Wellcome Genomics in Context Awards is sponsored by Wellcome Trust. Funding to support research exploring genomics within broader contexts.

Application snapshot: target deadline March 16, 2026; published funding information Up to £500,000 per award; eligibility guidance Lead applicant with PhD or 4+ years equivalent research experience; team of 1 lead + 1–4 coapplicants required, spanning genomics/life sciences AND humanities/social sciences/bioethics, plus at least one key wider stake…

Use the official notice and source links for final requirements, attachment checklists, allowable costs, and submission instructions before applying.

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Lead applicant career stage : Early-career researcher , Mid-career researcher , Established researcher Administering organisation location : Anywhere in the world (apart from mainland China) Funding amount : Up to £500,000 for each award Funding duration : 12-24 months Upcoming application stage Calculating next key date… Application process timeline This award will bring together teams to shape interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary discovery research agendas across genomics and its wider contexts (see what we mean by Discovery Research ).

Successful teams will facilitate novel collaborations that drive new research agendas with the potential for discovery. Teams are comprised of a lead applicant, coapplicants, and collaborators or consultants. Each application must include one lead applicant and 1-4 coapplicants.

There are no requirements for the number of collaborators or consultants.

Teams are required to have at least: one researcher from any genomics-related area of the life sciences (as lead applicant or coapplicant) one researcher from the humanities, social sciences or bioethics (as lead applicant or coapplicant) one wider key stakeholder involved in shaping and developing the research (as coapplicant, collaborator, consultant or through other roles proposed by the team) 1.

Researchers from any genomics-related area of the life sciences (including but limited to): Show 2. Researchers from the humanities, social sciences or bioethics (including but not limited to): Show science and technology studies 3.

Wider stakeholders may be involved as coapplicants, collaborators, consultants or through other roles proposed by the team: Show Stakeholders could include (but are not limited to): community or patient groups non-governmental organisations See our guidance on equity, diversity and inclusion and on using an engaged approach to research for more information on what to consider when involving wider stakeholders in your research.

The lead applicant (whose organisation will be administering the award) must be a researcher in any genomics-related area of the life sciences, or any area of the humanities, social sciences or bioethics. They can be based anywhere in the world (apart from mainland China) and can be at any career stage. Have a PhD or four years of equivalent research experience.

Have the experience needed to drive and lead a collaborative research project and the necessary support structures in place to enable this. Have experience in people and research management, as appropriate for their career stage. Have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract, or the guarantee of one, for the duration of the award.

The contract should not be conditional on receiving this award. Lead applicants with less than three years remaining on their contract at the point of application must have secured their next position at an eligible organisation and provide a letter of support from them. While there can be only one lead applicant, given the aims of the call, we expect teams to bring creative approaches to co-leadership.

We expect the model and rationale for the approach to co-leadership in the project to be included in the proposal. Teams are encouraged to test and implement equitable and engaged models of co-leadership during the award. This could include learning from recent innovations in research leadership, such as the ‘Thrive’ project.

The leadership structure of your team will depend on what is the most effective structure for the specific programme and collaboration. Coapplicants can be from any genomics-related area of the life sciences, any area of the humanities, social sciences or bioethics, or a wider key stakeholder. They can be based anywhere in the world (apart from mainland China) and can be at any career stage.

You can include 1-4 coapplicants in your team. Be essential for the delivery of the proposed project and make a significant contribution, for example, in designing the proposed research or leading a specific component of the project. Have a guarantee of space from their organisation for the duration of their commitment to the project, but do not need to have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract.

See the ‘ Research costs we will cover ’ section for more details about when coapplicants can request salary and what other costs can be covered. As a key goal of this award is to facilitate the formation of transdisciplinary teams, wider stakeholders can apply as coapplicants, collaborators, consultants or through other roles proposed by the team.

This will depend on whether the conditions have been met and what is most appropriate for the team. Collaborators are distinct from coapplicants. Collaborators support the delivery of the project but don't lead on a specific component of the research.

