Overview

The Research Training Fellowship (RTF) scheme aims to train research leaders of the future in child health. The fellowship provides the opportunity to undertake a period of research training which will be relevant to applicants’ future careers, developing their skills in research techniques and methodology in subjects relevant to Action’s remit. Applications are invited from medical graduates, clinicians, bioengineers, research nurses, physiotherapists and allied health professionals who wish to develop a long-term career in academic medicine in the UK in areas relevant to child health.

In addition to fellowships across Action's remit, Action is working with Duchenne UK and Muscular Dystrophy UK to offer joint fellowship awards in areas relevant to neuromuscular conditions (including Duchenne muscular dystrophy) in childhood

Fellowships should be 24-36 months in duration. The upper limit of funding for a fellowship is £300,000. 

Applicants should complete an outline form by 7 July 2026 at 5pm. The form is available on Action’s grant management system (GMS)

Background

Action Medical Research is the leading UK-wide charity dedicated to funding vital research to help sick babies, children and young people. Action funds medical research in hospitals or research institutions across the UK aimed at preventing and treating disease and disability.

Action’s remit focuses on child health to include problems affecting pregnancy, childbirth, babies, children and young people. Within child health, we support a broad spectrum of biomedical research including medical engineering.

Our emphasis is on biomedical clinical research or research at the interface between clinical and basic science. We pride ourselves that our research is both innovative and of a high standard as judged by rigorous peer review. 

Clinical applicants

Candidates are expected to have at least some experience of research following their first degree. They should have had limited research training and wish to develop a long-term career in academic medicine in the UK in areas relevant to child health. They should be registered with the appropriate body e.g GMC, NMC, HCPC.

Medical graduates should not have completed their specialist training and usually should not have more than 6 years’ experience post-MRCP (or equivalent). Graduates in other health professions will normally have a Master’s degree with some research component and at least 5 years’ professional experience.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to independently register for a higher degree such as a PhD.

Bioengineers/ biomedical engineers

Postdoctoral researchers can only apply if they are bioengineers/biomedical engineers. They should be towards the beginning of their research career. We would normally expect bioengineers to have an engineering background/qualification and the fellowship should provide significant new training to pivot into child health research.

All applicants must comply with Home Office requirements and, where appropriate, hold a valid work permit to cover the period of the Research Training Fellowship. Preference will be given to candidates resident in the UK.

Scope

The fellowship should provide an opportunity for training in research techniques and methodology in an area within Action’s remit. Action’s remit focuses on child health research with the objective of preventing and treating disease and disability including:

• pregnancy and childbirth in the context of the health of the child
• babies (including unborn babies), children and young people
• biomedical clinical research or research at the interface between clinical and basic science
• medical engineering and research and development of equipment and techniques to improve diagnosis, therapy and assistive technology (including orthoses, prostheses and aids to daily living).
• conditions diagnosed and treated in the UK.

Examples of the research we fund can be found in our Research we fund section.

Limitations and exclusions

• These awards should not be viewed as project grant applications to simply extend current research as candidates will be expected to demonstrate a significant training element to their project.
• We will not normally consider projects that are similar to projects already under consideration by Action through another grant scheme.
• Applicants and supervisors can only be named on one application per fellowship round.

Please note that we do not provide:

• grants for very basic research with little likelihood of clinical impact within the short to medium term
• grants on social research, family relationships or socioeconomic research
• grants towards service provision or audit studies
• grants for research into complementary / alternative medicine
• grants purely for higher education courses, although Research Training Fellows are strongly encouraged to independently register for a PhD
• grants on how best to train clinical staff
• grants for medical or dental electives
• grants for work undertaken outside the UK
• any indirect costs such as administrative or other overheads imposed by the University or other Institution
• course fees for degrees or subsistence costs
• costs associated with advertising and recruitment of staff and visa costs
• apprenticeship levy
• 'top up' funding for work already supported by other funding bodies
• costs to attend conferences (Action Medical Research grantholders may apply separately as the need arises during the grant)
• general appeals from other charities. Applications would normally come directly from research teams and projects need to be passed through our scientific peer review system
• applicants based in core funded units can apply but need to demonstrate added value

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Direct and substantial relevance to child health (highest predictor)

This is the strongest predictor. Action focuses on health problems affecting:

• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Babies and newborns
• Children
• Young people
• Childhood disease and disability

The strongest proposal makes the child-health relevance central rather than peripheral. Action warns that proposals considered peripheral to its aims may not be invited to full application, especially when demand for funding is high.

