What we do and don’t fund in discovery research

Discovery Research is a Wellcome programme that funds studies that lead to new knowledge of human life, health and wellbeing. Discovery Research projects can be in a wide range of fields and disciplines.

We fund research into the: 

• fundamental processes that underpin biology, to understand more about how human life works
• complexities of human health and disease, including clinical and population-based approaches
• burden of disease and its determinants, where this brings new knowledge or a significant shift in understanding
• development of methodologies, conceptual frameworks, technologies, tools or techniques that could benefit health-related research
• needs, values and priorities of the people and communities affected by disease and health inequalities
• social, ethical, cultural, political, economic and historical contexts of human health and disease
• ways in which health systems operate and are experienced by patients

Our Discovery Research programme supports research in any field or discipline (or combination of disciplines). Research can involve observational, experimental or theoretical approaches. It can be done in the laboratory, office, clinic, gallery, library, archive, museum or field. While research could be in a wide range of disciplines, it must either:

• have a direct relationship to human life, health and wellbeing
• give us a deeper understanding of human biology, health and disease

We do not fund research without a clearly defined link to human life, health and wellbeing. For example, we wouldn’t fund a project on how to increase plant yields and produce more food. In this case, there isn’t a direct link to human health and the focus is on agriculture.

Our Discovery Research funding is separate from Wellcome's other priority areas. Your research can be connected to Mental Health, Climate and Health or Infectious Disease,  but these are treated the same as all other fields and disciplines.
 

Animals, plants and other models

We will fund research using animals, plants, or other models if the aim is to gain insight into fundamental human biology or disease. Any model organism can be used (for example, fruit flies, mice, non-human primates, plants, and fish), if their use is justified and is the best way to answer the research question.

We will not fund research proposals where the only focus is on the biology or evolution of the model organism.

If a project looks at the evolutionary development of different species, it must be clear that the work will provide insight into human evolution or development.

Animal diseases

We will not fund research into animal diseases - this includes diseases in animals used for food production - unless the research is linked to understanding human transmission, or the animal serves as a recognised model for human biology or disease. Studies on zoonotic diseases (those that can spread from animals to humans) are only eligible if the research focuses on aspects directly relevant to human health, such as transmission to humans or the effects of the disease in humans.

Intervention studies, clinical trials and experimental medicine

You can use intervention studies or clinical trials in humans in your work if your goal is to gain a deeper understanding of fundamental aspects of life, health, or wellbeing. For example, understanding the underlying mechanism of a disease or treatment.

Your project could also try to understand how existing interventions work, for example the biological or social mechanisms that explain how an existing intervention works and who it is effective for. 

If adequately planned within the length of the award, projects can include a feasibility or pilot trial development that builds on the discovery findings to support future interventions.

Examples of things we will fund include:

• a clinical trial or proof of concept study to understand the mechanism of action or physiological, psychological or behavioural response to a drug
• a clinical trial or proof of concept study to understand the mechanism of action or physiological, psychological or behavioural response to a non-pharmacological therapy, for example physical therapies like physiotherapy, behavioural and psychological treatments, nutritional interventions, medical devices, social interventions like peer support, and environmental interventions like sensory enhancements
• a study that examines the attitudes and behaviours of individuals accessing or using existing interventions to understand uptake

However, we will not fund research that proposes developing or carrying out large-scale intervention studies or clinical trials where the primary goal is to test whether an intervention works.

Examples of things we will not fund include:

• testing the safety of a new drug, vaccine or treatment 
• comparing the efficacy of a new versus standard treatment (medical or social intervention)
• developing a digital app to help people manage their health

Studies may have a path to clinical impact (or result in clinical impact themselves), but the focus should be to develop a deeper understanding of life, health and wellbeing.

Translational or implementation research

Translation means the further development or application of an idea, discovery or insight to achieve a positive change for society. Outputs from translational research lead to real world change through the development of new tools, products, practices and policies.

We will not fund purely translational research if the main purpose is to develop or implement a product or intervention that will improve health or clinical care. For example, we would not fund:

• a diagnostic, new drug or drug screen to target a disease
• new therapies, for example psychotherapies

As long as the primary focus of your work is discovery research, we welcome proposals that may have a clinical or societal impact.

Agriculture and environment

We will fund research proposals on agriculture, land, soil, climate, air, or water only when the main focus of the study is about understanding human health.  

Examples of things we will fund include:

• a project studying the health effects of fertiliser use or air pollution or where the focus is understanding how climate change impacts nutrition

Examples of things we will not fund include projects where the connection to human health is indirect or speculative, such as research:

• exploring the impact of climate change on plant diversity
• where the goal is to develop cleaner fuels
• exploring crop resilience, food security or nutritional value

Tools, technologies, methodologies and conceptual frameworks

You can generate tools, technology, methodologies or conceptual frameworks through your work, but their main purpose must be to enable researchers to answer fundamental research questions related to human health.

Tools, technologies, or methodologies can be supported as part of a proposal designed to answer specific research questions or as stand-alone projects. Projects without a clear link to health-related research would not be in scope. Outputs may have the potential to be used for diagnosis, treatment or improving clinical care, but the focus should be fundamental research.

Examples of things we will fund include:

• the development of wearable technology to understand physiological changes during sleep
• creating machine learning tools or new statistical methods for the analysis of epidemic or genomic data
• developing new conceptual frameworks or methodologies for a research area
• developing data linkage tools that will enable new discovery research questions to be addressed

We will not fund projects focused only on developing tools, technology or methodologies purely for diagnostic or clinical use, for example surgical devices, treatment or service delivery. You can only develop these kinds of tools if they help you to answer your wider discovery research questions. We will not, for example, fund projects:

• where the focus is the development and evaluation of diagnostic tests for bacterial infections
• that develop wearable technology or an app to change behaviour or improve treatment
• that are only creating the database or resource - you must have a research question that you’re going to use that database or resource to answer

Arts and humanities, and social sciences

These two areas cover applications that aim to transform understandings of health and wellbeing in their social, cultural, political, economic and historical contexts. This includes any disciplines in the arts and humanities and in the social sciences. It also includes any methodologies and approaches, as long as the aim is to generate new knowledge and understandings related to health, healthcare or wellbeing.

Examples of arts and humanities and social science projects we will fund include:

• research on experiences of health, and the generation of medical knowledge
• research on representations of illness and wellbeing and their reception and impact
• research on the contexts of health across any time period or geography
• research on health-related policy across any time period or geography
• the development of new conceptual frameworks and methodologies
• arts-led methodologies or approaches embedded within a research programme

Examples of arts and humanities and social science projects we will not fund include:

• arts and humanities or social science research where the knowledge generation is not centred on health and wellbeing (this includes research with indirect or practical knock-on effects on health)
• arts and humanities or social science research that is purely applied, translational, or implementation or intervention-focused
• standalone artistic outputs that are not embedded within a research programme

We always consider the context in which the research will be done and the importance of the research question or challenge in that context. You can explore a research question or challenge that has already been explored in one research context as long as your research context is different, for example you might be using different samples or working with different populations.

To be competitive, your research proposal will be:

• Bold. It aims to deliver a significant shift in understanding or it provides a significant advance over existing methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques. It has the potential to stimulate new and innovative research.
• Creative. Your proposed approach is new – it develops and tests new concepts, methods or technologies, or combines existing ideas and approaches in a new way.
• High quality. It is well-designed, clear, supported by evidence, and the proposed outcomes or outputs are feasible.

Find out more about our three schemes, including eligibility and what we offer.