BBSRC Pioneer Awards 2025 to 26: bioscience discovery research

BBSRC Pioneer Awards 2025 to 26: bioscience discovery research is sponsored by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). This award supports excellent investigator-led discovery research across the breadth of the BBSRC's scientific remit, including stem cells and tissue engineering. Projects should aim for ambitious and adventurous research that could lead to new avenues of investigation.

BBSRC Pioneer Awards 2025 to 26: bioscience discovery research – UKRI Funding opportunity: BBSRC Pioneer Awards 2025 to 26: bioscience discovery research Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) 20 November 2025 9:00am UK time 25 February 2026 4:00pm UK time Last updated: 20 November 2025 - see all updates Apply for funding to pursue early-stage bioscience discovery research.

Applications should open novel adventurous research avenues with the potential to transform our fundamental understanding of living systems. be early-stage fundamental bioscience lacking preliminary data explore visionary and untested ideas have the potential to open new research paradigms in the longer-term You must be eligible for BBSRC funding . The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £350,000.

BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC (that is, £280,000). Projects can last up to two years (three in exceptional circumstances). Mandatory registrations must have been submitted by 19 November 2025, when the full application stage will open.

You can only apply for this funding opportunity if you submit your idea to both mandatory stages. To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible .

Before applying, please check the following: BBSRC’s guidance for applicants BBSRC’s remit, programmes and priorities Only include individuals who are essential for the delivery of the project. The inclusion of researcher co-leads is encouraged where they have made a substantial intellectual contribution to the development of the application and will be engaged with the ensuing research.

Who is not eligible to apply Multiple applications by the same project lead are not permitted. Project co-leads may participate in multiple applications. International researchers Project leads or co-leads based outside the UK are not permitted.

You should include international collaborators and UK partners not based at approved organisations as project partners. We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder. Find out more about BBSRC’s resubmissions policy .

Resubmissions are accepted by invitation only and must demonstrate substantial revisions. Please contact us at pioneerawards@bbsrc. ukri.

org if you require advice on the suitability of your application. Institutional prioritisation We anticipate this funding opportunity appealing to a significant number of researchers.

We strongly recommend institutions use an internal prioritisation process to: help ensure proposals are appropriately targeted to this opportunity lower the burden on applicants contribute to efficiency within the peer review process Institutions are strongly advised not to submit large numbers of full proposals, given the overall scale of funding available and expected level of competition nationally.

We expect all applications to be quality assured by institutions, so they have a genuine prospect of being competitive. Institutional prioritisation should consider the scope and assessment criteria of the funding opportunity and our recommendation on each submitted registration, while also ensuring these processes employ good practice relating to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

All applicants are required to register their interest in applying by 19 November 2025 4pm UK time. Institutional prioritisation may take place before or after registration. Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants.

We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: support for people with caring responsibilities alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

This funding opportunity aims to support excellent, original, and potentially transformative discovery research that is at an early stage of development. To achieve this, the scheme seeks to lower perceived barriers from peer review in exploring novel avenues, by encouraging greater tolerance for risk and reducing the expectation for preliminary data.

be focused on BBSRC’s understanding the rules of life theme , opening new research directions relevant to fundamental bioscience questions constitute a significant departure from existing lines of investigation or represent an entirely new line of inquiry have the potential to substantially shift current and future thinking about an important topic should be original and visionary, challenging current thinking and paradigms must focus on exploring and revealing novel insights and theories relating to our fundamental understanding of biological systems must be early stage and untested, lacking preliminary data and perhaps involving creative or unconventional approaches to the research challenge may involve a high level of uncertainty or require a range of exploratory investigations, such that while there are clear aims to explore, the outcomes are neither predictable nor guaranteed can involve any combination of experimental, analytical and theoretical work, potentially crossing disciplinary boundaries, including non-bioscience fields You will have to explain the potential of your application to deliver a genuine, distinctive advance if successful.

Incremental developments, such as direct ‘follow-on from’ established discoveries, will not be supported. We encourage applications that span across disciplines. Applications that incorporate methodological or technology development must demonstrate how the funding opportunity’s specification is met, including being inspired by a biological problem relevant to the understanding the rules of life area .

Applications that focus on methodological or technology development to address an end-user need are not permitted. For more information on the background of this funding opportunity, go to the Additional information section. The duration of pioneer awards is expected to be up to two years.

Under exceptional circumstances (for example to accommodate growing seasons or life cycles of organisms) we will consider supporting longer projects, up to three years. If prior approval has not been sought, then proposals longer than two years will be rejected. To enquire about longer duration projects, please contact us in advance of submission at pioneerawards@bbsrc.

ukri. org The FEC of your project can be up to £350,000. BBSRC will fund 80% of the FEC (up to £280,000).

The total budget for this funding opportunity is £5 million. Subject to the quality of applications received, we anticipate awarding 18-20 grants in this funding round. This is a unique opportunity to apply for funding for high-potential research ideas at a truly early-stage of development.

