSRC Analytical Science research area. The aim of the workshop is to produce a set of future research goals, encompassing the views of both the academic and industrial communities, and use these discussions to identify potential areas of overlap between the research agenda of the academic community and the development needs of industry. To facilitate this, the workshop will provide opportunities for networking and the development of new collaborations. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for the Analytical Science community to identify future infrastructure needs, including ways in which the existing infrastructure can be more effectively utilised.

More information about the workshop and future funding in this area can be found here. The deadline for expressions of interest is 6^th September 2019.

Item 7: EPSRC Showcasing Physical Sciences Impact Event

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is hosting an exciting event, sponsored by the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Chemistry, to celebrate the significant and wide-ranging impacts that arise from the breadth of physical sciences research: from the fundamental to the applied. The event (6^th December 2019) will include plenary talks, keynote speech and 10-15 exhibits demonstrating the best of physical sciences impact, and panel sessions focusing on the three pillars of impact: 1) economic, social & cultural impact, 2) impact through knowledge and 3) impact through people.

The event will bring together academics and industrialists from across a broad range of disciplines along with policy makers to share, discuss and celebrate the far-reaching and varied impacts of physical sciences research. With the event EPSRC aims to:

• Raise the profile of the exciting and varied impact of physical sciences research amongst stakeholders including industry, the third sector, academia, senior leaders of UKRI and policy makers.
• Raise awareness within the physical sciences research community of the three pillars of impact, the potential opportunities for pathways to impact and how EPSRC can further support this.
• Increase understanding amongst stakeholders of the latency of physical sciences research, its transformational but risky nature and the timeline to translation.

If you are interesting in showcasing your work, please visit the EPSRC website here.

Item 8: RENKEI Call for Expressions of Interest to participate in the RENKEI Climate Change workshop 02-04 Dec 2019

I’m delighted to let you know that the internal call for Expressions of Interest’ to participate in the RENKEI ‘climate change’ workshop on 02-04 Dec 2019 is now open, please feel free to forward this information to colleagues who you think might be interested in participating at the event. RENKEI (Research and Education Network for Knowledge Economy Initiatives) is a partnership between universities in Japan and the UK aiming at strengthening the knowledge exchange and research collaboration between the two countries particularly focusing on ‘climate change’ and ‘health’.

Newcastle has been allocated 4 researcher places in total for the workshop (1 senior academic, 1 mid-career, 1 post-doc, 1 PhD). We will also be taking the following into consideration:

✓ At least 1 nominated researcher should be from social sciences and the humanities (related to ‘climate change’)

✓ At least 1 nominated researcher should be female

✓ Up to 1 nominated researcher can be Early Career Researcher/PhD

✓ Nominated researchers are expected to have interest/expertise in either of the subthemes listed (see the attached document ‘RENKEI Researcher Workshop-ClimateChange2019_final’).

Anyone interested in participating in the workshop should please complete the attached EoI from and email it back to dajana.dzanovic@ncl.ac.uk by 01 September 2019 (12 noon), if required please ensure that your supervisor/line manager is supportive of your participation.

Item 9: UK-Japan funding opportunities (JSPS/The Royal Society)

Type A: Bilateral Joint Projects with JSPS’ Counterpart Funding Institutions

This scheme is based on an agreement with the Royal Society.

Duration of Project: 2 years

Level of funding: JSPS: Up to 2,000,000 JPY per fiscal year (Up to JPY 4,000,000 in total); Royal Society: Up to GBP 12,000 in total

*Starting date: 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2022 for the Japanese side and from 18 March 2020 to 2022 for the UK side.

Application Period:

JSPS Tokyo: Wednesday 21st August to Wednesday 4th September, 2019, Japan time.

Applications should be sent centrally by the institution in Japan to JSPS Tokyo. JSPS Tokyo does not accept applications from individual researchers and please note that the applicant’s affiliated institution may set an earlier, internal deadline to collect and check the format of these applications before forwarding to JSPS Tokyo. Under no circumstances will JSPS Tokyo accept a late application.

Royal Society: Wednesday 7 August to Wednesday 25th September, 2019, 15:00 UK time

For more information please go to the following web link.

Type B: Open Partnership Joint Projects/Seminars

Under this scheme JSPS has no formal agreement with another funding body. The Japan based group can receive support from JSPS and the counterpart group in another country should seek support for their involvement from a funding body recognized by JSPS.

