Project grants

Key information 

• To support: High-quality, hypothesis-driven diabetes research project
• Career level: A tenured research position
• Funding period: Up to five years
• Funding amount: Up to £500,000
• Deadline: 1 June 2026
• Funding decision: October 2026

Open research highlight notices 

Addressing Pre-Pregnancy Gestational Diabetes 

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects at least 5% of pregnancies in the UK and causes major complications for both mother and baby.

The WellBabe study showed that calorie restriction upon GDM diagnosis around 28 weeks gestation could reverse some pathophysiological changes  but not beta cell dysfunction. This suggests that the window to prevent GDM is before the early pregnancy rise in plasma triglycerides. Weight loss of 10-15kg in the first trimester is not feasible, so it must be achieved pre-pregnancy.

Diabetes UK welcomes applications investigating feasibility of a randomised study of significant weight loss prior to pregnancy among women who experienced GDM in a previous pregnancy. The study will acquire pilot data on effectiveness to inform a subsequent large, randomised study.

Read the highlight notice (PDF, 119KB) and plain English summary (PDF, 77KB).

Applying diabetes technology during the hospital pathway to improve care for people living with diabetes

There is rising use of diabetes technologies, including glucose sensors, connected insulin pens, insulins pumps and automated insulin delivery systems in people living with diabetes. The benefits of these technologies are not being exploited in the acute care setting, including peri-operatively and in acute maternity settings, where there continues to be an unacceptably high risk of harms for people with diabetes.

Diabetes UK welcomes applications investigating how glucose sensor data and safety alerts/alarms can be made accessible to healthcare providers, investigating how people with diabetes and healthcare providers can benefit from using glucose sensors throughout the hospital journey, focussing on empowerment and greater preparedness for hospital admission, investigating the role of decision support tools using glucose and insulin data from within the electronic healthcare records, and also investigating how to apply diabetes related technologies to improve outcomes in preparation for, during and after surgery and within acute maternity care.

Read the highlight notice (PDF, 881KB).

Eligibility 

• The Principle Investigator will usually have a tenured post or be able to demonstrate that they will have a salary for the lifetime of the grant.
• The research must take place at an established research institution in the UK and applications will only be accepted form researchers working at academic institutes or NHS Trusts.
• We will be accepting only one application per round from each PI.

If your project grant is in the area of the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge focused replacing and regenerating beta cells, we ask that you contact Research@diabetes.org.uk to discuss your application in the first instance.

Financial support 

• Staff salaries. For example: technician, research assistant, postdoctoral researcher. This excludes support for PhD students, who are not eligible to work on a project grant.
• Research consumables directly attributable to the project.
• Research equipment essential for the project. While there is no upper limit on this amount, host institutions are encouraged to contribute towards the cost of requested equipment. A contribution will be expected when applicants plan to use the equipment across multiple projects and departments at their institute, rather than solely on this project. We would expect the contribution to be proportionate to the total amount requested.
• Clinical and secretarial assistance may be provided in some cases, if essential, but this must be fully justified within the application.
• International co-Investigators can be included on a grant application, however all funds will be transferred to the UK host institute if awarded. It is the responsibility of the UK institute to transfer the funds to the international institute.
• Please review our disallowed costs before submitting a grant application. 

Applicants applying for £500,000 or more must contact Diabetes UK in the first instance and should already hold substantial funding from Diabetes UK or another funding body.  

Please contact us at research@diabetes.org.uk to discuss further. 

How to apply 

• Read our guidelines on applying for funding
• Log on to the Diabetes UK online grants management system
• Complete all sections of the online application form, using the grants management system user guide
• We will not be offering any extensions to the deadline. If you are unable to submit your application in the current open round, you are advised to submit your application in the next round.

Administrative process 

All applications will be sent out for external peer review. 

Applicants will be given the opportunity to rebut peer reviewer comments. The anonymised peer reviews will be sent out via the Diabetes UK online grant management system, which allows applicants to submit their response (1,500-word limit). Applicant will be contacted for rebuttal in June/July. 

Pre-selection process 

Due to the high number of applications received by Diabetes UK, it is not possible to take forward all applications to the Research Committee for discussion. Therefore, following external peer review and rebuttal, applications undergo a pre-selection process, ratified by the Chair of the Research Committee and Committee members designated to speak to that application.  

Applications that have not progressed through the pre-selection stage will be informed of the outcome before the Research Committee Meeting. Individual feedback is not provided for these applications.   

Grants Advisory Panel and Research Committee 

Prior to the Research Committee meeting, the Diabetes UK Grants Advisory Panel (GAP) will discuss all grant applications. GAP is comprised of people living with and affected by diabetes, who use the plain English summary of each grant application to establish how relevant the research is to people living with diabetes. Several GAP members attend the Research Committee to provide feedback. 

The GAP perspective can directly influence the funding decision made. We recommend applicants take this into consideration, making sure the plain English summary section of your application is accessible and understandable to people from a non-scientific background.

Assessment criteria 

Applications are assessed on the following criteria: 

• Potential difference the research will make to the lives of people with diabetes
• Scientific excellence
• Track record of the applicants
• Value for money. 

Funding decision 

Feedback letters will be sent to all lead applicants within one month of the Research Committee meeting. 

Funded applicants will have two weeks to respond to comments raised by the Committee. 

Funded applicants should expect to receive an award letter within two months of the Research Committee meeting. 

Resubmissions

Diabetes UK policy is to only accept resubmissions which have been invited by the Research Committee. You will be informed in your feedback letter if you have been invited for a resubmission. When resubmitting an application, please include a cover letter indicating how the application has addressed the Research Committee's comments.