Wellcome’s approach to research

Since 1936, Wellcome has supported basic research into the fundamental biology of life and the origins and contexts of disease, funding a broad range of researchers from cell biology to medical humanities with a diverse portfolio of projects.

In recent years we have additionally funded in specific targeted areas to advance translational activity and address key global health challenges. And we have worked throughout the research ecosystem, including with policy makers and other funders to support science’s role in society.  

Funding a mix of curiosity-driven research and challenge-led activity remains as the heart of what we do to create real impact.

Our open-mode funding continues to be open to research in any discipline, but through a simplified set of funding schemes, with just three open mode funding schemes by career stage. Larger and longer grants are available, designed to encourage a broad range of applications, increased diversity of candidates, and bold projects. Although applications to these schemes must still be led researchers in the UK or lower- and middle-income countries, we are putting in place means to facilitate international collaboration in these awards. 

These schemes will remain the major engine of our funding, with more money available than in previous years.

The three health challenge programmes that complement this ongoing discovery research funding were chosen, after much consideration, as each presents a global challenge to human health which could maximally benefit from Wellcome’s strengths. We will support a continuum of work from discovery to translation, implementation to uptake, to benefit those most in need. Each of these programmes will fund research and other activities according to defined goals and outcomes. 

Working on these particular challenges builds on Wellcome’s long history in neuroscience and mental health research, immunology, epidemiology and population health, as well as a recent programme of research into our changing environment and health. This strategy means we can focus on using a range of approaches to remove specific bottlenecks in research and uptake, to enable transformative advances in these areas in support of human health. We will fund through directed funding, including specific targeted calls which will generally be open to global applicants. 

Some activities have changed focus, and so has our funding approach. For example, while our grants can still include support for public engagement activities, Wellcome will now directly fund public engagement only when it is relevant to achieving the goals in our strategy. Similarly, while we continue to fund PhD students through our grants or where there is particular need in a given field, we will no longer support funding for new biomedical PhD programmes. 

We are an independent foundation, financially and politically, but we take inspiration from the research community’s own work and ideas when deciding where to invest our resources and to generate the most impact on science and health. We rely on the research community to present exciting opportunities for breakthrough when they apply for funds, and we welcome proposals with unusual approaches.

Over the coming years, you will see our new approach take life through funding calls and programmes. There will be opportunities for researchers based in the UK, in lower- and middle-income countries, and in other parts of the world to join our community of researchers. We are excited to work with new and familiar communities of researchers in all fields who share our commitment to working to improve human health through science.