Duration Supported:

Joint Projects – up to 2 years *Start date must be during the period of 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021

Joint Seminars – up to 1 week *Seminars must be held during the period of 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021

Level of funding: Joint Projects – Up to JPY 2,000,000 per fiscal year (Up to JPY 4,000,000 in total); Joint Seminars – Up to JPY 2,000,000

Application Period:

JSPS Tokyo: Wednesday 21st August to Wednesday 4h September 2019, Japan time.

Applications should be sent centrally by the institution in Japan to JSPS Tokyo. JSPS Tokyo does not accept applications from individual researchers and please note that the applicant’s affiliated institution may set an earlier, internal deadline to collect and check the format of these applications before forwarding to JSPS Tokyo. Under no circumstances will JSPS Tokyo accept a late application.

For more information please go to the following web link.

If you have any questions about the opportunities above please contact Dajana Dzanovic (dajana.dzanovic@ncl.ac.uk)

Item 10: REMINDER Opportunity to sit on EPSRC Strategic Advisory Teams (SATs)

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is looking to recruit new members for its Strategic Advisory Teams (SATs) to start in January 2020.

Strategic Advisory Teams (SAT) advise EPSRC themes on research and training strategy across different areas of our remit. As a SAT member, you will be expected to meet up to three times a year and, in between, advocate on behalf of EPSRC on any policies or specific issues that may arise. The SAT acts as a sounding board for themes to inform new ideas, provide advice on key issues and offer a direct link to the research community.

The EPSRC Engineering Theme has produced a booklet on what the role of a SAT member is (please see here). Please also refer to the Strategic Advisory Bodies membership page. For information on how to apply, the person and assessment criteria and the selection process, please refer to the Strategic Advisory Bodies membership page. EPSRC is looking to fill vacancies in specific themes and for a range of career stage’s, as outlined here and summarized here:

• Capital Equipment: Early Career Researcher, Facility Manager/Researcher, Engineering Researcher/User of Capital Equipment
• Digital Economy: Creative Industries Academic, Early Career Researcher
• E-Infrastructure: HPC user from Maths/CFD/Climate Community, HPC user from Biophysics Community
• Energy: Carbon Capture and Storage, Nuclear Fission, Offshore Renewable Energy, Climate Sciences and/or Decarbonisation
• Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or Control Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Expertise at the Interface of Engineering and Society/Social Impact
• Fusion Advisory Board: Fusion Engineering, Inertial Fusion, Modelling of Fusion
• Healthcare Technologies: Digital Health, Medical Imaging, Diagnostics
• ICT: Photonics, Communications, Fundamentals of Computing
• Manufacturing the Future: Open Area with priority given to those working in Industrial Buiotechnology, Circular Economy, Digital Manufacturing and Materials Manufacturing, Open Area with priority given to people working in aerospace, food, pharmaceuticals
• Mathematical Sciences: Pure Maths with expertise in Number Theory, Pure Maths (any), Statistics, Operational Research
• Physical Sciences: Physical Scientist with expertise in Optical Physics, Physical Scientist with expertise in Functional Materials, Physical Scientist with expertise in using Large Data, Physical Scientist with expertise in Photonic Materials (including metamaterials).

If you are interested in an SAT opportunity and would like some support with a potential application, please contact a member of the Research Funding Development Team. The deadline for applying is 4pm 23^rd August 2019.

FW_ EU & International Research Funding 1 August 2019

10 September 2019, 11pm           (Mandatory Expression of Interest) online form

9 October 2019, 4pm                     (Seed-funding application) through Je-S

MRC GCRF Global Multimorbidity – Seed-funding 2019

https://mrc.ukri.org/funding/browse/gcrf-gmsf/gcrf-global-multimorbidity-seed-funding-2019/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

This MRC call has been developed in collaboration with Wellcome, NIHR and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

The call will support seed-funding projects that develop and test innovative ideas, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, build capacity, and lay the groundwork for future large-scale activity aimed at understanding and tackling multimorbidity in LMICs. Note that UK or HIC-focused applications are not eligible for this call.

Up to £2.5M is available, to support grants up to 18 months and up to £200,000.