For example, collaborators could support by: providing access to tools or resources such as datasets or clinical records providing access to organisations led by or working in collaboration with lived experience experts providing expertise on working in different countries sharing subject-specific knowledge and guidance, for example, expertise on statistical analysis or measurement of specific variables.

Collaborators do not have to meet eligibility requirements, and they are not required to give a minimum research time commitment. Collaborators cannot receive a salary or compensation for the time spent on the proposed project.

You can request costs to cover their expenses, for example for their grant-related travel and the costs associated with providing the agreed input into the research, including the materials and consumables involved. These should be costs directly related to the research. If it is more appropriate for wider stakeholders to apply as consultants rather than coapplicants or collaborators, they can do so.

The budget requested during the application process should include appropriate remuneration for their expertise and costs for involvement. When thinking about appropriate compensation or payment, we would encourage you to think about the experience, knowledge and skills that someone will be bringing to the project, as well as their responsibility within the process.

Make sure that you have appropriately budgeted for the costs needed to support meaningful involvement, as set out in your proposal. For example, this could include but is not limited to: consultant fees for their expertise on the project salary costs for wider stakeholders embedded in a team expenses to support meetings or workshops Read about the different applicant roles at Wellcome .

You cannot apply for this award if: You intend to carry out activities that involve the transfer of funds into mainland China. You are already an applicant on another application for this funding call – applicants are limited to one application overall (as lead applicant or coapplicant). You already have applied for, or hold, the maximum number of Wellcome awards for your career stage.

See our guidance on how many grants you can apply for, or hold, at the same time . Is your organisation right for this call? The administering organisation is where the lead applicant is based.

It is responsible for submitting your final application to Wellcome and managing the finances of the grant if it is awarded. The administering organisation can be a: higher education institution non-academic healthcare organisation not-for-profit or non-governmental organisation Commercial organisations are not eligible to apply as administering organisations for this call.

However, coapplicants and collaborators can be based at commercial organisations. One organisation can submit multiple different applications. What’s expected of lead applicant and coapplicant organisations We expect organisations based in the UK to meet the responsibilities required by the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers for institutions, managers and researchers.

Any organisation with Wellcome funding that is based outside the UK is expected, at a minimum, to follow the principles of the Concordat. We also expect organisations to: Guarantee that the space and resources applicants need have been agreed and will be made available to them from start date through to the end date of the award.

Give applicants and any staff employed on the grant at least 10 days a year (pro rata if part-time) to undertake training and continuing professional development (CPD) in line with the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers . This should include the responsible conduct of research, research leadership, people management, diversity and inclusion, and the promotion of a healthy research culture.

Provide a system of onboarding, embedding and planning for you when you join the organisation and/or start the award. Is your proposal right for this award? These awards will support transdisciplinary teams to catalyse research discoveries at the intersection of genomics, humanities, social sciences and bioethics.

Funded projects will be given the time and resources to create new research agendas and explore innovative ways of working. There is a long history of exploring the social, legal and ethical contexts of genomics. This has made significant inroads into fostering more ethical and equitable practice.

However, this has often been too limited and too late. Wider humanities and social science fields are underrepresented; communities or other social partners are often not centred; and these perspectives are often only included after key research decisions have already been made. This not only poses ethical challenges.

It means that the discovery research potential of wider and earlier collaboration remains unrealised.

This call is aimed at addressing this issue and supporting novel, transdisciplinary teams to explore this area by enabling: An increased breadth of collaborative partners – building inter- and transdisciplinary teams across genomics-related life sciences, humanities, social science and wider societal partners to purposefully engage in research at their unique intersections.

The earlier integration of partners – bringing new partners together at the conceptual stage of a research agenda (research ideation, design and partnership building), so that research ideas and avenues can be explored and co-developed in new and innovative ways.

