Infectious Disease Award: Understanding dengue and Zika spread, immunity and clinical outcomes

This funding call will support multidisciplinary teams to generate evidence on where dengue and Zika viruses co-circulate and investigate the implications this has on host immune responses and clinical outcomes. Research funded through this award will support global efforts to understand and predict the spread of these pathogens, especially where data are limited. Funded projects will also help to design and implement future interventions to reduce dengue and Zika’s growing burden and impact on health.

Overview 

Lead applicant career stage:
Administering organisation location:
Anywhere in the world (apart from mainland China)
Frequency:
One-off
Funding amount:

Up to £5 million per award

Funding duration:

Between 3 to 5 years

Coapplicants:
Accepted

Upcoming application stage

Calculating next key date…
Application process timeline

Who can apply 

Your experience

Where you're based

At least one lead applicant or coapplicant must be based in an African or Asian country that is currently experiencing a dengue and Zika outbreak or has experienced an outbreak in the past.

Administering organisations can be based anywhere in the world apart from mainland China. The introduction of the Chinese NGO Law on 1 January 2017 requires foreign NGOs (like Wellcome) to have a representative office in China, or file documentation to carry out temporary activities in order to fund activities in China. Wellcome does not have a representative office in China and a temporary activity licence would not cover the nature of the activities we fund. Consequently we are unable to fund activities in China.

If you’ve spent time away from research

Time spent away from research

You can apply for this award if you have spent time away from research (for example, for a career break, parental leave or long-term sick leave). We will take this into consideration during the review of your application.

Retirement

If you have retired, you are eligible to apply as a coapplicant or collaborator. You must have a guarantee of space from your administering organisation and you must contact us before applying. 

Working part-time

Lead and coapplicants can be part-time. There is no formal minimum, but part-time applicants should still be able to contribute at least 20% of their research time to the project and their part-time work should be compatible with delivering the project successfully.
 

Who can't apply 

You should not apply for this call if: 

  • you intend to carry out activities that involve the transfer of grant funds into mainland China.
  • you do not have either a lead applicant or coapplicants based in each country where the proposed research will take place.
  • you are a lead applicant based at a commercial organisation. 

Is your organisation right for this call? 

Where your administering organisation must be based

The organisation of the lead applicant can be based anywhere in the world except mainland China and can be a: 

  • higher education institution 
  • research institute 
  • non-academic healthcare organisation 
  • not-for-profit organisation

Coapplicants to this award can be based at commercial organisations. 

The lead and coapplicants must all be based at eligible organisations that can sign up to our grant conditions and grant funding policies.

If your administering organisation is a core-funded research organisation, this award should not replace or lead to a reduction in existing or planned core support.

What your administering organisation must do

We expect organisations based in the UK to meet the responsibilities required by the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers for institutions, managers and researchers. 

Any organisation which receives Wellcome funding that is based outside the UK is expected, at a minimum, to follow the principles of the Concordat. 

We also expect any administering organisation to: 

  • Give you, and any staff employed on the grant, at least ten days a year (pro rata if part-time) to undertake training and continuing professional development in line with the Concordat. This should include the responsible conduct of research, research leadership, people management, diversity and inclusion, and the promotion of a healthy research culture. 
  • Provide a system of onboarding and planning for you when you start the award, which should include understanding and supporting the commitments of the award. 
  • Provide you with the status and benefits of other staff of similar seniority.

Is your research right for this call? 

Research priorities

Dengue and Zika viruses are closely related flaviviruses that share common mosquito vectors and are known to co-circulate in human populations. Data on their epidemiology and disease burden are limited in critical geographical regions, especially in Africa and Asia. The limited availability of data on co-circulation and cross-reactivity prevents the effective design and implementation of interventions against the current and future spread of the two viruses. 

Individuals can experience simultaneous infections with dengue and Zika, or infection with one virus followed by the other (sequential infection), potentially triggering cross-reactive immunity. Cross-reactivity between dengue and Zika may influence the level of protection against future infections with the two pathogens, therefore affecting spread, disease burden and clinical outcomes.

This call aims to fund projects that explore the effects of dengue and Zika co-circulation on host immune responses and clinical outcomes, with a particular focus on areas where epidemiological and immunological data are limited or underused. Proposals can additionally include investigations into socio-demographic, climatic and land-use drivers of dengue and Zika co-circulation and spread.

We will prioritise proposals that consider the co-circulation of the two viruses and include:

  1. Investigations of immunological cross-reactivity of dengue and Zika, moving away from studies on the individual aspects of either dengue or Zika virus infections. This can include how co-infection or sequential infection can impact:
    • susceptibility to future infections and/or         
    • immune responses and disease severity following either dengue or Zika infection.
  2. Molecular and clinical epidemiology studies of dengue and Zika to improve our understanding of the co-circulation of the two viruses, their viral diversity and clinical outcomes, particularly in areas where epidemiological data are limited.  

Applications can include studies in low- and middle-income countries where evidence of dengue and Zika co-circulation is lacking, but where there are probable or suspected cases. Studies in these regions can address solely the epidemiological component of this funding call, provided that the overall team composition can also address the immunological cross-reactivity of dengue and Zika by using future, existing or historical samples from areas with confirmed dengue and Zika cases.