This call will support seed-funding projects in global multimorbidity. Briefly, subject areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Preliminary data collection and methodological development to understand behavioural, environmental, sociodemographic, and biological factors associated with common clusters/clusters of highest burden and determinants of discordant co-occurring conditions.
• Audit and analysis of existing data to either: i) bring together the fragmented evidence base caused by variations in definition and classification of multimorbidity, ii) utilise existing cohort/surveillance data to identify trends and modifiable risk factors, iii) examine healthcare costs associated with different clusters of conditions and models of care, or iv) assess the impact of existing primary prevention strategies on multimorbidity.
• Feasibility (including acceptability) and pilot work towards the development of primary (e.g., lifestyle interventions), secondary (e.g., preventing multimorbidity once one condition has been diagnosed, polypharmacy effects), and tertiary (e.g., integrated management, mHealth) prevention strategies across all age groups.
• Establishing foundations for studies focused on understanding trends in multimorbidity. Seed-funding would also enable the follow up of previous studies to enable longitudinal or repeated cross-sectional analysis.
• Development of sensitive measures to determine the impact on quality of life for patients and carers of living with multimorbidity.
• Capacity building, networking, and connection of existing resources within LMICs to allow interdisciplinary investigation of multimorbidity.

This call adopts the definition of multimorbidity recommended in the AMS report:

The co-existence of two or more chronic conditions, each one of which is either:

• A physical non-communicable disease of long duration, such as a cardiovascular disease or cancer.
• A mental health condition of long duration, such as a mood disorder or dementia.
• An infectious disease of long duration, such as HIV, MDR TB, or hepatitis C.

Importantly, multimorbidity refers to the co-existence of chronic conditions without a single focus of attention on one condition over and above the others. This is distinct to co-morbidity where additional conditions co-occur alongside an index condition. Proposals focused on co-morbidity are not eligible to apply to this call, although the funder acknowledges that existing cohorts utilised by proposals to this call may have originally been set up with a single condition of focus.

Applications directly from PIs at LMIC Research Organisations, including those based on South-South collaborations, are encouraged (i.e. without the involvement of a UK Co-I).

Where the application is led by a UK PI, it should include effective, sustainable and equitable partnerships with researchers based in the LMIC location(s) where the research will take place, with strong governance and management processes in place. All applications should demonstrate scientific leadership and intellectual contribution from LMIC investigators with a clear plan for sustaining partnerships beyond the duration of the award.

Research into multimorbidity and health systems/health services should be rooted in the context where it will take place with strong engagement with policy makers to maximise potential uptake of the research findings.

Applicants are welcome to contact the office (international@mrc.ukri.org) in advance of submitting an application to discuss remit or eligibility.

Further detail, including assessment criteria, links to the AMS Multimorbidity report and subsequent Workshop, are at the URL above.

Please contact gwen.averley@ncl.ac.uk or darren.airey@ncl.ac.uk for assistance with the Pathways to Impact

Please contact Dajana.Dzanovic@newcastle.ac.uk or Elisa.Lawson@newcastle.ac.uk for assistance with the ODA Compliance Statement

Please contact rdm@ncl.ac.uk for assistance with your Data Management Plan

10 September 2019, 11pm           (Mandatory Expression of Interest) online form

9 October 2019, 4pm                     (Seed-funding application) through Je-S

MRC GCRF Global Multimorbidity – Seed-funding 2019

https://mrc.ukri.org/funding/browse/gcrf-gmsf/gcrf-global-multimorbidity-seed-funding-2019/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

This MRC call has been developed in collaboration with Wellcome, NIHR and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

The call will support seed-funding projects that develop and test innovative ideas, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, build capacity, and lay the groundwork for future large-scale activity aimed at understanding and tackling multimorbidity in LMICs. Note that UK or HIC-focused applications are not eligible for this call.

Up to £2.5M is available, to support grants up to 18 months and up to £200,000.

This call will support seed-funding projects in global multimorbidity. Briefly, subject areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Preliminary data collection and methodological development to understand behavioural, environmental, sociodemographic, and biological factors associated with common clusters/clusters of highest burden and determinants of discordant co-occurring conditions.
• Audit and analysis of existing data to either: i) bring together the fragmented evidence base caused by variations in definition and classification of multimorbidity, ii) utilise existing cohort/surveillance data to identify trends and modifiable risk factors, iii) examine healthcare costs associated with different clusters of conditions and models of care, or iv) assess the impact of existing primary prevention strategies on multimorbidity.
• Feasibility (including acceptability) and pilot work towards the development of primary (e.g., lifestyle interventions), secondary (e.g., preventing multimorbidity once one condition has been diagnosed, polypharmacy effects), and tertiary (e.g., integrated management, mHealth) prevention strategies across all age groups.
• Establishing foundations for studies focused on understanding trends in multimorbidity. Seed-funding would also enable the follow up of previous studies to enable longitudinal or repeated cross-sectional analysis.
• Development of sensitive measures to determine the impact on quality of life for patients and carers of living with multimorbidity.
• Capacity building, networking, and connection of existing resources within LMICs to allow interdisciplinary investigation of multimorbidity.