A focus on Discovery Research – shifting the focus away from specific ethical questions, often applied at the end of a research lifecycle, to an emphasis on co-developing novel discovery research from the outset. A plan for integrated collaboration across the research lifecycle that harmonises and leverages the skills and perspectives of diverse contributors.

What your proposal must include Following the assessment criteria, proposals must include descriptions of: This call is aimed at supporting novel and transdisciplinary teams to explore collaboration at the earliest stages of research ideation, design and partnership building.

By ‘novel’ and ‘transdisciplinary’, we mean new approaches that combine knowledge and practices from across academic disciplines and from across wider stakeholders. The aim is that this will lead not only to generating more ethical, engaged and inclusive genomics research, but to opening new co-developed research questions, methods, approaches and even new fields.

Teams are encouraged to think creatively and critically about how the knowledge of different disciplines and key stakeholders will be embedded within the team; and how the team plans to manage power and resource differences between them.

Teams are also encouraged to test and implement equitable and engaged models of co-leadership during the award, depending on what is the most effective structure for the specific programme and collaboration. See the ' Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ’ and ‘ Engaged research ’ sections for more details.

The research agenda should outline the potential of the research to generate new knowledge, concepts, methods or techniques, and/or to create field opening opportunities. Teams should explain how the proposed approach is ambitious, novel and feasible. Research agendas could potentially fall across three broad areas: 1.

Exploring new or emerging areas in genomics and its contexts or the application of novel technologies This might include but is not limited to: responsibly harnessing and developing large datasets and technologies such as AI in genomics expanding synthetic genomics through wider disciplinary and stakeholder engagement exploring new dimensions of genomics-based precision medicine broadening nascent interdisciplinary fields like the biomolecular humanities 2.

Opening up existing areas of genomics and its contexts or taking them in new directions through the integration of novel approaches and perspectives This might include but is not limited to: expanding the intersection of particular disciplines, for example between anthropology and genomics, paleogenomics and history, philosophy and genomics, or between genomics and sociology broadening health-related food systems research through wider engagement with genomics research expanding pathogen genome surveillance through wider social science engagement exploring longitudinal datasets that combine genomic and social data in innovative ways expanding research to explore the relationship between health inequalities and genomics exploring how the integration of genomics may transform health systems and population health strategies, drawing on new disciplinary perspectives 3.

Exploring how research is done in genomics, which could be applicable across different fields, practices, sectors and geographies This might include but is not limited to: Indigenous-led genomics projects that drive and benefit from current knowledge generation in genomics community-driven research agendas in genomics more broadly new partnerships between bioethicists, genomics researchers and wider stakeholders next generation clinicians that integrate perspectives across disciplines and stakeholders economic dimensions of genomics research, for example how genomics could reshape models of health decision-making for government and citizens exploring how historical contexts, cultural perceptions and power dynamics act as drivers of genomic data diversity Please note that these topics are only indicative.

The call is open to other areas where transdisciplinary collaborations of this kind could open up new research questions and approaches in genomics and its contexts. 3.

Activities and outputs Show This award welcomes applications that use a variety of activities and produce a range of outputs to meet the two core ambitions of the award: fostering collaborative work at the intersection of genomics and humanities, social sciences, bioethics and wider stakeholders, and generating insights on how such collaboration works in practice supporting the development of new discovery-led research agendas, methods and questions shaped by transdisciplinary insight and stakeholder engagement to guide the future direction of genomics and its wider contexts We recognise that the activities you undertake will vary depending on your area of focus.

When considering what activities might be included as part of this award, some examples are provided, but these are indicative only, and you should not feel limited by them. We’re keen to see innovative and creative approaches to each set of activities.

Examples might include but are not limited to: Building a diverse, collaborative and engaged team that includes perspectives from the life sciences, the humanities, social sciences or bioethics and wider key stakeholders (for example, communities, civil societies, governments or industry).

Developing and testing innovative ways of working within the team, particularly related to the knowledge, power and logistical challenges that have previously made engagement and collaboration between researchers across these fields and other stakeholders difficult.