Our aim is to stimulate creativity within the research community, by providing funding that encourages a ‘high risk, high reward’ culture in the application and assessment process. We accept that in supporting innovative new lines of research, some proposals may not deliver their anticipated research outcomes.

Therefore, the focus of the scheme is on the potential of proposals to deliver distinctive outcomes if successful, such as: making a discovery that upends current thinking testing an unconventional idea at a disciplinary interface opening novel research paradigms for further exploration in the longer-term demonstrating proof of principle establishing feasibility of a new approach Additionally, proposals may have other benefits.

For example: providing a unique training environment establishing a new cross-disciplinary collaboration deriving key lessons learned from negative results or the disproving of a theory Applications will not be considered eligible for this scheme if they: do not primarily address our remit do not clearly address the scope of the funding opportunity, including a focus on fundamental bioscience discovery research relevant to understanding the rules of life theme focus on user-driven challenges, for example: from industry or addressing applied challenges, such as the sustainable development goals are not research grants, for example: where the primary focus is funding for networking, studentships, fellowships, equipment purchase, instrument access, infrastructure or training This funding opportunity aims to support early-stage innovative research projects that wouldn’t be supported elsewhere.

We have a high tolerance for risk if you have clearly thought about where risks may exist. During the assessment, potential risks will be balanced against potential reward. Successful applications are expected to include well considered and explained risk identification, and where feasible potential mitigations or alternative strategies that could be employed.

It is not expected that all risks must be mitigated, but they should be identified. We acknowledge that some of the projects may end up disproving their central idea or may not fully realise their objectives. Applications should explain the learning potential under such circumstances.

Supporting skills and talent We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment . Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where applicants can find additional support.

Overview of the application process This funding opportunity has two mandatory stages: registration and full applications. You should read all the information before starting your application. Mandatory registrations will remain open from 24 September 2025 9:00am until 19 November 2025 4:00pm UK time.

The full application stage will remain open from 20 November 2025 9:00am until 25 February 2026 4:00pm UK time. You can only submit a full application if you have submitted a registration. The aim of the registration is to ensure proposals are appropriately targeted to this funding opportunity and to provide an early indication of the level of demand, team composition, and research areas.

Project leads must register their interest in the funding opportunity by completing a short registration on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service. This requires a short vision of the proposed work, a list of the anticipated ‘core team’ members, and keywords that concisely encapsulate the core ideas and topics within your proposed research project.

We will provide brief feedback on whether we consider your proposal to be appropriate for the scheme within two weeks after the close of the registration stage. The application link for the registration stage will be available on this funding opportunity page from 24 September 2025 9:00am until 19 November 2025 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to register your interest in applying to the BBSRC pioneer awards 2025/26 funding opportunity after this time. If you do not submit a registration, you will not be able to apply for this funding opportunity. Stage two: Full application This stage is open only to applicants who have completed a registration at stage one.

The application link for the full applications stage will be available on this opportunity page from 20 November 2025 9:00am until 25 February 2026 4:00pm UK time. You will not be able to apply after this time. We are running this funding opportunity on the new Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered.

You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application. Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page: Confirm you are the project lead. Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account.

This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers.

If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.

Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must: provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) insert each new image on a new line use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words.

The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include: sentences or paragraphs of text excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: how applicants use the Funding Service how research offices use the Funding Service how reviewers use the Funding Service References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application. Hyperlinks can be used in reference information.

When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that: references are easily identifiable by the assessors references are formatted as appropriate to your research persistent identifiers are used where possible General use of hyperlinks Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information.

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment . Registrations will open to submissions on 24 September 2025 at 9:00am UK time. BBSRC must receive your registration by 19 November 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to register your interest in applying after this time. Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines. Following the submission of your registration to the funding opportunity, your registration cannot be changed, and registrations will not be returned for amendment.

If your registration does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected. Stage two: Full application Full applications will be open to submissions on 20 November 2025 at 9:00am UK time. This is only open to applicants who completed a registration.

BBSRC must receive your full application by 25 February 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. You will not be able to apply after this time. Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected. BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice . If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email pioneerawards@bbsrc.

ukri. org Include in the subject line: [Pioneer Awards; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include, but are not limited to: individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave) additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection the application is an invited resubmission For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice .

Institutional Matched Funding There is no requirement for matched funding from the institution(s) hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond any 20% FEC contribution. UKRI advises reviewers and panel members not to consider the level of matched host institution funding as a factor on which to base funding recommendations.

Any project partners are expected to contribute to the project, either with cash or in-kind contributions. BBSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at Awarded research grants . If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research .

Guidance for writing a summary Please write ‘N/A’ in this section as it is not required at the registration stage. List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead. UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type.

Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application. Find out more about roles in funding applications . You will be able to amend this section if anything changes between registrations and full applications.

What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how your proposed work: is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) is timely given current trends, context, and needs References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

As part of this section, we expect you to: provide context of the work within the field(s) of study outline the overall goal of the project and potential outcomes so that BBSRC can understand if it addresses our remit and the scope of the funding opportunity, including a focus on fundamental bioscience You will be able to expand this section during your full application.

