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BIA Early Career Research Grant

British Infection Association

These awards flexibly provide consumables and/or salary costs for trainees undertaking an infection-related research project in an academic centre in the UK or Ireland. Trainees will usually be working in an infection-related speciality and pre-PhD but other applicants from related specialities will be considered. The BIA recognises that not all trainees have the benefit of protected research time as part of an Academic Clinical Fellowship or similar scheme but may be interested in furthering an academic career. The Early Career Research Grant will therefore prioritise those without research salary support to generate preliminary data with the intention of taking the work forward towards a higher degree. It is expected that this would enable the successful candidate to take time out of their training, for example as a block of up to 3 months or spread part-time over part/all of the award period in preparation for a fellowship application.

Type of Award: One award would be made of £30,000 to be taken up over one to three years as required for the proposed research, to cover salary and/or non-salary costs of research.

Application Process:

Complete the BIA Research Grant Application Form and return to admin@Britishinfection.org

All applications will be reviewed by the Scientific and Research Committee and scored according to importance, clarity of aims, appropriateness of research methodology, feasibility and potential impact.

Tenure: 1-2 years, Grants must be taken up within 12 months of award.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1️⃣ Strong Clinical or Public Health Relevance to Infectious Disease

BIA highly prioritizes:

Research that addresses a clear clinical problem

Diagnostic challenges or therapeutic gaps

Infection control challenges in hospitals or the community

AMR and stewardship

Real-world epidemiology or surveillance improvements

Predictor: The clinical/infection relevance must be explicit, central, and compelling.

2️⃣ Feasible, Focused Pilot-Scale Projects

Because BIA grants are modest:

Successful proposals are narrowly scoped

1–2 achievable aims

Clear deliverables within 6–18 months

A realistic budget tailored to a small project

BIA seed grants are stepping stones — not for large or multi-site trials.

Predictor: Small, well-designed, achievable projects do best.

3️⃣ Strong Rationale + Early Feasibility Evidence

Not all BIA projects require preliminary data, but:

A credible biological or epidemiological rationale

Prior retrospective data, audit data, or feasibility observations

A clear gap in evidence or practice

…make the proposal much more competitive.

Predictor: A project that is ready to generate meaningful pilot data.

4️⃣ Early-Career Development Focus

BIA explicitly aims to support:

Junior doctors

Infectious disease / microbiology / virology trainees

Early-career academic clinicians

Scientists starting their research trajectory

They value capacity building.

Predictor: Strong mentoring + clear career-development benefits greatly increase success.

5️⃣ Clear Methodology & Practical Design

Winning proposals show:

Good epidemiological or statistical planning

Clinical feasibility (e.g., patient recruitment numbers, access to samples, collaboration with labs)

Thoughtful microbiology/virology methodology

Clear outcome measures (diagnostic accuracy, pathogen detection rates, AMR patterns, clinical endpoints)

Appropriate ethics or governance steps (e.g., NHS approvals)

Predictor: Well-designed methodology with real-world feasibility.

6️⃣ Alignment With National or Global Infection Priorities

Projects linked to:

AMR stewardship

Rapid diagnostics

Infection control in hospitals

Emerging pathogens

Vaccine-preventable diseases

Global health threats

…tend to receive stronger reviews, as they align with UK public health priorities.

7️⃣ High Potential for Scaling or Future Funding

BIA wants to seed studies that can grow.

Competitive applications include a clear statement of:

How the pilot data will support NIHR/MRC/Wellcome funding

How the work could expand into larger cohorts or multi-site studies

Planned publications and dissemination pathways

Predictor: A credible route to expansion makes the proposal more investable.

🚫 Common Pitfalls in Unsuccessful BIA Applications

Pitfall	Why It Hurts
Project not clearly tied to infectious disease	Lacks mission fit
Overly ambitious aims for small funding	Feasibility concerns
No plan for future funding or next steps	Low strategic value
Weak methodology or unclear outcomes	Reviewers lose confidence
Sparse justification or poor rationale	Appears speculative
Budget unrealistic or poorly justified	Signals weak planning
Minimal relevance to UK clinical/public health practice	Misses priority alignment

Specialties

Infectious Diseases

Eligibility Requirements

UK or Ireland-based salaried trainees undertaking an infection-related research project who are not in a consultant-level post.
This includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, trainee clinical scientists, high specialist scientist trainees, and other healthcare-focused careers.
All applicants must be supported by a named supervisor(s) at the place of intended research.
Applicants who do not have salaried research time in their job plan and who do not yet have a PhD will be prioritised, but other applicants will be considered.
All applicants will be required to be members of the British Infection Association. Individuals can join at the time of submitting their applications. Membership is free of charge for medically qualified doctors-in-training in the UK and Ireland, as well as non-medically qualified personnel including nurses, pharmacists, and laboratory scientists .

Eligible Countries:

Ireland

United Kingdom

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: British Infection Association

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: Blackburn House Redhouse Road Seafield West Lothian EH47 7AQ

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