This should result in new insights into how transdisciplinary collaborations such as these work in practice and could involve open collaborative platforms, novel co-leadership models or transdisciplinary training sessions, secondments, exchanges or placements.

Developing approaches to fostering greater collaboration and understanding beyond the team, for example, through organising workshops with wider networks, public lectures or stakeholder engagement beyond the team.

Co-developing a research agenda to outline the future direction of a specific area of transdisciplinary discovery research, for example, testing and refining new research questions, approaches and methodologies through small-scale collaborative pilots or provocations. As part of your proposal, we ask you to provide a clear justification for how your approach will meet the two core ambitions.

All successful teams will be required to produce the following: A final report detailing: The nature of the research area, questions, methods and approaches explored, and the team or network established. Findings from any pilot or proof-of-concept work conducted during the award. A forward-looking discovery research agenda, including how it could be further developed or implemented.

Reflections and learnings on the collaborative process, including participation in cross-scheme workshops and other mechanisms to capture insights on both the research agendas and the collaboration itself. Completion of standard reporting requirements under Wellcome’s grant conditions, including (but not limited to) annual reporting and any additional documentation requested as part of the award monitoring process.

In addition to the core final report, a range of other direct outputs may emerge from the work supported through this scheme. These will vary depending on the nature of your collaboration and area of focus.

Some examples include (but are not limited to): establishing new networks that foster ongoing transdisciplinary collaboration producing written outputs such as workshop summaries, case studies, peer-reviewed articles or conference presentations developing draft grant applications to take forward newly co-developed research agendas creating toolkits, frameworks or guidance to support future decision-making and promote best practice in collaborative, transdisciplinary research building capacity across the team or wider community through training, mentoring or shared learning resources generating proof-of-concept work or preliminary data to inform future large-scale research proposals What activities and outputs are not in scope?

While this scheme is designed to be flexible, there are certain activities and outputs it will not support. These include: Conducting a large-scale research programme. This scheme is intended to support the co-development of new research agendas, questions, methodologies and approaches.

While proof-of-concept work and preliminary data generation are in scope, it is not designed to fund the delivery of a full research programme. Collaborations or partnerships that are not focused on discovery research. Proposals must clearly demonstrate how the collaboration will enable discovery-led research in genomics and its contexts (see what we mean by Discovery Research ).

Partnerships without this focus will not be eligible. Proposals that are not sufficiently linked to human life, health or wellbeing. How applications are assessed In line with the ‘ What your proposal must include ’ section, we will review your team, research agenda and activities and outputs.

The assessment weightings will be used at the decision meeting stage. The novelty of your team composition, how well it integrates the perspectives of different disciplines and stakeholders, and how well it aligns with the wider ambitions of the proposal, including the focus of the proposed research agenda.

The quality and feasibility of your plan to build and manage the team to work effectively and equitably, particularly across knowledge, power and logistical barriers. The quality and feasibility of your plan to test and implement equitable and engaged models of co-leadership during the award and to learn from the process of collaboration. See the ‘ Who can apply ?

’, ‘ What your proposal must include ’, ‘ Equity, diversity and inclusion ’ and ‘ Engaged research ’ sections for more details. 2. Your research agenda (35%) An outline of what specific area(s) of discovery research will be explored.

The creativity or innovation of your plan for what new knowledge, concepts, methods or techniques, and/or field opening opportunities could potentially be generated. A clear explanation of why the proposed approach is ambitious, novel and feasible. See the ‘ Is your proposal right for this award?

’ section for more details. 3. Your activities and outputs (30%) The creativity or innovation of your planned activities and outputs and how well they align with the aims of the award.

The feasibility of your plan for who will benefit from these activities and outputs and how. See the ‘ Activities and outputs ’ and ‘ Equity, diversity and inclusion ’ sections for more details.

