Open Grant Calls

We are pleased to announce that the 2026 Improving Quality of Life grant scheme opens on Thursday 28 May 2026. The deadline for submission of the online application is 3pm on Thursday, 30 July 2026.

The following text outlines the call but before applying, please ensure you refer to the following

• Guidance for Improving Quality of Life research applications
• Terms and conditions for the call
• Research Strategy

If you are unsure whether your research fits within our strategy and current criteria, contact us at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

We’re currently offering funding for small projects of up to 12 months’ duration. Two streams are available in this grant scheme

1. Up to £10,000 for consumables only
2. Up to £30,000 for salary, consumables or equipment.

You can only apply as a Principal Applicant for one grant in this call. Research applications should specifically address an unmet need or offer an innovative solution to a problem that would improve the quality of life of people with neuromuscular conditions.

We appreciate that the pathway to deliver a product (or solution) to the target population is complex and that this funding alone will not be sufficient to take it ‘to market’ or become implemented in practice. However, we expect applicants to outline the pathway that their product/solution will need to take to benefit lives of people with a muscle wasting condition. Therefore, we expect to see a clear plan of how this research will deliver a specific a milestone on this pathway, what the next steps will be and how they will be addressed.

We will fund research across the breadth of conditions supported by the charity, including rare and very-rare conditions. Please refer to the list of conditions that we support. If you want to make an application for research into a neuromuscular condition that is not listed contact us on researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

Applications can relate to any aspect of research that may eventually lead to an improvement in the quality of life of people with neuromuscular conditions. Our community has specifically highlighted the following areas of research as being important which should act as a guide for the type of research we will consider in this grant scheme:

• Improving accessibility. This could include research that provides novel solutions to improves access to public or other spaces or public transport
• Mental health & psychological support
• Assistive Technology or physical aids
• Lifestyle (exercise or diet)
• Fatigue
• Physiotherapy
• Pain management
• Hydrotherapy

We’re interested in funding in these areas, but will consider any application for research in any area that will lead to improvements in quality of life for people with neuromuscular conditions. Laboratory-based projects or animal models are not covered in this call. Please refer to our Research Strategy for further information about the aims and objectives of the charity, which must be reflected in your application. If you’re unsure whether your research fits the criteria or our remit, contact the research team at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

Strong applications will engage people with lived experience of the condition(s) specified by the applicant.

The deadline for submission of the online application is 3pm on Thursday, 30 July 2026. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline. Applications can be submitted at any time prior to the deadline. After online submission you must send us a copy of your application signed by the principal- and co-applicants, by your Head of Department and your institute’s research/finance office. This should be sent by email to researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org no later than 20 August 2026.

We welcome applications from any researcher or allied healthcare professional who is engaged in research. Applications from early-career researchers (defined as researchers who possess a PhD who have not yet gained, or are transitioning to, an independent research career) are also welcome. Ensure you refer to the specific criteria for eligible applicants set out in the People section of the guidelines for the call.

We’re only able to fund UK-based applicants for research in UK institutions or hospitals.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted using our online application form, which is accessed by a secure login.

If you have used our online system before, go to the Smart Simple login page. Please login and update your profile before starting your application.

If you are new to the system, register as an applicant on the registration page. After that you will be able to log in and select the grant round and type of grant you wish to apply for.

If you work at an institution that is not already listed on our system, you may need to contact us at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org to help you create a profile.

Ensure you use the correct form for your application; we reserve the right to reject applications that are submitted using the wrong form type. If you are unsure of which form to use please contact us at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

You should refer to our Terms and Conditions and guidance for applicants, which are also accessible when you are logged into the online system; please select Help – Support Documents from the home screen.

Timelines

Milestones for the selection process of your grant application are given below; please note the dates given are approximate and for guidance only. Find out more about the assessment process on our website. You will be contacted by email when your applicant response is due, or if there are any other actions you need to take; these will all be done via your online account.

The decision-making process

Applications will initially be assessed for eligibility by members of our Research Team. Queries to applicants will be dealt with in the first two weeks following the application deadline. Applicants may be asked to make amendments to their applications.

Expert review of the applications will be provided by a sub-committee of our Medical Research Committee, made up of researchers with expertise in clinical and qualitative research into neuromuscular disease and people with lived experience of a neuromuscular condition (Committee members to be announced). The assessment process varies depending on the grant stream.

• For the £10,000 grant stream, the Committee will assess the applications and will provide feedback to applicants. Applicants will be asked to respond to the Committee’s comments
• Applications in the £30,000 grant stream will go out to external expert review (peer review). Applicants will be asked for their responses to peer review.

The Committee will meet to provide a final assessment of applications according to their quality, impact and potential for productivity. It will consider peer review comments (£30k stream only) as well as responses from applicants to feedback/external review.  Each Committee member will score each application and these scores will be used to determine which applications are fundable. Applications that do not meet the quality threshold will not be funded. If the number of applications in the fundable range exceed the budget for the call the Committee will make recommendations for ranking the fundable applications.

The Committee will make recommendations to our Senior Leadership Team who will make the final decision on whether applications should be funded. Decisions on grant applications will be available in early-mid December 2026.

