We support researchers across the world to explore fundamental questions about health and disease, and to turn great ideas and discoveries into new technologies, treatments and diagnostics.
We want to understand the processes underpinning life, and what happens when those processes go wrong.
Our areas of research include:
See a list of our funding schemes that support biomedical science research.
Most of our funding in biomedical science and population health goes to individuals and teams asking questions which have the potential to address a major health need.
We increase the impact of this funding by supporting:
We want to understand the causes and consequences of health and disease in populations. We also want to determine how good health and poor health are distributed through populations.
Population health involves researchers from many different disciplines, such as epidemiologists, demographers, health economists and sociologists.
Our areas of research include:
See a list of our funding schemes that support population health research.
One of our priority areas is Our Planet, Our Health. It supports research into how we’re changing our environment and how these changes affect our health.
Science research alone can’t always improve people’s health. Social, historical, ethical and cultural factors also shape how people experience health.
We support research in humanities and social science, spanning a wide range of disciplines and using diverse methods to investigate a mind-blowing breadth of topics.
We encourage collaboration and the sharing of ideas. By working together, humanities and social science researchers, healthcare professionals and scientists can find new ways to think about health and overcome challenges.
See a list of our funding schemes that support humanities and social science research.
We’ve funded hundreds of innovations in these areas:
We’re able to take the long view. We expect it might take at least five to 20 years for some of these innovations to have a significant impact on health.
Some of the work we’ve supported is already having an impact. For example:
Clinical research directly involves people as subjects or participants in trials, or the use of human cells and tissue.
We’ve helped to change the way that clinical research is done in the UK by making it easier.
Working with the NHS and government, we’ve established clinical research facilities around the country. These provide the infrastructure for researchers and other staff from universities and the NHS to collaborate on research that informs and improves patient care.
We’ve also supported researchers with great ideas. For example:
So much of good health isn’t down to a medication or treatment. It’s about knowing how best to stay healthy.
These are just a few of the innovations we’ve funded in this area:
We work in many ways to support careers in research. For example, we promote good research practice, work towards a more diverse research culture and provide flexible career opportunities.
Find out more about how we support research careers.