Open Grant Calls

We are pleased to announce that the 2027 Grant Round will open for research proposals on Monday 7 September 2026. We are currently offering funding for PhD studentships and project grants (including two- to three-year project grants and shorter, proof-of-principle projects of up to one year) that have relevance to one or more types of muscular dystrophy or a related neuromuscular condition. The deadline for submission of the online application is 3pm on Tuesday 8 December 2026.

In line with our new Research Strategy, we strongly encourage applications that will support early-career researchers and PhD students.

Before applying, please ensure you refer to following webpages:

• Grant FAQs
• Research Strategy
• Terms and Conditions (project grant or PhD studentship)
• Guidance for completing the online application form (project grant or PhD studentship)
• Top tips for writing a plain English application

We will invest in research that increases our understanding of neuromuscular conditions and that promotes the development of potential treatments. These may be basic, pre-clinical or clinical projects., but must be in line with our Research Strategy.

We also welcome applications for research that will have a direct, positive impact on the quality of life of people with neuromuscular conditions or will help to establish best practice in symptom management. This could include, but is not limited to, social or psychological research or projects with a focus on exercise, physiotherapy, fatigue or chronic pain.  Please refer to our Research Strategy for further information about the aims and objectives of the charity, which must be reflected in your application.

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 supported by Muscular Dystrophy UK.

If you would like to make an application for research into a neuromuscular condition that is not listed here, or if you are unsure whether your research fits within our strategy and current remit, please contact the research team at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org.

PhD Studentships 

Grants for 4-year PhD studentships are available. The charity will fund stipends (up to UKRI minimum rates), university fees, and consumables (up to £10,000 per year).

Please refer to the guidance for completing PhD studentship applications.

Project grants 

We welcome proof-of-principle and project grant applications from early career researchers as well as existing principal investigators. Applicants can only apply for one of the following:

1. Grants for 2–3-year projects

The charity will cover any combination of salary, consumables and equipment up to a maximum of £100,000 per year.

2. Grants for up to 1 year for proof-of-principle projects

If you are applying for a shorter grant of up to one year, for example to show proof of principle in a pilot study, the charity will cover up to £30,000 for salary, consumables and equipment. In this case, please apply using the project grant application form; we will not require as much detail to be given in the text boxes as for a full project grant application.

Please refer to the guidance for completing project grant applications.

Who can apply

Each applicant can submit up to one grant application per grant type; multiple grant applications for the same grant type will not be accepted.

If you currently hold a Muscular Dystrophy UK-funded project or studentship grant, you may still apply in this round. A single resubmission of a previous Muscular Dystrophy UK application is permitted.

Whilst we are only able to fund principal applicants who are based in the UK, we strongly encourage international collaborations.

How to apply

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

• If you have used our online system before, go to the Smart Simple login page. Please log in and update your profile before starting your application.
• If you are new to the system, please register as an applicant on the registration page. After registering 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 which is not already listed on our system, you may need to contact us at researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org to help you create a profile.

Please also refer to our Terms and Conditions (PhD studentship or project grant) and guidance for applicants (PhD studentship or project grant), which are also accessible when you are logged into the online system; please select Help – Support Documents from the home screen.

The deadline for submission of the online application is 3pm on Tuesday 8 December 2026. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline. Please note that 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 applicant and co-investigators, and by your Head of Department and institute’s research office. This should be sent by email to researchgrants@musculardystrophyuk.org by no later than 15 January 2027.

Timelines

Major milestones for the selection process of your grant application are given below; please note the dates given are approximate and for guidance only. 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

Muscular Dystrophy UK staff will review grant applications to ensure eligibility and alignment with the call’s remit. Applicants will be contacted if there are any queries and may be asked to make amendments to their applications at this point.

Applications will then be sent to a least three reviewers who will be selected from the international community of experts, based on their relevant research experience and ability to comment on the proposal. Applicants will be given the opportunity to respond to reviews.

The application will be considered by a panel of experts in the field of neuromuscular research (our Medical Research Committee) and people with lived experience of muscle wasting and weakening conditions (our Lay Research Panel). Both panels will score applications and only applications that meet the minimum quality threshold will be considered for funding. The Committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees and applicants will receive a decision letter in late June 2027.

A triage process may be required if we receive too many applications to handle at the final assessment stage. Under those circumstances applications will be considered, including expert review comments and responses from applicants, by three members of our Medical Research Committee and three members of our Lay Research Panel. These members will provide recommendations on whether the application moves forward to the final assessment. If your application is rejected at this point you will not be informed of the final decision until after our Board of Trustees meets to consider the overall recommendations of the Medical Research Committee, at which point you will receive feedback in the form of a letter.

The Medical Research Committee and Lay Research Panel are governed by the following policies:

• Medical Research Committee Terms of Reference
• Lay Research Panel Terms of Reference
• Conflict-of-Interest policy for the Medical Research Committee and the Lay Research Panel.

Other relevant policies

Other policies relating to research applications can be found here

• Additional requirements for HRA-approved clinical research
• Animal research and the NC3Rs
• 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

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.