This call adopts the definition of multimorbidity recommended in the AMS report:

The co-existence of two or more chronic conditions, each one of which is either:

• A physical non-communicable disease of long duration, such as a cardiovascular disease or cancer.
• A mental health condition of long duration, such as a mood disorder or dementia.
• An infectious disease of long duration, such as HIV, MDR TB, or hepatitis C.

Importantly, multimorbidity refers to the co-existence of chronic conditions without a single focus of attention on one condition over and above the others. This is distinct to co-morbidity where additional conditions co-occur alongside an index condition. Proposals focused on co-morbidity are not eligible to apply to this call, although the funder acknowledges that existing cohorts utilised by proposals to this call may have originally been set up with a single condition of focus.

Applications directly from PIs at LMIC Research Organisations, including those based on South-South collaborations, are encouraged (i.e. without the involvement of a UK Co-I).

Where the application is led by a UK PI, it should include effective, sustainable and equitable partnerships with researchers based in the LMIC location(s) where the research will take place, with strong governance and management processes in place. All applications should demonstrate scientific leadership and intellectual contribution from LMIC investigators with a clear plan for sustaining partnerships beyond the duration of the award.

Research into multimorbidity and health systems/health services should be rooted in the context where it will take place with strong engagement with policy makers to maximise potential uptake of the research findings.

Applicants are welcome to contact the office (international@mrc.ukri.org) in advance of submitting an application to discuss remit or eligibility.

Further detail, including assessment criteria, links to the AMS Multimorbidity report and subsequent Workshop, are at the URL above.

Please contact gwen.averley@ncl.ac.uk or darren.airey@ncl.ac.uk for assistance with the Pathways to Impact

Please contact Dajana.Dzanovic@newcastle.ac.uk or Elisa.Lawson@newcastle.ac.uk for assistance with the ODA Compliance Statement

Please contact rdm@ncl.ac.uk for assistance with your Data Management Plan

RAEng Research Fellowships 2019 – Big Pitch Form

Please see below for the latest research funding related information and event updates. In summary, these include:

Item 1: Changes to EPSRC Fellowship Areas

Item 2: FINAL REMINDER Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships 2019/20 – Internal selection process

Item 3: UKRI Workshop Report – Circular Economy

Item 4: Multidisciplinary Cancer Research UK-EPSRC Early Detection Innovation Sandpit and Award

Item 5: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) New Generation Thinkers Information Dissemination Session

Item 6: Funding opportunities from The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA)

If you have any questions about the items below please contact a member of the Research Funding Development Team.

Item 1: Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPSRC) Refresh of Fellowship Priority Areas

A biannual process has been in place since 2013 to publicize the on-going refresh of EPSRC’s thematic priority areas for fellowships. The following announcements have recently been made:

• Energy: As of 30 October 2019 the Energy portfolio will undergo a re-organisation of priority areas. To be removed at all career stages on 30 October 2019: Bioenergy, End-Use Energy Demand, Carbon Capture and Storage, Energy Networks, Energy Storage, Nuclear Fission, Solar Energy, Energy Systems Integration, Offshore renewable energy, Hydrogen and Alternative Energy Vectors. Additions at all career stages in advance of 30 October 2019: Future Electricity generation, Energy for transport, Energy for heat, Energy for industry.
• Mathematical Sciences: To be removed at all career stages: Statistics and Applied Probability effective from 30 October 2019. Addition at all career stages: Statistics and its Interfaces
• Healthcare Technologies: To be removed, effective from 30 October 2019: Developing Future Therapies (Established Career), Frontiers of Physical Intervention (Established Career), Optimising Treatment (Established Career), Transforming Community Health and Care (Established Career)

Please note any related applications in process at the time that advance notice is given will continue to be assessed in good faith. More information can be found here.

Item 2: FINAL REMINDER Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships 2019/20 – Internal selection process

If you wish to be considered for selection to submit to The Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships, and Engineering for Development Fellowships 2020 (https://www.raeng.org.uk/grants-and-prizes/grants/support-for-research/raeng-research-fellowship) the internal deadline for submitting your ‘Big Pitch’ form (please find attached) and CV for the internal selection process is midday on Thursday 1 August 2019. Any queries may be addressed to Jarlath McKenna <Jarlath.mckenna@newcastle.ac.uk>.

