Wellcome Early Concept Development Fund (ECD)
The Wellcome Trust has awarded the University of Glasgow a Translational Partnership Award (TPA) to further develop the support available to researchers across the medical, life and social sciences. The TPA will further enhance the link between discovery science and innovation, and promote the translation of scientific research to health impact.
The aim of the ECD scheme is to support translational projects, including novel diagnostics, devices, therapeutics and repurposed therapeutics, at an early stage of development to generate sufficient evidence for a subsequent MRC CiC application, or similar. In particular, we would like to support projects with collaborative links to industry or which bridge research disciplines.
Principle Investigators and postdoctoral researchers, including those funded by Wellcome, are invited to apply. High quality translational projects with no current Wellcome funding, but with a clear link to the Wellcome science remit, will also be considered by the TRI review panel.
Please note that ECD funding is not intended to support:
- Fundamental/basic research activities
- Administration cost
- Industrial partner costs
- Bridging funds for staff between posts/funding
- Projects that have no clear translational agenda or applied outcomes
- The continuation of normal research grants
- IP costs
Project awards are expected to be in the region of up to £20k with objectives completed within 3-4 months of the award date.
Staff funded through Translational Grants, such as Research Associates and Enterprise Associates, will be jointly managed by both the Grant Holder and Prof. Carl Goodyear from the TRI MT.
Application process
Calls for ECD applications are currently closed.
For more information, please watch our Applying for Translational Research Funding Video and contact Louise Mason.
- Call currently closed
- T&Cs
- WT ECD FAQs
Funded Projects
| Principle Investigator | Project Title |
| Kostas Tokatlidis, Andrew Jamieson | Developing a first-in-class mitochondria-targeted covalent peptide inhibitor technology for eradicating early, therapy-resistant cancer cells |
| Affar Karimullah, Edward Hutchinson | Evaluating the Feasibility of a Multi Respiratory Virus Diagnostic using Chiral Plasmonic Assays |
| Hadi Heidari, Lisa Ranford-Cartwright & Nosrat Mirzai | Development of a handheld and rapid MAGnetic based sensor for MAlaria diagnosTIC (MAGMATIC) |
| John Mercer | Development of an implantable self-reporting vascular graft (VascuSens) for detection of restenosis using a preclinical porcine trial |
| Sarah Cleaveland | Towards large-scale adoption of cattle vaccines against malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) in East Africa |
| Andrew Roe | The anti-virulence compound aurodox: a pathway to translation |
| Sophie Bradley | Defining the therapeutic potential of GPR84 in neurodegenerative disease |
| Craig Daly | 3D/VR Life Sciences Imaging and Cell Physiology Game |
| George Baillie | Disrupting c-Raf - PDE8 complex interaction: a novel therapeutic approach to inhibiting c-Raf activity and treating pancreatic cancer |