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The Sir Jules Thorn Award for Biomedical Research

Thorn (Sir Jules) Charitable Trust

For over 20 years, the Trust has supported world-leading translational research projects through the Sir Jules Thorn Award. The Award provides a grant of up to £1.7 million to support a five-year programme of translational biomedical research selected following a competition among applicants sponsored by the UK’s leading medical schools and NHS organisations. UK medical schools and NHS organisations are normally able to submit one application annually, selected following an internal competition.

How to Apply

Preliminary applications for 2026 are open and can be submitted here. The preliminary application will be available until Monday, 15 December 2025, at noon UTC. Please note that no late submissions will be accepted.

Timings

Applications for the 2026 Sir Jules Thorn Award are now open. Preliminary applications are due on Monday, 15 December 2025, at noon UTC.
Information about the selection process for the Award is set out in the guidance below for the competition.
The AMRC accredits the Trust’s peer review process.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Clear alignment with the Trust’s mission: improving health, care, support for serious illness or disability

Whether biomedical research, care-improvement, disability support, palliative care, or mental-health support — the proposed work must aim at meaningful benefit for people living with illness, chronic conditions or disability, or their carers/families.

The linkage must be explicit: the proposal should clearly state how the work will improve care, quality of life, treatment, support or services for intended beneficiaries.

2. Translational / Practical Impact (for Research or Health-Care Programmes)

For research grants: the Trust emphasizes translational biomedical research — not just basic science, but work likely to lead to improved diagnosis, therapies, or patient benefit.

For infrastructure or care-improvement grants: projects should demonstrate how equipment, facilities or service changes will accelerate research or improve care delivery for patients.

3. Institutional Quality, Capacity & Commitment (for Large Grants)

For large grants (e.g. Biomedical Research Award), the applicant must come from a UK medical school or NHS organisation; only one application per institution per year is allowed — indicating strong internal vetting and institutional competition.

The institution must demonstrate appropriate research infrastructure, support, and ability to sponsor/host the research if clinical/translational trials are involved.

The Principal Investigator should be early in an established academic-research career (i.e. promising mid-career PIs), with prior track record and capacity to dedicate sufficient time (≥ 50% time commitment).

4. Well-Defined, Feasible, Impact-Oriented Plans

Proposals need clear hypotheses or objectives, well-articulated plans for translation to patient benefit, and demonstration of expected outcomes.

For equipment/infrastructure grants: clear justification on how the equipment or facility will accelerate research or improve care outcomes.

5. Focus on Unmet Needs or Areas of High Need / Serious Illness / Disability / Vulnerability

The Trust tends to prioritise projects addressing serious, life-limiting, chronic illnesses; disabilities; palliative care; mental health; unmet health/care gaps.

For small-grant programmes (Ann Rylands), they favour charities where health-care support is core, with robust governance, clarity of beneficiary group, and demonstrable need/value for money.

6. Organisational Stability and Proper Governance (especially for Small-Charity Applications)

For small-charity applications: eligible charities must be registered, have been in existence for at least 3 years, have annual income between £100,000 and £2 million, and have adequate financial controls/reserves (free reserves less than 12 months expenditure).

Excellent governance, demonstrated safeguarding, financial transparency, and capacity to deliver are required.

7. Value-for-Money, Realistic Budget, & Sustainable or Scalable Impact (Where Relevant)

Especially for small-donation grants: the Trust expects value for money — small injections of funds leading to meaningful outcomes, not one-off, expensive events.

For larger grants (infrastructure, research): justified budget, with clear link to outcomes, and capacity for follow-up or sustainability efforts.

8. Transparency, Ethical Standards & No Profit Motive

The Trust’s charitable status prohibits grants that contribute (even indirectly) to commercial profit for manufacturers. Projects with potential commercial benefit must avoid commercial sponsorship or ensure transparency.

For research or care projects involving patients: ethics/oversight, open data or open-access publication plans (especially for biomedical research) are expected.

🎯 What This Means if You’re Considering Applying to Thorn Trust

If you plan to apply to the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust — for research, infrastructure, care innovation, or small-charity support — here are strategic take-aways:

Ensure your project clearly addresses a real health, disability, chronic illness or care need (not just academic interest).

