The CRUK Early Detection and Diagnosis Primer Award supports researchers at all stages to develop new and pioneering research ideas and pilot studies of high scientific risk to stimulate and develop the early detection field.
Career level: Early career researcher; Mid-career researcher; Established independent researcher; Non-clinical researcher; Clinician
Submission deadline: 26 March 2026
Funding period: Up to 1 year
Funding amount: Up to £100k
Eligibility
You can apply to this award if you’re a scientist, clinician or healthcare worker based in a UK university, medical school, hospital or research institution and you can hold this award if you’ve had funding from Cancer Research UK before.
To achieve our goal of developing the early detection and diagnosis field, we encourage applications from a broad range of fields, such as:
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biomedicine
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engineering
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physics
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statistics
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mathematics
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chemistry
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informatics
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computer and data sciences
You don’t have to have previous experience within cancer research, but a clear link between the proposed project, early detection or diagnosis of cancer and a vision towards future clinical implementation is required.
Applications are welcome from researchers from all career stages. In cases where an early career researcher is lead or joint lead applicant, we would strongly recommend including at least one established researcher as co-applicant for mentorship.
Scientific remit
The CRUK Early Detection and Diagnosis Primer Award supports highly novel and innovative approaches to address early detection and diagnosis questions. It can also support the creation of new collaborations/consortia or the establishment and development of a researcher, with the clear aim of applying any skills and collaborations developed to the early detection field.
Applications must demonstrate early detection/diagnosis relevance, consider a line-of-sight to clinical or population impact and clearly articulate the cancer-related question you’re focusing on.
You don’t have to include extensive preliminary data to support your application, though any data you do have will be considered. Any data generated or collaborations established through this award should form the basis for a more extensive research project.
Examples of areas that may be considered include:
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applying an established technology to the early detection of cancer or cancer recurrence
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developing or modifying technology to apply to the early detection of cancer
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innovative and out-of-the-box lines of investigation within early detection
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establishing new collaborations to tackle an early detection area of need
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training and lab exchanges to improve the standing of a researcher in the early detection field
>Further information and application details
The deadline for submission is 26 March 2026.