2. Strong potential for real clinical benefit (very high predictor)

Action prioritizes research most likely to deliver meaningful benefits for babies, children, and young people. Its outline process specifically asks applicants to explain the potential clinical application of the work.

Competitive projects should show potential to:

• Prevent disease or disability
• Improve diagnosis
• Develop or improve treatment
• Change clinical management
• Improve patient outcomes
• Reduce long-term complications

The pathway from research question to child-health benefit should be explicit.

3. Strong clinical or translational orientation (very high predictor)

Action's published research strategy states that its emphasis is on clinical research or research at the interface between clinical and basic science. This makes translational positioning a major success factor.

Strong projects often involve:

• Patient-oriented research
• Diagnostics and biomarkers
• Treatment development
• Medical devices
• Gene and cell therapies
• Clinical studies
• Translation of laboratory discoveries toward intervention

Purely basic research is likely to be less competitive when the connection to future clinical benefit is weak or remote.

4. High scientific quality and rigorous methodology (very high predictor)

Action describes its funding competitions as highly competitive and selects projects through rigorous peer review. The strongest applications generally demonstrate:

• A precise research question
• Strong scientific rationale
• Clear hypotheses or objectives
• Appropriate study design
• Robust methodology
• Suitable statistical analysis
• Realistic sample sizes
• Appropriate controls

The flagship Project Grant scheme supports one precisely formulated line of research, favoring focused scientific questions over diffuse programs.

5. Innovation and ability to advance the field (very high predictor)

Action explicitly describes the research it supports as innovative and of a high standard.

Competitive proposals often involve:

• Novel therapeutic approaches
• New diagnostic techniques
• Innovative medical technologies
• New disease mechanisms with clinical implications
• Emerging research methods
• New interventions for rare or poorly treated childhood conditions

The strongest application explains not only what is new, but why the innovation matters for children.

6. Focused and feasible project scope (high predictor)

Project Grants normally support up to three years of research and are intended for a precisely formulated research program.

Strong applications demonstrate:

• Achievable aims
• Access to required participants, samples, or datasets
• Available equipment and expertise
• Realistic milestones
• Appropriate project duration
• A credible budget

A tightly designed project with a high probability of producing interpretable results is likely to be stronger than an overly ambitious proposal.

7. Strong investigator and research-team capability (high predictor)

Because awards are made after expert peer review, reviewers need confidence that the team can deliver the work.

Competitive applications generally show:

• Relevant scientific or clinical expertise
• Appropriate publication record
• Experience with the proposed methods
• Access to specialist collaborators
• A strong UK hospital or research-institution environment

Action supports research conducted in hospitals, universities, and research institutions across the UK.

8. Clear importance of the unmet medical need (high predictor)

The strongest applications explain why the problem urgently needs research.

This is particularly compelling for:

• Rare childhood diseases
• Life-threatening conditions
• Life-limiting disorders
• Conditions with no effective treatment
• Diseases causing serious disability
• Problems with major lifelong consequences

Action's portfolio spans rare diseases, premature birth, epilepsy, congenital heart disease, asthma, vision disorders, and many other serious childhood conditions.

9. Strong outline application and precise remit fit (very high and actionable predictor)

The Project Grant process begins with an outline, and only selected applicants are invited to submit a full proposal. The outline must clearly communicate:

• The clinical application
• Fit with Action's remit
• The research problem
• The proposed work in sufficient scientific detail

Because remit screening occurs before full peer review, a scientifically excellent project can fail early if its relevance to Action's child-health mission is unclear.

10. Strong career-development and training value (very high for fellowships)

For Research Training Fellowships, the success profile changes. The scheme is designed to develop promising doctors and researchers early in their careers through a key child-health research project combined with substantial research training.

Strong fellowship applications typically demonstrate:

• A promising early-career candidate
• A high-quality child-health research project
• Significant acquisition of research skills
• Strong supervision
• An excellent training environment
• A clear pathway toward future research leadership