Portfolio and cohort approach A key goal of the scheme is to evidence the benefits of broader and earlier collaboration across different areas of research in genomics and its contexts, and to showcase the diverse contribution of different disciplines and key stakeholders. We therefore intend on taking a portfolio approach to funding decisions.

This means that we reserve the right to fund a range of projects that demonstrate the value and potential of this kind of engaged collaborative research across different disciplines, sectors, stakeholders and areas of research. Because of the value we place on collaboration and learning across awards, we also plan to bring the successful applicants together using a cohort-based approach.

To do this, we will: Support and gather information from across the cohort through shared activities, for example through workshops bringing the cohort together, contributing to cross-cohort evaluation work and to the development of shared toolkits or resources. The aim is to draw out key insights and learnings on research agendas and on the process of collaboration within the funded teams.

Explore potential post-award opportunities to take forward outputs and ideas from across the cohort. Equity, diversity and inclusion Taking into account the context in which the research is conducted, applicants should be able to show that they have made substantive efforts to ensure that project research teams are appropriately diverse and inclusive.

For research conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) , researchers based in the relevant region(s) should have a substantive role in agenda setting; leadership; day-to-day management and participation. Resources should be allocated equitably.

Applicants should be able to demonstrate that their research agenda and the conduct of their research is of relevance to and engages with the needs, values and knowledge systems of those participating in, or most affected by, their research. This should operate across the research lifecycle, rather than being a one-off process. Everyone involved in, or impacted by, the research should benefit.

This might include equitable access to career development opportunities, training and support for researchers and partners; and attribution and the accessible and open sharing of outputs, data or insights for everyone involved in, or impacted by, the research. We believe using an engaged research approach improves research and makes it more impactful.

Engaged Research is an umbrella term that captures different approaches to embedding engagement into research. This can include community engagement, patient involvement, policy engagement, working with lived experience experts or any other approach that brings a diversity of perspectives into your research process.

An engaged research approach embeds stakeholder perspectives across the research lifecycle – from agenda setting, funding and research design through to implementation, monitoring and evaluation. It typically involves building relationships, sharing power, and using inclusive and equitable methods. Engagement should not be a stand-alone activity but an integrated part of your research.

An engaged research approach can involve a variety of methodologies, frameworks and skills to appropriately engage relevant stakeholders at key points.

As part of their application, we encourage researchers to outline who their stakeholders are, how they have been involved in the design of the research agenda, notable points of collaboration and how key stakeholders will be involved in the decision-making process for aspects linked to the support they provide. See Wellcome’s using an engaged research approach guidance for more details.

Research costs we will cover You must contribute at least 10% of your research time to the award in order to claim a contribution to your salary.

Lead applicants based in the UK or Republic of Ireland You cannot ask for your salary if you work for a: higher education institution You can ask for a contribution to your salary if you work for a: non-governmental organisation (NGO) or a commercial organisation The amount we pay will be proportionate to the time you contribute to the award, for example if you contribute 30% of your time to the award we will fund 30% of your salary.

Lead applicants based outside of the UK or Republic of Ireland You can ask for a contribution to your salary if you work for a: higher education institute non-governmental organisation If you work for a higher education institute, research institute, or healthcare organisation, we will only pay your salary if you hold a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract that states that you must get your salary from external grant funding.

Your administering organisation must confirm: that you must get salary recovery from external grant funding they will guarantee to provide salary support, including any salary not covered by Wellcome, if you cannot get it from other sources for the period of time that you will be working on the grant In all cases, the amount we pay will be proportionate to the time you contribute to the award.

For example, if you contribute 30% of your time to the award we will fund 30% of your salary. Coapplicants must contribute at least 10% of their research time to the award in order to claim a contribution to salary. Coapplicants employed by higher education institutes, research institutes or healthcare organisations 1.

Coapplicants with permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contracts Coapplicants with these contract types can ask for a contribution to their salary if their employment contract states that they must get their salary from external grant funding. The amount we pay will be proportionate to the time they contribute to the award, for example if they contribute 30% of their time to the award we will fund 30% of their salary.

