Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Discovery Award
Up to £2.5M over 8 years for mid-career and established researchers pursuing transformative discovery science.
About the Wellcome Discovery Award
The Wellcome Discovery Award supports established researchers to pursue bold, curiosity-driven research in health-related biological, biomedical, medical, and public health fields. Funding covers up to £2.5 million (with exceptional cases higher) over 8 years — an unusually long horizon that lets researchers tackle ambitious multi-year questions without short-term grant churn. Open to researchers of any nationality, but host institutions must be in the UK, Republic of Ireland, low- or middle-income countries, or (with case made) other specified countries. Wellcome specifically seeks researchers who are at a career stage where they can drive ambitious programmes, typically 10+ years post-PhD though no strict cutoff. The scheme favours depth over breadth and explicitly de-emphasises measurable short-term deliverables in favour of transformative long-term impact.
Key facts
- Career stage
- Established (10+ years post-PhD typical)
- Duration
- 8 years
- Max budget
- £2.5M typical
- Scope
- Health-related biology, medicine, public health
- Success rate
- ~8–12%
Who is eligible?
- •Host institution in UK, Ireland, LMIC, or other approved country
- •Established researcher with demonstrated capacity to lead ambitious programmes (typically 10+ years post-PhD)
- •Research must be in health-related biology, biomedicine, medicine, or public health
- •Commitment of at least 50% time to the Wellcome research
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Frequently asked questions
+How does the Wellcome Discovery Award compare to an ERC Advanced Grant?
Both target established researchers, but: Wellcome runs 8 years vs. ERC's 5; Wellcome is £2.5M vs. ERC's €2.5M; Wellcome is health-focused while ERC covers all fields; host geography differs (UK+ vs. EU+). Many senior researchers hold both over their careers.
+Do I need preliminary data to apply?
Not strictly required, but most successful Discovery Awards include some prior evidence that the research direction is feasible. Wellcome explicitly does not want fully de-risked projects; some speculative elements are welcomed.
+Can I use this to hire a group?
Yes. Budget can cover personnel (postdocs, PhDs, technicians), consumables, equipment, travel. The 8-year horizon is specifically to enable building and sustaining a research team, not short-term hires.
+What counts as "health-related" research?
Very broadly: disease biology, drug discovery, public health, genetics, neuroscience, immunology, infection, mental health, global health, health data, digital health, and adjacent basic biology with health relevance. Non-health biology (ecology, agriculture without health link) is typically out of scope.
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