Match your proposal to the right grant programme: large translational research → Biomedical Award; equipment/infrastructure needs → Infrastructure Fund; care-service improvements → Innovation & Care Fund; small-charity support → Ann Rylands.

For large grants: secure institutional backing, ensure your role/time commitment aligns (≥50 %), and that your institution nominates the proposal (only one per institution).

For small-charity grants: verify your organisation meets eligibility — registered, 3+ years old, proper income/reserve range, good governance.

Design clear, feasible, and impact-oriented proposals — with realistic timelines, measurable outcomes, and value-for-money.

Avoid conflicts with commercial profit: make sure the project isn’t structured to benefit a manufacturer or company commercially (the Trust prohibits this under its charitable status).

For research: plan for transparent dissemination (open-access publication), ethical oversight, and long-term benefit to patients.

For care or service innovations: consider scalability, sustainability, and how the intervention will improve care for people with serious/chronic illness or disability.

Specialties

Biomedical Engineering

Others

Eligibility Requirements

Applications for the Sir Jules Thorn Award are welcome from UK medical schools and NHS Organisations, with only one application allowed per eligible institution/organisation. The research must have a justifiable claim to be at the leading edge of international science and must be led by a clearly identified Principal Applicant of outstanding quality in the early years of an established research and academic career.

3. Applications for the Award are open to UK medical schools and NHS organisations. Each eligible institution/organisation may only submit one application and will therefore need to select the proposal which is put forward. The Trust expects this selection to be made following an internal competition. The Head of the Medical School, Dean of Research or other appropriate person will need to provide a letter of support with the application, explaining how and why the proposal was selected for submission

4. Where a medical school and affiliated NHS organisation both have a prospective proposal, they must coordinate the selection process to decide which one should be submitted.

5. The submitting institution/organisation must be able to demonstrate:

i. a track record in internationally competitive, cutting-edge clinical translational research
ii. adequate infrastructure support
ii. the commitment of internal resources to support the Principal Applicant and the proposed research programme, and
iv. that the institution or appropriate NHS partner will act as the Sponsor for the proposed study, if the application is successful, in accordance with the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research.

6. The proposal must be led by a single, clearly identified Principal Applicant of outstanding quality in the early years of an established research and academic career. The Trust is flexible in defining this and acknowledges that exceptional researchers may not follow a conventional career path or may have taken time away from research for professional or personal reasons.

7. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate a strong track record of independent research, having served as Principal Investigator for one or more research grants supported by competitive, peer-reviewed funders. Successful candidates will also typically have held

8. There may only be one Principal Applicant per application.

9. Institutions/organisations should note that the Trust will not use the Award to support senior researchers who are already well-established in a professorial post or candidates whose research programme has already secured substantial ongoing funding.

10. The work set out in the proposal must be a major commitment for the Principal Applicant, comprising at least 50% of their overall time. Where the Principal Applicant holds an existing award from another funder, the institution/organisation must verify in its letter of support that the terms of that other funding are consistent with the 50%-time commitment required by the Award.

11. The Award may not be used to meet the salary costs of the Principal Applicant, who should be in an institutionally-funded post for the duration of the grant.

12. Please also note that the Trust will not support applications that are to supplement an existing project supported by other funding bodies, or to cover expenditure already incurred. Applications submitted concurrently to other funders will be accepted, but subsequent short-listing by the Trust would be conditional upon any such applications being withdrawn unless the Trust agrees otherwise. Any related applications must be noted in the application form.

13. The Trust’s charitable status does not permit the provision of a grant which might, whether directly or indirectly, contribute to a commercial profit for a manufacturer. An application cannot, therefore, be considered where a manufacturer is supplying a cash grant, equipment, materials, drugs, etc., at no cost, whether express or implied, for commercial use of the findings of the project.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Thorn (Sir Jules) Charitable Trust

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 24 Manchester Square London W1U 3TH T: 020 7487 5851 E: info@julesthorntrust.org.uk

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