The coapplicant’s employing organisation must confirm: that they must get salary recovery from external grant funding they will guarantee to provide salary support, including any salary costs not covered by Wellcome, for the period of time that the person will be working on the grant 2.

Coapplicants who don’t have permanent, open ended or long-term rolling contracts Coapplicants without a permanent, open ended or long-term rolling contract can request salary depending on the amount of their time they will spend on the grant: Less than 80% of coapplicant’s time on the grant: they can request salary proportionate to the time they will spend on the grant.

Their organisation must guarantee space and salary support if they cannot get it from other sources for the period of time they are working on the grant. Their post cannot be dependent on the application being successful. 80% or more of coapplicant’s time on the grant: they can ask for their full salary.

Their organisation does not have to guarantee salary support if salary cannot be obtained from other sources for the period of time they are working on the grant. The post can be dependent on the application being successful.

If the coapplicants are employed on the award as research assistants and they are to spend 100% of their time on the award, their post does not need to be underwritten by the administering organisation and can be dependent on the application being successful. Alternatively, coapplicants may get their salary through employment on another grant.

Coapplicants employed by charities, social enterprises, non-governmental organisations or commercial organisations Coapplicants can ask for salary if they are employed by these organisations. The amount we pay will be proportionate to the time they will contribute to the award. Their employment contract does not need to state that they must get their salary from external grant funding.

Staff working on your programme We will cover the salary costs of all staff, full or part-time, who will work on your grant.

Staff members may include: research assistants or technicians employed on your grant specialist service staff and technical experts, for example environmental sustainability, data analysis, fieldwork and clinical studies project manager, if you have multiple applicants on your programme support if you or a member of staff employed on your grant is disabled or has a long-term health condition – see 'Disability-related adjustment support'.

If you’re a humanities and social sciences researcher, you can ask for funds for teaching replacement to cover the cost of a temporary replacement lecturer. You must retain at least a 10% commitment to teaching. can cover up to 33% FTE of your contracted time are usually for a person at a more junior level than the postholder can be spread across the full period of the grant.

If you already get buyout costs from another grant (funded by Wellcome or elsewhere), you can ask us for this cost, but only for the period of time on your award when you won't receive buyout costs from another grant. You must provide a letter from your employing organisation, confirming that your contract includes a teaching commitment. You should include this in your grant application.

How to cost salaries for research staff Show Staff salaries should be appropriate to skills, responsibilities and expertise.

You should ask your host organisation to use their salary scales to calculate these costs, which should include: employer’s contributions, including any statutory obligations (for example, National Insurance contributions if you’re based in the UK) and pension scheme costs Apprentice Levy charges for UK-based salaries any incremental progression up the salary scale locally recognised allowances such as London allowance.

You should allow for salary pay awards during Year 1. If the pay award is not yet known, applicants should use the International Monetary Fund inflation rate, selecting the ‘inflation, average consumer price’ option as an indicator. From Year 2 onwards, you should use your organisation’s current pay rates.

We’ll provide a separate inflation allowance for salary inflation costs. Read about the responsibilities of grantholders and host organisations for people working on a Wellcome grant . Visa and work permit costs Show If you have named people on your grant whose salaries will be funded by Wellcome, you can ask for visa or work permit costs to help them take up their posts at the host organisation.

You can also ask for: visa costs for the person's partner and dependent children essential associated costs, such as travel to attend appointments at a visa application centre or embassy, and essential English language tests Immigration Health Surcharge costs for the person, their partner and dependent children if they will be in the UK for six months or more.

Disability-related adjustment support Show If you or a member of staff working on your grant is disabled or has a long-term health condition, you can ask for adjustment support to help you carry out your project.

Costs can include, but are not limited to: additional costs for staff to help with day-to-day activities related to your project assistive technology to help use computers, research equipment or materials – for example, text to audio software care costs for assistance animals if you need to travel. We will not pay for capital or building costs, such as access ramps. You