Item 3: UKRI Workshop Report – Circular Economy

The circular economy is an area of interest to UK Research and Innovation due to its multidisciplinary nature and potential for impact. In June 2019 UKRI held two workshops focusing on the Circular Economy, which brought together stakeholders and facilitated transdisciplinary partnerships. For those interested in the circular economy and EPSRC’s and Defra’s priorities in this area, the report can be found here: https://epsrc.ukri.org/newsevents/pubs/ukri-circular-economy-workshops-june-2019/

Item 4: Multidisciplinary Cancer Research UK-EPSRC Early Detection Innovation Sandpit and Award

This award aims to catalyse new multidisciplinary collaborations to generate novel and innovative ideas that will lead to earlier detection of cancer. In partnership with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Cancer Research UK administers the Early Detection Innovation Sandpit and Award which aims to catalyse new multidisciplinary collaborations to drive forward earlier detection of cancer. Applicants attend an intensive and interactive three-day residential workshop where they have the opportunity to:

• Network and form new collaborations spanning diverse research areas and organisations.
• Work in broad, multidisciplinary teams to generate new and innovative research ideas.
• Pitch projects for seed funding to test the feasibility of their ideas.

The aim of this workshop is to bring in innovative computational approaches from outside of cancer research, and to direct these efforts towards cancer early detection. Developing tools with the potential to translate into a diagnostic and/or surveillance pathway, that can bridge pathology and imaging, are of particular interest. The theme for the November 2019 workshop is applying artificial intelligence techniques to digital pathology images for cancer early detection. Research ideas developed at the workshop could investigate some or a combination of challenges, as outlined here.

Applicants from a wide range of disciplines are eligible including those working in the fields of cancer biology, healthcare professionals, computer scientists, mathematicians and statisticians, engineers, physical scientists, and those working in the digital and technology space.

Teams who successfully pitch proposals at the workshop will receive seed funding for one year to cover the costs of pilot/feasibility studies. Awards of up to £100,000 can be made. Applications must be submitted by the closing date of 30 September 2019. More information can be found here. If you are interested in applying and would like to support with your application please contact Holly Davidson holly.davidson@ncl.ac.uk.

Item 5: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) New Generation Thinkers Information Dissemination Session

The AHRC’s New Generation Thinkers scheme is a development opportunity for early career researchers who wish to cultivate their skills to communicate their research findings to those outside the academic community. This informal session will be Chaired by the Dean of Research and Innovation for the HaSS Faculty, Professor Matthew Grenby. Its purpose is to provide attendees with an opportunity to discuss their ideas, find out what constitutes a good application, and to find out more about the application process.

At the end of the session, attendees will:

• Understand what the AHRC are looking for from applications to their New Generation Thinkers scheme
• Know how the application process works
• Have discussed and refined ideas for potential applications

This informal session offers:

• An overview of the AHRC New Generation Thinkers scheme
• Insight into how to prepare an application
• An opportunity for potential applicants to discuss their application ideas

The session will be held on 4^th September 2019, 12.30pm – 2.00pm in Great North House, Meeting Room 2. If you’d like to attend please register here.

Item 6: Funding opportunities from The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA)

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) finds and funds exploitable innovation to support UK defence and security quickly and effectively. The vision is for the UK to maintain its strategic advantage over its adversaries through the most innovative defence and security capabilities in the world. DASA is a cross-Government organisation, launched in December 2016 by the Secretary of State for Defence.

Funding for DASA comes from the £800M Defence Innovation Fund  and is worth around £36M per year. University Academics can apply into DASA via Calls. There are two types of calls; those that are published and those that are open at any time.

There is a Regional Business Partner, Anna Taylor who is based in Newcastle and is extremely keen to develop applications from Newcastle University. She is available to talk with small groups and also  to work individually with staff to advise on applications. A small number of Universities throughout the UK have been involved so far. Funding is 100% of FEC and the success rate is high with around 25-30% of applications being funded.

Themed calls are circulated via the Business Development and enterprise team or staff can sign up for alerts HERE.

Within Business Development and Enterprise contacts to discuss ideas or applications with are as follows:

School of Engineering; sheena.shields@ncl.ac.uk luke.judd@ncl.ac.uk

School of Natural and Environmental Sciences; Jayshree.johnsone@ncl.ac.uk

School of Computing and Maths, Stats, Physics graeme.young@ncl.ac.uk

DASA Presentation and Clinic

Anna Taylor the North East Business Partner will be making a presentation and holding short clinics with individual academics in later September / early October (TBC). Please look out for this date when it becomes available.