What your research proposal must include

Your research proposal must include: 

  • Justification on why you are proposing to conduct research in your chosen country. 
  • How you will generate evidence of dengue and Zika virus co-circulation. We expect proposals to include the use of molecular epidemiology tools such as pathogen genomic sequencing along with an integrated data approach to investigating the influence of co-circulation and viral diversity.
  • The type of data you plan to generate: for example, dengue and Zika whole genome sequence data, and serological or other immunological or clinical data that evidence the population-level and individual-level immunity to dengue and Zika. 
  • Proposed laboratory investigations on cross-reactivity between dengue and Zika.
  • Details of the populations or groups included in the data collection, analysis and reporting, including, but not limited to, any subgroups according to age, gender, pregnancy status and/or newborns exposed in utero.
    • If you are collecting new data, you must provide a detailed plan on how you will undertake this work with the community and how you are involving them in your project. As part of this plan, you should highlight notable points of collaboration and how key stakeholders will be involved in the decision-making process at various stages of the research. This includes how the research proposal and design were developed with relevant stakeholders. We expect that any relevant stakeholders, such as community professionals or representatives, would be part of steering groups or committees that are part of projects funded by this award. Other relevant stakeholders could include community leaders, public health actors, policymakers or data professionals. 
  • A description of how your planned research attends to the responsible conduct of research. This includes ethical, social and cultural considerations relevant to the types of samples and data you are using, any enrolled research populations, the contexts in which the work is conducted and impacts on affected communities across the lifecycle of the work. If you plan to include children, pregnant people, as well as follow-up with newborns, please include relevant details for how study methods, approaches and team expertise are suited to the interests of these populations, generate appropriate evidence, and tend to relevant safety needs. 
  • A description of your approach to data management, integration and/or sharing of the different data types detailed above, especially where data types vary from traditional epidemiological, clinical and immunological data – for example, socio-economic statistics, qualitative data, interactional/relational data and survey data. Your approach to data management must include how you plan to share data with relevant stakeholders in the event of a dengue or Zika outbreak during the lifetime of your award to ensure that research findings and data relevant to this outbreak are shared rapidly and openly to inform public health responses.
  • Provide a data sharing, communications and management plan with collaborating public health stakeholders and policymakers, both locally and internationally as appropriate. This will be central to the design, adoption or implementation of interventions against dengue and Zika.
    • The communications plan needs to outline your plans to ensure that your research will be seen and understood by relevant stakeholders for the duration of your project. This could include feeding back to your community through workshops or sharing findings with public health and policymakers through appropriate channels. We expect you to also include your plans for sharing your research outputs to influence local, national, regional or global decision-making in the Zika and/or dengue response.
    • For multi-country projects, provide a data management plan for international data transfers or accessibility, security and procedures for associated regulatory requirements and/or permissions. Learn more about our data, software and materials management and sharing policy.
  • The relevance of the proposed research to low- and middle-income countries, including a plan for conducting laboratory research, enhancing laboratory capability, training and data analysis, with appropriate sensitivities about how the findings may impact different affected groups.
  • How you have embedded engaged research approaches and a commitment to collaborative working.

What your research proposal can include

Your research proposal can include: 

  • Clinical characteristics of dengue and Zika disease in patients, including population subgroups like children, pregnant patients and follow-up of babies with in utero exposures. 
  • Molecular epidemiology of other mosquito-borne viruses as long as dengue and Zika are the primary focus. 
  • Research based in more than one location or country. 
  • These data sources are optional but can be used where teams think they add value to their research priorities. For example:
    1. Research that uses socio-demographic/contextual methodologies, for example, behavioural practices, community mapping and socio-economic status to understand the potential socio-demographic drivers of dengue and Zika co-circulation.
    2. Research that explores built environments. 
    3. Investigations of climatic and land use drivers of dengue and Zika co-circulation. For example using data from satellite imagery or other sources of earth observation data, including weather station data and climate reanalyses.

Kinds of research that aren't right for this call

  • focuses solely on one of the viruses (either dengue or Zika), or exclusively focuses on serosurveys and immunology
  • addresses the research priorities using exclusively or predominantly entomological studies and studies in animal reservoirs
  • addresses only the detection and genomic surveillance of dengue and/or Zika, or social and public health measures in response to dengue and/or Zika
  • focuses solely on the evaluation of medical countermeasures or on clinical research unless linked to the core research topics of the call (whole genome sequencing, immunology, virology)
  • aims to develop dengue and/or Zika diagnostic tests for commercial purposes or for purposes unrelated to addressing the research question
  • addresses the research question exclusively by researchers in institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean
  • fails to consider the engagement of public health stakeholders
  • includes activities that involve the transfer of grant funds into mainland China.

Research costs you can ask for 

You can ask Wellcome to pay for:

How to apply 

Where to apply

Apply for this scheme on the Wellcome Funding platform. You can save your application and return to it at any time.

Get some tips to help you write your grant application.

