Pre-clinical translational models hub is sponsored by Medical Research Council (MRC). Pre-clinical translational models hub. Funding opportunity from Medical Research Council (MRC).

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Pre-clinical translational models hub – UKRI Funding opportunity: Pre-clinical translational models hub Medical Research Council (MRC) 17 March 2026 9:00am UK time 21 May 2026 4:00pm UK time Last updated: 31 March 2026 - see all updates Apply for funding to establish a UK Hub for the development of pre-clinical translational human in vitro models.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for Medical Research Council (MRC) funding. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £25 million. The maximum MRC will fund (including any exceptions funded at 100%), is £20 million.

Only one application (as project lead), can be submitted by each organisation. The Hub will be funded for up to 42 months. Awards will have to start by 14 November 2026.

This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible .

To be eligible to apply for funding you must: show that you will direct the project and be a member of the proposed hub leadership team have the relevant expertise and experience to lead the hub have strong institutional support to establish the Hub as a national resource The hub should be based in one location, which will be the site for model development and host any guest staff and external visitors.

Who is not eligible to apply If you are employed by these organisations you cannot apply as project lead or project co-lead, but can participate as project partners on an application led by an eligible UK organisation: charity and third sector organisations International researchers While international organisations cannot lead an application, it is possible for international researchers to apply as part of the leadership team, as an international co-project lead.

We expect international co-leads to make a major intellectual contribution to the design or conduct of the project and to provide clear indicators of commitment to the Hub. You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.

The contribution and added value to the research collaboration should be clearly explained and justified in the application, see Applicant and team capability to deliver 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. Diversity is one of the core MRC values and we are committed to creating inclusive environments that encourage excellence in research through good equalities practice.

We strongly encourage applications from currently underrepresented groups including female and ethnic minority researchers, and researchers with disabilities or long-term conditions. We expect the Hub’s leadership to be diverse. We encourage the leadership model to be inclusive, diverse, and creative.

create more accurate predictive pre-clinical models of human disease to lower the attrition rate of new therapeutics and accelerate medicines discovery for patient benefit be a national resource for in vitro model development and increase access to state-of-the-art technology, human tissue and patient samples and data across the UK develop cutting-edge AI science agents to transform target discovery enable additional methodological innovation through the co-location and collaboration of expertise across bioengineering, biological, clinical and computational science from academia and industry position UK at the forefront of human in vitro model development for medical research, making it an attractive destination for global talent and pharmaceutical investment increase the range of robust alternative methods available to support the reduction in the use of animals in science The Hub will be a contact point for researchers from industry and academia in need of in vitro models for pre-clinical medicines development, such as drug screening, efficacy testing, target identification or validation.

The Hub will provide capability, facilities and expertise to work with partners to refine existing models applicable for commercial and academic research use, or, exceptionally, to create novel models addressing agreed needs, ensuring that they are: validated against clinical data for high disease phenotypic fidelity and human biological relevance available to a range of users developed to comply with accepted industry standards (ISO) The Hub will not seek to develop models of healthy tissue or systems purely intended for toxicology/safety to underpin phase 1 clinical trials, which will instead be validated via the parallel UK centre for validation of alternative methods (UKCVAM).

The Hub will however work closely with regulatory agencies to integrate potential regulatory needs at the earliest stages of model development. One Hub will be awarded from this funding opportunity, situated in a location that already has demonstrable capacity and capability in developing complex human in vitro models.

The Hub will initially focus on one or more defined health research areas that will be determined in collaboration with the host site and the funding consortium.

The funding we award to the successful research organisation, will: expand the host site’s capacity to develop in vitro models increase the range of technologies available add resources to allow for method and technology development including AI agents for data interrogation increase opportunities for academic and commercial collaboration The Hub must demonstrate: strong existing scientific expertise in developing, working with and quality control of in vitro human models, including, but not limited to organoids, organ-on-a-chip and complex iPSC co-cultures a range of existing equipment and capabilities to maintain complex human cell culture existing equipment, capabilities and expertise to assess biological validity and disease relevance of human in vitro models including, but not limited to high-end imaging, automation, transcriptomic, genomics and proteomic analysis access to clinical samples and linked patient data in one or more research areas IT infrastructure and capability to enable external access to high quality data, including consideration of storage, security, transfer and the FAIR principles computational skills and resource to allow for analysis and integration of data from models with relevant clinical data clear strategies for use or development of state-of-the art AI tools for data interrogation capacity to expand lab space and use of equipment to accommodate and host external users, including researchers from industry and academia clear plans for how to make the Hub a national resource for academic, industry and clinical partners, including stakeholder engagement and outreach strategies plans for governance of the Hub including risk management approaches to Intellectual property (IP) and contracts management that will be mutually beneficial for model owners, developers and end users clear overview and justification of required additional capacity and resources plans for experimental pipelines for model validation The pre-clinical translational models Hub will deliver part of Action 2a of the Life Sciences Sector Plan in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.