Provide up to five terms or phrases that concisely encapsulate the core ideas and topics within your proposed research project. Additionally, select relevant topic areas from the list below.

In the text box, write your keywords and the numbers corresponding to any keywords from the list below that are relevant to your project, separated by semicolons: Animal Science – mammalian Animal Science – non-mammalian Anti-Microbial Resistance Biochemistry and Chemical Biology Microbiology – bacteriology Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering Structural Biology and Biophysics Stage two: Full application In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information.

Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example: the wider research community Guidance for writing a summary Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of: the challenge the project addresses longer term significance including potential applications and benefits List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application. Find out more about roles in funding applications .

In this funding opportunity we will be piloting Distributed Peer Review (DPR). This is a type of grant review process in which the applicants are also the reviewers. By submitting an application, project leads agree to act as reviewers and to have their proposal reviewed by their peers.

More information on DPR is in: How we will assess your application It is important that you read these carefully before applying. Guidance for writing the DPR contact information To assist with matching the applications to the reviewers we are asking the project lead to describe their area of expertise using five keywords. Please provide up to five areas of expertise separated by semicolons.

What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how your proposed work: is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) is timely given current trends, context, and needs impact world-leading research, the society, the economy, or the environment References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

As part of this section, we expect you to: introduce the topic of research and explain its academic and wider context provide clearly defined aims and objectives, typically as a small number of bullet points highlight features of your proposed work that are particularly original, ambitious, adventurous or unique describe how the proposed research constitutes a significant departure from current lines of investigation in the field, or explores an entirely new one describe its potential to lead to a significant advancement in the fundamental understanding of living systems justify why your proposal requires a pioneer award and how it fits to the scope of the funding opportunity include sufficient references to set the context of your work in the field for a broad panel of experts from a range of different fields How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how you have designed your approach so that it: is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable) describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work As part of this section, we expect you to: describe a suitable programme of work to achieve the project aims, indicating the experimental and data analytical research to be undertaken identify any particularly innovative, unconventional methodologies or approaches that will be explored identify key milestones where you may need to make decisions, track, or evaluate progress demonstrate your awareness of any potential challenges, risks, or limitations of the proposed project report any alternative approaches, or the learning potential in the event of negative results provide a detailed project plan including milestones and timelines in the form of an embedded Gantt chart or similar (please make sure to check sizing and readability of the image using ‘read view’ prior to submission) References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. Applicant and team capability to deliver Why are you the right individual, or team, to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have: the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. The word limit for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) modules including references and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI .

You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings: contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships contributions to the wider research and innovation community contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit Provide any further details relevant to your application.

This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them). Complete this as a narrative.

Do not format it like a CV. References may be included within this section.

As part of this section, we expect you to: describe team members relevant skills and knowledge relating to the research topic such as experience in particular methods, organisms, or technologies include relevant information on collaborators, project partners or subcontractors related to your team capability to deliver The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated: the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations how you will manage these considerations If you are collecting or using data you should identify: any legal and ethical considerations of collecting, releasing and storing the data (including consent, confidentiality, anonymisation, security and other ethical considerations and, in particular, strategies to not preclude further reuse of data) formal information standards that your proposed work will comply with Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) relating to research involving: genetically modified organisms You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. Genetic and biological risk Does your proposed research involve any genetic or biological risk?

What the assessors are looking for in your response In respect of animals, plants or microbes, are you proposing to: use genetic modification as an experimental tool, like studying gene function in a genetically modified organism release genetically modified organisms ultimately develop commercial and industrial genetically modified outcomes If yes, provide the name of any required approving body and state if approval is already in place.

If it is not, provide an indicative timeframe for obtaining the required approval. Identify the organism or organisms as a plant, animal or microbe and specify the species and which of the three categories the research relates to. Identify the genetic and biological risks resulting from the proposed research, their implications, and any mitigation you plan on taking.

Assessors will want to know you have considered the risks and their implications to justify that any identified risks do not outweigh any benefits of the proposed research. If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Research involving the use of animals Does your proposed research involve the use of vertebrate animals or other organisms covered by the Animals Scientific Procedures Act? What the assessors are looking for in your response If you are proposing research that requires using animals, download and complete the Research involving the use of animals template (DOCX, 52.

5KB) , which contains all the questions relating to research using vertebrate animals or other Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulated organisms. Save it as a PDF. The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

If this does not apply to your proposed work, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service. Conducting research with animals overseas Will any of the proposed animal research be conducted overseas?

What the assessors are looking for in your response If you are proposing to conduct overseas research, it must be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with those in the UK, as in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research . Ensure all named applicants in the UK and overseas are aware of this requirement.

If your application proposes animal research to be conducted overseas, you must provide a statement in the text box. Depending on the species involved, you may also need to upload a completed template for each species listed.

Provide a statement to confirm that: all named applicants are aware of the requirements and have agreed to abide by them this overseas research will be conducted in accordance with welfare standards consistent with the principles of UK legislation the expectation set out in Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research will be applied and maintained