UKRI Call for Applications: African Research Leaders

The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) calls for applications for the African Research Leaders grant.

Lack of grant funding and research infrastructure in many sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries can make it difficult to attract and retain talented African scientists. As a result, African nationals are currently under-represented as leaders in medical research in the region.
This funding opportunity seeks to support talented early-to-mid career African researchers who are either already based in a SSA country, or currently working overseas who wish to return to a SSA country.

Scope:

Your application will be required to meet the four key elements of the funding opportunity:

  • talented ‘rising star’ African research leader candidate
  • high quality research programme proposal
  • research conducive academic African environment or institution
  • firm partnership with a UK partner institution

Research areas:

Examples of areas in which research of relevance to SSA may be conducted include, but are not limited to:

  • research focused on the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, cancer, respiratory disease and mental health
  • prevention and control of infectious diseases (major diseases such as malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis), neglected tropical diseases (including snakebite), zoonotic and emerging diseases, co-infections and issues associated with emerging resistance to current drugs
  • multimorbidity (the co-existence of two or more chronic conditions, including long-term infectious and non-communicable diseases and mental health conditions)
  • basic, discovery health research approaches, experimental medicine providing mechanistic insight to human diseases, epidemiological (social, genetic and immunological) research, and prevention research
  • applied research approaches, including public health, health systems, health policy and implementation research
  • maternal and newborn health research
  • sexual and reproductive health and rights
  • climate and human health
  • research targeting vulnerable or disadvantaged groups including refugees, people living in informal settlements, those living with disability, neonates, children, adolescents or older people

Eligibility:

  • be a researcher based at an eligible African research organisation with sufficient research capacity to manage and deliver research
  • have, at a minimum, a PhD and three years’ post-doctoral research experience, or an MD plus an MSc with three years’ research experience
  • have some evidence of independent funding as a project lead or co-lead
  • be building a track record of independence in their selected field and demonstrating promise as a future research leader (at a minimum to be demonstrated by at least five publications as first or last author within the last three years)

Funding details:

  • up to £750,000
  • five years duration.

Read more here.

Application deadline April 24, 2024.

SHARE

Upcoming opportunities