It will also support the Replacing animals in science strategy and the AI for science strategy (see related content). The Hub will report on progress to funders and final governance structures will be developed in collaboration with the funded host site. The Hub will not conduct animal experiments, however, models developed through the Hub, may be compared with existing data from animal models for validation purposes.

The Hub is expected to monitor and report how their work contributes to reducing use of animals in science. The Hub host site will work in close collaboration with MRC and the Office for Life Sciences to develop a full business case for the Hub delivery, which will involve detailed monitoring and evaluation plans. Funding is conditional on approval of the business case.

Support from your research organisation There is no requirement for matched funding from the institution hosting the Hub, beyond any 20% FEC contribution. However considerable, sustained and clearly defined support from the research organisation is essential to a successful application and will be an equal part of the assessment of applications for the Hub.

We expect the research organisation to provide: access to facilities and equipment access to necessary digital support infrastructure support to manage estates underpinning of key staff positions An organisation may lead one application. The duration of this award is 42 months. Projects must start by 14 November 2026.

The FEC of your project can be up to £25 million. MRC will fund 80% of the FEC. Any identified exceptions will be funded at 100%.

The maximum MRC contribution, including any identified exceptions funded at 100%, is £20 million.

You can request funding for costs such as: directly allocated contributions to salaries of the leadership team in line with their research contribution directly incurred salaries of research staff, technicians, and professional enabling staff, where there is a clear justification for their critical role within the Hub mid-range or large equipment critical to the Hub.

Mid-range or large equipment is a single item costing over £138,000 (£115,000 excluding VAT).

data preservation, data sharing and dissemination costs technology and data platforms to provide accessible facilities and capability essential to the mission and to promote open science, when not available elsewhere public partnerships and related activities, including public engagement and involvement, and payments to public contributors initiatives to improve environmental sustainability estates and indirect costs creation and maintenance of a website open access costs: these must be covered by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) open access grant training and capacity building that can be accessed through existing funding routes, such as existing doctoral training programmes, MRC or UKRI fellowships buildings and other types of infrastructures clinical trials or longitudinal population studies, which have specific governance requirements and for which alternative funding routes are available A project partner is a collaborating organisation in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU, who will have an integral role in the proposed research.

You may include project partners that will support your hub through cash or in-kind contributions, such as: recruitment of people as research participants providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project Who cannot be included as a project partner Any individual included in your application core team cannot also be a project partner.

Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation, this includes other departments within the same organisation. If you are collaborating with someone in your organisation or an organisation of a core team member, consider including them in the core team as project co-lead, or specialist. They cannot be a project partner.

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 you can find additional support.

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. If you are intending to apply to this funding opportunity, you should note there is a restriction of one institution level application, per eligible research organisation.

We therefore advise you firstly contact your research office to discuss your application, before starting your application. This will ensure only one funding application will be submitted by your research organisation.

After discussing your intention to apply, there is a mandatory requirement that you provide us the following information: your details (name and research organisation) and confirm your intent to apply as the project lead confirming your application will be the only application submitted by your research organisation the details of your core leadership team a summary of your application (max 550 words) Based on this information we may advise you whether your application is suited to this funding opportunity.

Email: humandiseasemodels@mrc. ukri. org with the information required.

The closing date to email us with your intent to apply is 15 April 2026. 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.

There is a restriction allowing a maximum of one application per eligible research organisation. 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. Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.

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 will 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 . MRC must receive your application by 21 May 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 this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

MRC, 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 needs to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email humandiseasemodels@mrc. ukri. org Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include: 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 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 institutions hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond the standard 20% FEC. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations.

Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged. This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff.

MRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at Board and panel outcomes – MRC . If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research . In plain English, provide a summary of 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 potential applications and benefits List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) project co-lead (international) (PcL (I)) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead.

This should be the individual who will act as the grant holder with responsibilities to MRC at the start of the Hub award. If you include more than one project lead your application will fail at the checking stage. List other leadership team members as project co-lead or international project co-lead.

All host organisations must be represented by an eligible co-lead. The leadership team members’ application roles should not imply relative status or influence the leadership model which is for the applicants to propose. 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 UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications . 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) summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed (if applicable) will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts 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 will build EDI considerations into the formation, operation and governance of the hub, including how these will be operationalised outlines future plans for sustaining the Hub beyond this application Within the Approach section we also expect you to: explain and justify how you will approach diversity and inclusion in the study population and follow the MRC embedding diversity in research design policy (if applicable) show how you will use male and female animals or tissues and cells from female and male donors (if applicable).

