Wellcome Trust — Global Challenges Research

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We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health. Our charitable expenditure, supporting science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. Our podcast is back with a fourth season, uncovering more incredible stories of how scientists and communities are tackling the urgent health challenges of our time. Stay up to date with some of the biggest stories in global health, and how we're advocating to improve health for everyone. The challenge We need new knowledge about life, health and wellbeing. But short-term goals in research are stifling ambition. Our financial and political independence means we can advance discoveries through a longer-term outlook that better supports researchers and invests in the tools, methodologies, technologies and research cultures that could transform health. Through longer-term funding, support for improved research environments and advocating for policy action, we're creating the conditions to improve health for everyone. Our goals Transformative knowledge Research we fund across fields and disciplines generates new knowledge with the potential to transform life, health and wellbeing in ways that we may not have anticipated. New generation of diverse research leaders Researchers have the resources, time and freedom to develop their skills and potential. Productive research environments Advanced tools, technologies, methodologies and a thriving research culture are in place. This enables innovation and success in research. Our approach Funding research We're generating new knowledge with the potential to improve life, health and wellbeing. We don’t always know where new breakthroughs will come from, so our scope in discovery research is deliberately broad. We run funding opportunities based on career stage three times a year. Research can involve observational, experimental or theoretical approaches. It can be carried out in the laboratory, office, clinic or field. We're also creating the conditions for innovation through directed funding for institutions and major initiatives. For example, we support critical research fields such as bioimaging and genomics. What is Discovery Research? Discovery Research is our programme covering studies across fields and disciplines that lead to new knowledge of life, health and wellbeing. We don't know where the next breakthrough will come from, so our scope is deliberately broad. We fund projects that range from the fundamentals of biology to the development of new methods, tools and technologies. We also fund population health studies exploring the social, ethical, cultural, political, economic and historical contexts of human health. We also accept applications related to our strategic programmes: Climate and Health, Infectious Disease and Mental Health. Funding opportunities We run recurring Discovery Research awards three times a year. These are for researchers at different career stages across all disciplines as long as the research has the potential to improve life, health and wellbeing. Discovery Research in numbers September 2021 to October 2024 £1 1 billion british pounds billion awarded across our three recurring schemes since 2021 64 64 countries countries where researchers directly and indirectly received Discovery Research open-mode funding 497 497 grants grants provided to researchers and teams of researchers through our discovery research schemes Our Discovery Research Platforms are a £73 million investment to overcome practical, technological and methodological barriers in research. Genomics: navigating the future Impact story Mitochondrial donation: the pioneering IVF treatment giving families hope Researcher story Shaping the future of our health through the development of the Human Cell Atlas News Convening technology developers and users to advance bioimaging and tackle barriers in discovery research News Researchers take first steps to creating synthetic human genomes News We're establishing a new institute to advance genomics in Africa. The problem Millions of people are held back by mental health problems. Interventions aren't working well enough for everyone, have trade-offs and there are challenges with scaling globally. Barriers to collaboration are preventing progress. There are promising tools, approaches and methodologies ready to break through. Our research funding and advocacy work is fostering collaboration that will lead to new ways to intervene early in anxiety, depression and psychosis. Our goals Co-leadership with lived experience experts Knowledge, insights and perspectives of people with lived experience of mental health problems are at the heart of research. A collaborative and thriving field of mental health science Researchers from different backgrounds, geographies and disciplines are brought together. Improved understanding New discoveries on how anxiety, depression and psychosis develop, persist and resolve. New effective early interventions Better ways to intervene early in anxiety, depression and psychosis, spanning pharmacological, non-pharmacological and digital. Increased commitment by decision-makers to use mental health science Decision-makers enable uptake and scaling of new and improved interventions. A world where no one is held back: our vision for Mental Health To create a world where no one is held back by mental health problems, Wellcome is committed to driving transformation in early intervention for anxiety, depression and psychosis. Miranda Wolpert, Wellcome’s Director of Mental Health, explains. Our approach Funding research We're funding research to better understand anxiety, depression and psychosis so we can find ways to intervene earlier. Embedding lived experience expertise is central to our mission. Our independence means we're prepared to take risks with our research funding. If none of our funded projects fail, then we're not being brave enough. Funding opportunities Our Mental Health programme funds research to improve early intervention in anxiety, depression and psychosis. You may also be interested in our Discovery Research programme, which funds fields and disciplines seeking new knowledge on life, health and wellbeing, including all aspects of mental health. Contract opportunities We invite organisations to apply for contract opportunities that support our mission to enable a step change in early interventions for anxiety, depression and psychosis. News Mental health tool, which includes Tetris, stops intrusive flashbacks Expert perspectives Innovation is essential to the future of psychiatric medicine Expert perspectives 'Not just accepted, but expected’: lived experience should be the norm in mental health research News New initiative will transform mental health support in humanitarian crises Researcher story How is the immune system linked to psychosis? Analysis How we redesigned our Mental Health Data Prize for scientists in Africa Report Understanding how interventions for youth depression and anxiety work This report identifies what we do and don’t know about how interventions for youth anxiety and depression work. It also includes recommendations for future research to fill the gaps and better inform policy and funding decisions. The problem Infectious diseases are one of the biggest health challenges in the world today. They cause around 9.5 million deaths every year and disrupt systems across society. Environmental change and drug-resistant infections threaten to make the situation much worse. But the impact is not equal. Infectious diseases cause the most death and illness in the world's poorest countries. We urgently need to improve understanding and find new ways to intervene. By targeting specific research problems that others are not prioritising, we can channel our resources, skills and expertise to drive impact where it is most needed. Antimicrobial resistance: it’s time for global action Antimicrobial resistance is one of our greatest public health threats. We need collective, evidence-based action to control the escalating burden of drug-resistant infections. Our goals Accelerate interventions Our work advances the discovery, development and optimisation of interventions to control and combat infectious diseases. Improved understanding Research we fund helps us to understand how and why infectious diseases emerge or escape control. Our approach Funding research We support the research and development of innovative solutions for combating infectious disease in the regions with the greatest burden. We focus on two important threats to infectious disease control: drug-resistant infections (including tuberculosis and fungal diseases) diseases impacted by environmental change (specifically, arboviruses, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis and cholera) Funding opportunities Our Infectious Disease programme funds research to improve understanding and advance interventions to control and combat infectious diseases. You may also be interested in our Discovery Research programme which funds fields and disciplines seeking new knowledge on life, health and wellbeing, including all aspects of infectious disease. Report Funding research to investigate how vaccines impact antimicrobial resistance Impact story Supporting life-saving innovation in disease control with the World Mosquito Program News Partnering with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund a new tuberculosis vaccine Researcher story Working with India's rural clinics to control drug resistance Researcher story Supporting the development of a new generation of cholera vaccines Transforming the way snakebite treatments are researched, developed and delivered. Report Driving action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in 2024 This policy brief identifies opportunities to drive change in how governments respo