Early Detection and Diagnosis Project Awards fund science to drive transformational change in how and when early cancers and pre-cancerous states are diagnosed.
Career level:
- Early career researcher
- Mid-career researcher
- Established independent researcher
- Clinician
- Non-clinical researcher
Final Submission deadline: 19 June 2025
Funding period: Up to 4 years
Funding amount: Up to £500k
Eligibility
You should:
- Have some postdoctoral experience or equivalent
- Be scientists, clinicians or healthcare workers in UK universities, medical schools, hospitals, or research institutes
Multi-institutional proposals are welcome and awards can be held across institutions in the UK. Supporting roles (co-investigators/collaborators) from international and commercial organisations are welcome.
Scientific remit
Early detection and diagnosis (ED&D) research seeks to detect and diagnose consequential precancerous changes and cancer at the earliest possible point at which an intervention might be made, reducing the burden of late-stage disease.
Early Detection and Diagnosis Project Awards will support discovery and translational/clinical research which is mindful of the clinical and population context.
The remit of these awards includes:
- Identification and validation of early detection/diagnosis markers and understanding of disease trajectory
- Identification of high-risk groups for early detection and diagnosis research and implementation
- Data and computation-driven approaches to early detection/diagnosis
- Development and use of appropriate preclinical model systems
- Early detection/diagnosis technology development
- Non-confirmatory clinical trials of early detection/diagnostic technologies or approaches
- Health systems research for early detection/diagnosis
- Research into clinician behaviour and decision support for early detection/diagnosis
- Evaluation of impact of early detection and diagnosis policies and interventions
- Research to understand and intervene in the behaviour of the public to enhance early detection and diagnosis
- Research into the health economics of early detection and diagnosis of cancer
Early Detection and Diagnosis Project Awards may focus on any of these research areas, or any combination of them. All proposals should consider line-of-sight to clinical or population impact.
Early Detection and Diagnosis Project Awards are flexible in terms of duration and level of funding. Proposals may be at various stages of maturity dependent on technology readiness, novelty of the paradigm under investigation and availability of supporting data. Proposals should be composed and costed commensurately.
We particularly welcome applications that bring novel approaches from the fields of engineering and the physical sciences that could be applied to cancer detection and are mindful of potential clinical need, patient and population impact. As part of CRUK’s longstanding strategic partnership with the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), there is an opportunity for any successful applications with relevant research components in these areas to be jointly supported by both CRUK and the EPSRC.
Out of remit
Proposals for research in these fields are likely to be ineligible for this funding scheme:
- Research which does not have any line-of-sight to impact on early detection or diagnosis – this may be eligible for our discovery research funding opportunities
- Research that focuses on population-level trials of screening approaches – this may be eligible for our Prevention and Population Research Committee
If you are unsure which funding scheme is most appropriate for your research, please get in touch to discuss your proposal.
What is funded
Awards are typically made up to £500k for up to 3 years, or 4 years when funding a PhD, and may be used to fund:
- Postdoctoral researchers
- PhD students (stipend, fees and running expenses)
- Technical staff
- Associated running expenses
- Equipment
Application Procedure and Deadline
Contact the CRUK Research Grants Manager for an informal and confidential discussion of your research proposal. They will advise you on your eligibility and check that your proposal is within remit.
The deadline for submission is 19 June 2025.
Please find more details and the guidelines for applications on the CRUK Funding Page: Early Detection and Diagnosis Project Award