If you are not proposing to do this, justify why explain and justify the inclusion of public partnerships (if applicable) and the added value these offer 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.

Translation and knowledge transfer and exchange What is your approach to translational research and knowledge transfer and exchange?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain your approach, including: how your translational research approach will be developed within the hub or with partners how you will maximise the potential benefit of research undertaken in the hub to the research community, wider society and economy how you plan to maximise engagement with relevant stakeholders (academia, industry, charities, policy makers) to ensure the appropriate sharing of knowledge and expertise Intellectual property rights (IPR) Provide a brief description of the intellectual assets underpinning the proposed work (if any).

What the assessors are looking for in your response Completing this section is compulsory for all applications, even if your project is not expected to generate new intellectual property (IP). Failure to provide this information will result in your application being rejected.

Where applicable, describe your future IP management plans to: manage the outputs of the project, including any intellectual assets and intellectual property protect the foreground IP or market position disseminate and communicate the outputs of your project The assessors are looking for you to outline where IP and freedom to operate considerations will need to be accounted for (for example where licenses will need to be obtained).

Note that, at the time of application, or during any subsequent grant, UKRI would not anticipate any business to have exclusive rights to the assets and IP arising from the funded project. The assessors will judge whether there is an appropriate intellectual property strategy in place to facilitate downstream development, clinical uptake or commercialisation.

Environmental sustainability How will you approach environmental sustainability? What the assessors are looking for in your response promote environmental sustainability with the hub’s research practices align your environmental sustainability strategy with host research organisation sustainability plans and policies Data management and sharing How will you manage and share data collected or acquired through the proposed research?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Provide a data management plan which should clearly detail how you will comply with MRC’s published data management and sharing policies , which includes detailed guidance notes. Provide your response in the text box following the headings in the MRC data management plan template . You are not required to upload the document to your application.

The length of your plan will vary depending on the type of study being undertaken, as follows: population cohorts, longitudinal studies, genetic, omics and imaging data, biobanks, and other collections that are potentially a rich resource for the wider research community: maximum of 1,500 words all other research, less complex, the plan may be as short as 500 words Leadership, operations and decision-making How will you approach running the hub?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how the proposed hub: will be effectively and inclusively managed including describing a leadership team with clear roles and responsibilities will approach decision-making and agility in response to new scientific developments, and the processes and criteria to take decisions on future research directions has clear governance plans to successfully function as a research entity, and coordinate activities across multiple sites (if applicable) How the hub will access the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed research should be described in the ‘Your host research organisation support’ 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 leadership team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Evidence of how 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 count for this section is 2,000 words, 1,500 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 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 provide an integrated view of the skills and collective value of the team as a whole as they relate to the proposed challenge.

You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the following key skills each team member brings in relation to your proposed hub, rather than listing the skills of each individual: 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). You should complete this as a narrative.

Do not format it like a CV. References may be included within this section. Within the R4RI format, team members should include their ORCID iD as part of the ‘short role descriptor’.

The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles. Research organisation support How will your research organisation(s) support the planned Hub?

What the assessors are looking for in your response We are looking for strong host support and capability to deliver, evidenced through a statement from an individual with oversight of the organisations research strategy, vice-chancellor research or equivalent. An outline of the support offered from the research organisation to the Hub and description of how the research organisation will help the Hub meet our expectations.

The statement should include: name and position of all contributors to the statement how the Hub aligns with host organisation strategies (research, research culture, training, sustainability) the support and facilities you will offer the Hub how you will operate the Hub and help it address its challenge how the Hub will be governed within your organisation Within the research organisation support section, we also expect you to explain how your support will contribute to a collaborative and stimulating multi or interdisciplinary research environment.

Add details about any project partners contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service. A project partner is a collaborating person or organisation who will have an integral role in your proposed research.

This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

A project partner is not anyone in your core team or anyone from your organisation or any of the other organisations represented by core team members.

Add the following project partner details: the organisation name (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable) the project partner contact name and email address the type of contribution (direct or in-direct) and its monetary value If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

If there are specific circumstances where project partners do require funding for minor costs such as travel and subsistence, these project partner costs should be claimed and justified within the resources and costs section of your application. If you are adding a project partner to this section, you must ensure they provide you with a letter or email of support and you upload it to ‘Project partners: letters or emails of support’.

If your project partners are from industry or a company, you must also complete the ‘Industry Collaboration Framework