Wellcome
Mental Health Award: Integrating Sleep and Circadian Science
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Wellcome's Mental Health Award: Integrating Sleep and Circadian Science funds multidisciplinary teams up to £3 million over five years to investigate the links between sleep, circadian rhythms, anxiety, depression, and psychosis. The call requires a consortium model with coapplicants in each country where research occurs and mandatory involvement of people with lived experience of the conditions under study. This is a global opportunity (excluding mainland China and sanctioned territories) for researchers committed to co-design and translational mental health outcomes.
Details
| Funder | Wellcome |
| Budget | Up to £3M |
| Duration | Up to 5 years |
| Consortium | Required — multidisciplinary team with lead applicant and coapplicants; where research occurs in more than one location, coapplicants must be based in each country |
Eligibility & scope
Open to multidisciplinary teams from eligible organisations worldwide (excluding mainland China and sanctioned territories). Must include people with lived experience of anxiety, depression and/or psychosis. Lead applicant requires ≥20% research time commitment and a permanent/open-ended contract. Research must integrate sleep/circadian science with mental health. Proposals must be submitted in English.
Who Should Apply
- •Multidisciplinary research teams with coapplicants across neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, sleep medicine, and/or chronobiology
- •Lead applicants with permanent or long-term contracts at eligible organisations, able to commit ≥20% research time
- •Consortia spanning multiple countries, with at least one coapplicant per country involved
- •Teams with demonstrated commitment to involving people with lived experience of anxiety, depression, or psychosis in study design and interpretation
- •Researchers based outside mainland China and non-sanctioned territories
Key Dates
- •Listed 17 June 2026; verify full deadline on the Wellcome website
- •Multidisciplinary consortium required across countries
- •Five-year project duration
Tips for Applicants
- ✓Lived experience involvement is not optional, detail how service users will shape research questions, methods and outputs, not just provide feedback at the end.
- ✓Consortium costs money to coordinate; build realistic workplan timelines for meetings, co-design cycles and alignment across multiple coapplicants.
- ✓UK/Republic of Ireland leads cannot request salary; factor this into your budget and role assignments early. Overheads are capped at 15-20%, leaving less flex than some Wellcome schemes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the Wellcome Mental Health Award pay?
Up to £3 million over five years per project.
Is a consortium required for the Wellcome Mental Health Award?
Yes, you must have coapplicants, and at least one coapplicant must be present in each country where research takes place.
Can I apply from mainland China?
No, this award is not open to applicants or research conducted in mainland China or sanctioned territories.
Do I have to involve people with lived experience?
Yes, the award requires meaningful involvement of people with lived experience of anxiety, depression, and/or psychosis in the research team and design process.
Can UK/Ireland lead applicants request salary costs?
No, lead applicants based in the UK or Republic of Ireland cannot include salary in their budget.
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Summary generated by AI based on published grant information. Always verify details on the funder's website.
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