Applying for research funding

All project proposals made will be triaged to check they match our interests and priorities, and subject to rigorous peer review and consideration of our scientific advisory committee. This is to ensure that the projects we fund are credible and of the highest standard.

Applications of above £50,000 will be subject to written review by experts before considering of the committee.

Funds available from the charity are as follows:

Innovation Fund

The charity will open a call for project proposals every 12 months, aiming to give a minimum of two small project grants of up to £50,000 towards innovative approaches which address our research priorities. These will be for short term projects of around 12-18 months, and open to accredited laboratories, academic institutions and small commercial enterprises in the UK or Europe.

The aim is to build capacity within Lyme research, helping to get ideas for pilot studies off paper and in the lab, and hopefully encourage young minds into the field of Lyme research.

The charity may then consider further support to completed innovation projects which show promise in their results.

We will consider funding both salary and direct project costs.

We are now accepting applications for our 2021 round. Click on the link below for info on how to apply. 

APPLY FOR INNOVATION FUND 2021

General Grant Funding

The charity is open to proposals from accredited laboratories, academic institutions and small commercial enterprises in the UK, Europe and the U.S.A for funding into research projects which meet our priorities, at a cost of £50,000 or more.

Funding can be given over 12 months to three years, depending on the project and funding pot available from the charity at the time of application.

We will support studies that facilitate and enable the progression of promising, basic research towards testing in clinical trials, and applied research with a strong, commercial potential that is likely to attract follow-on funding when the grant ends.

Funding in this area includes commissioned research.

Applications will open from late Spring 2021 onwards and will be considered on a rolling basis.

PhD Funding

The charity may consider capacity building by providing top-up fees for PhD students carrying out research into areas of Lyme disease that match our priorities.

Where funding is available and if the topic is deemed key or innovative, we may consider funding a PhD in full.

These funding opportunities will be considered on a case by case basis. If you are interested in this, please contact us by email for a discussion.

Collaborations & Partnerships

A key part of delivering high quality research will involve working in partnership with others.

We are open to partnerships, investments and collaboration with stakeholders, other funders and charities, government bodies, commercial enterprises, research and academic institutions and patients to form life-changing research projects.   This includes collaborating on joint applications for funding.

If you would like to work with us, please contact us by email.

Using animals in medical research

Caudwell LymeCo is committed to the 3Rs of reduction, replacement and refinement, as basic principles of humane animal research (read more on that here). We expect our research partners to actively employ these to improve animal welfare.

Research funded outside of the UK must be carried out in the spirit of UK legislation as well as being compliant with all local legislation and ethical review processes.

We are committed to openness and transparency around the use of animals in research and will work together with official bodies to continually review our funding practices and engage with the wider scientific community to encourage better practice and development of animal alternatives.

As an AMRC member, we support their position statement on use of animals in research which can be found here.