Stages of application

1. Before you apply 

2. Submit your preliminary application 

3. Shortlisting

  • At the shortlisting stage, Wellcome staff will review your preliminary application. You will be informed of the decision on your preliminary application in approximately one month after the preliminary application deadline.
  • Shortlisted applicants will have approximately two months to prepare their full applications.
  • We are unable to provide feedback on applications that are not shortlisted.

4. Invitation to full application 

  • If invited to full application, you will complete your full application on Wellcome Funding 

5. Submit your application to your administering organisation for approval 

  • Submit your full application to the 'authorised organisational approver' at your administering organisation for approval.
  • The lead applicant will need to submit through their administering organisation. Make sure you leave enough time for the approver to review and submit your application before the deadline. The approver may ask you to make changes to your application. 

6. Administering organisation reviews your application and submits it to us 

  • Your full application must be submitted by 17:00 (BST) on the deadline day. 

7. Panel review 

  • A panel will be chosen based on their expertise within the relevant research field and will assess the proposals.
  • The panel will review proposals and make funding recommendations to Wellcome.
  • Committee membership will be comprised of a diverse range of international members and will take into account Wellcome’s diversity and inclusion priorities.
  • Once the panel has been appointed, we will update this webpage to include their details. 

8. Funding decision 

  • You will receive an email notification of the funding decision soon after the decision has been made. 
  • Successful applicants will be sent an award letter with further details about their award.  
  • Successful applicants will be requested to attend a meeting with all awardees from this funding call in 2025. 
  • Unsuccessful applicants will be notified in writing. 

How long it takes to apply

You will be informed of the decision on your preliminary application in approximately one month after the preliminary application deadline. 

If shortlisted, you will have approximately two months to prepare your full application ahead of the deadline. 

If invited to submit a full application following successful shortlisting, you should leave enough time for:

  • you and any of your coapplicants to complete the application
  • your organisation to review and submit the application. 

You will receive notification of an outcome within three months of the full application deadline.

How applications are assessed 

The application process will consist of two stages, a preliminary application stage, where proposals will be shortlisted and a full application stage. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit full applications, which will be reviewed by a panel of experts.

To evaluate consistently, we mark all questions using the same scoring scheme and apply the relevant weighting for that criteria to get a score.

Preliminary applications

Preliminary applications will be assessed on:

  • whether the research aims and objectives are clearly articulated and in line with the stated research priorities, and the approach taken to achieve them is clear
  • inclusion of a clear indication of the benefit and relevance of the proposed research to low- and middle-income countries, with appropriate sensitivities indicated about how the findings may impact different affected groups
  • justification for conducting research in your chosen country (or countries)
  • your team structure, which must include a public health stakeholder and details of proposed or already established collaborations
  • the appropriateness of your timeline and budget

Full applications

A panel of experts will review full applications and consider a series of criteria, including: 

Research aims, background, key deliverables and anticipated impacts (50% weighting):   

  • Description of your research aims and anticipated impact, including how your research will improve our understanding of the spread, distribution and clinical outcomes of Zika and dengue outbreaks with respect to co-circulation and/or cross-reactivity.  
  • The choice of location(s) and datasets for proposed analysis, including a detailed plan on how this work will be undertaken with the community, and a description of how the planned research attends to inherent ethical, social and cultural considerations relevant to the types of samples and data being used. 
  • The approaches you will use and what tools and technologies will be employed.  
  • How the research will benefit and be of relevance to low- and middle-income countries.  
  • The timelines that will be followed and the description of the key deliverables.  
  • Identified risks and mitigation steps that will be taken. 

The team, skills and experience (25% weighting): 

  • The research skills and experience of all team members, relative to their career stage and role, including  a description of the multidisciplinary make-up of the team and their experience in dengue and Zika research in disease-affected settings. 
  • An outline of the team’s governance structure that will support decision making and the management of the research project.  
  • How the team proposes to work collaboratively, for example, how the different work packages benefit and complement each other. The role of each coapplicant and collaborator in the proposed work is clearly described.   
  • The team’s approach to equitable partnerships and ensuring shared benefits to low- and middle-income countries. 
  • Evidence of a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. For example, your approach to recruiting a diverse team and how you will promote inclusion of members in the research and outputs. 

Approach to working collaboratively and conducting engaged research (25% weighting):  

  • How the team has embedded engaged research through the lifecycle of their research proposals.
  • Inclusion of relevant stakeholders.
  • Description of how they will undertake the work with the community with notable points of collaboration and if/how key stakeholders will be involved in the decision-making process for aspects linked to the support they provide.
  • Description of embedded pathways for research uptake with public health stakeholders and other relevant stakeholders.
  • Description of your plans for engagement activities with relevant stakeholders and how it will support the proposed research.

Key dates 

You must submit your application by 17:00 (BST) on the deadline day. We don’t accept late applications.

Application process timeline

Open to applications

  1. 16 May 2024

    Webinar

    Watch the recording
  2. 25 June 2024

    Preliminary application deadline

  3. July to early August 2024

    Full applications invited

  4. 8 October 2024

    Full application deadline

  5. December 2024

    Funding decisions communicated

Contact us 

Useful documents