The Improving Quality of Life Committee is governed by the following policies:

• Terms of Reference
• Conflict-of-Interest policy

Other relevant policies

Other policies relating to research applications can be found here

• Additional requirements for HRA-approved clinical research
• Intellectual property, exploitation and revenue share policies
• Use of generative AI tools in funding applications and assessment
• AMRC position statement on patient and public involvement (PPI) in research
• Expert review policies
• Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice

If you have any questions, please contact us at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org

Acceptance of Awards

Once the final decision on funding has been made, applicants will receive an email notifying them of the outcome. All principal applicants will receive a summary of feedback. Successful applicants will receive an award letter.

Successful applicants will be provided with details of how to accept their awards via our online grant management system. Prior to starting the grant a grant activation form must be submitted online and a signed electronic copy sent to our research grants management team. The grant activation form must be completed prior to the start date of the grant and no monies will be backdated if this form is not received in time. Project grants must start within six months of receiving the award letter.

Grant monitoring

On termination of the grant, the Principal Investigator is required to complete an End of Project Report, which is to be received by us within two calendar months of receipt of the report template from MDUK. Failure to submit will result in the final payment being withheld until submission of the report and may affect future grant applications.

Principal Investigators are also required to submit outputs and impact data annually. This currently happens through the ResearchFish system but in future years will be replaced by alternative methods to collect impact data (details to be provided by the MDUK Research Team).

Our Research Team monitors the content final reports and may contact the grant holder to request further information or clarification. The Principal Investigator will be required to provide follow-up information on the research after completion of the project as and when requested by us.

We are pleased to announce that we have partnered with the Medical Research Council (MRC) as part of their Clinical Research Training Fellowship Scheme. As part of this partnership, we will jointly award up to one clinical research training fellowship per year. The MRC accept applications throughout the year, see upcoming opening and deadline dates below:

This award is to support clinicians from relevant specialities looking to develop their long-term academic careers in the field of neuromuscular research.

How to apply

The clinical research training fellowships are administered through the MRC. As part of the application process, applicants must choose Muscular Dystrophy UK as a joint funder. For more information on the funding call and how to apply please visit the MRC’s website.

These grants aim to support conference organisers for the costs of speakers and running scientific conferences and workshops. At this time we do not support personal costs for conference attendance.

We support events that will facilitate communication and collaboration in the global scientific community to ensure researchers share their knowledge and expertise. To do this the charity is offering three types of conference support grant, as follows.

1. Funding for conference organisers to allow researchers/speakers to attend your conference

Funds will be available for UK-based researchers to attend your conference. Applications are welcome for travel to conferences and hotel costs up to £500 per person for UK based conferences or £1000 per person for international conferences. Funding will be capped at £2500.

2. Conference grants

We will provide funding of up to £2,000 to support the cost of research conferences (scientific and/or clinical) where either the whole event or specific sessions are relevant to one or more of our research aims and priorities. The charity may consider funding above this level in exceptional circumstances; if you are considering this please contact researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org in the first instance.

3. Specialist workshop grants

We will provide funding of up to £1,000 to support the cost of small or specialist workshops (scientific and/or clinical), on topics of relevance to one or more of our research aims and priorities. This funding is to support multi-institution events to facilitate knowledge exchange in as wide an audience as possible; single institution events will not be considered for funding.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• The aims of the event should be in line with our research strategy, and should meet important need(s) of the research community.
• The applicant must be one of the conference organisers and must be part of a formally constituted group or society or an employee of a research institution.
• The event can take place in the UK or overseas. Events taking place overseas must be international in nature. They must include collaborators from within the UK (although the organisers may be outside the UK) unless you are requesting costs for speakers only in which case only the speakers must be UK-based.
• The events should be open to all researchers, clinicians and/or allied healthcare professionals. Grants for closed meetings, organised by invitation only, will only be made in exceptional cases. Such applications must be supported by a statement justifying the reasons for the closed nature of the meeting, which will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by our research team and other advisors of the charity (such as the Medical Research Committee and the Lay Research Panel) if appropriate.
• The organisation and planning of the event must take into consideration the patient voice and, where appropriate, involve at least one of the following: individual(s) affected by the condition, Muscular Dystrophy UK staff and/or healthcare practitioners.
• The event must ensure that early career researchers are prominently represented and wherever possible, have an active role in the event.

These grants are awarded on a first-come-first served basis, provided that applicants meet the eligibility criteria.

If you are interested in applying for a conference support grant, please request a form by emailing researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org quoting “conference support grant” in the title of your email. The form contains conditions of the grant and details of how to apply.

We are pleased to offer Research Training Fellowships supporting research across our portfolio of conditions. Fellowships will be funded in 2027, in partnership with Action Medical Research and Duchenne UK.

As part of this collaboration, three fellowships will be jointly funded, supporting early-career researchers to develop their long-term academic careers in areas relevant to neuromuscular conditions in children.

Fellowships are 24–36 months in duration, with funding of up to £300,000 available. Awards are expected to start from April 2027.

For fellowships co-funded by us, proposed research must focus on paediatric muscle wasting conditions within our remit. Applicants should have some prior research experience and demonstrate a clear commitment to a career in clinical academic research. See upcoming key dates below:

Applications open 14 April 2026

Outline application deadline 7 July 2026 (5pm)

Full applications invited September 2026

How to apply

The Research Training Fellowships are administered by Action Medical Research.

Applications must be submitted via their page. Applicants are required to complete an outline application in the first instance.

For more information on the funding call and how to apply, please visit Action Medical Research’s website.