(https://wellcome.org/research-funding/schemes/mental-health-award-using-physical-activity-and-circadian-based)

Wellcome is soliciting applications for the Mental Health Award: Using physical activity and circadian-based interventions to reduce anxiety and depression in young people. This award will fund mechanistically informed trials of interventions for anxiety and depression in young people aged 10-18 years. Successful teams will build on existing mechanistic evidence to develop more precise and effective early interventions that have the potential to scale.

Eligibility 

Established researchers with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Principal Investigator.

Award details 

£1-4 million per grant, for 3-4 years

Download the PDF outlining UCT’s deadlines for internal approval

Funder deadline:

14 July 2026

(https://www.thrasherresearch.org/early-career-award)

The Thrasher Research Fund is soliciting applications for the Early Career Awards scheme.  The purpose of this program is to encourage the development of researchers in child health by awarding small grants to new researchers, helping them gain a foothold in this important area. The Fund is open to a wide variety of research topics, but all funded projects deal directly with children's health.

In the Early Career Award Program, the Fund is particularly interested in applicants that show great potential to impact that field of children's health through medical research. Both an applicant's aptitude and inclination toward research are considered. The quality of the mentor and the mentoring relationship are also considered to be important predictors of success.
 

Eligibility  

• Clinicians who are in a residency/fellowship training program, or who completed that program no more than one year before the Concept Paper deadline.

• Post-doctoral researchers who received the doctoral level degree no more than three years before the Concept Paper deadline

• Each project needs to be under the guidance of a mentor. The qualifications and experience of the mentor will be considered in the evaluation of the application. A mentor may have only one Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Awardee at a time.
   

Award details    

• The grant amount is based on the actual budgetary needs of the project, with a maximum of $25,000 in direct costs for the entire grant

• The duration of the project can be up to two years

Download the PDF outlining UCT’s deadlines for internal approval

Funder deadline:  

Concept submission deadline: 1 September 2026

(https://www.nihr.ac.uk/global-health/funding-programmes/ghr-themed)

The Global Health Research (GHR) Themed Programme offers annual researcher-led funding opportunities for applied research to prevent, detect and respond to key global health security threats and challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA) in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The 2026 Global Health Research theme is antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with a focus on bacterial and fungal pathogens on the World Health Organisation (WHO) priority lists.
 

Eligibility 

Bands differ in their leadership requirements
 

Award details

There are 3 bands of funding available:

• Band 1: £3-5 million, up to 5 years

• Band 2: £1.5-3 million, up to 4 years

• Band 3: £0.5-1.5 million, up to 3 years

Download the PDF outlining UCT’s deadlines for internal approval

Funder deadline:

08 July 2026

(https://www.ssrc.org/programs/the-lego-foundation-fellowship/application-details/)

The LEGO Foundation Fellowship, administered by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is a global research fellowship supporting early- and mid-career researchers working to advance understanding of how children learn, develop, and thrive. The fellowship provides flexible funding to enable researchers to pursue ambitious, interdisciplinary, and policy-relevant research, with a strong emphasis on translating evidence into practice.
The programme focuses on child development and wellbeing across diverse contexts, including:
• Early childhood development
• Education and learning systems
• Child mental health and wellbeing
• Public health and caregiving environments
• Children in crisis, conflict, and humanitarian settings
Fellows will also join a global cohort, enabling collaboration, knowledge exchange, and engagement with policy and practice communities.

Eligibility   

The fellowship is open to early- and mid-career researchers globally employed by a university or research institute.
Applicants must:
• Hold a PhD (or equivalent research doctorate) at time of application
• Have been awarded their PhD no earlier than 1 January 2016
• Be employed by a university or research institution at the start of the fellowship
• Propose research aligned with child development and children’s wellbeing themes
 

Award details    

• USD 300,000 over three years

Download the PDF outlining UCT’s deadlines for internal approval

Funder deadline:  

31 July 2026

(https://researchscholars.gilead.com/public_health/about)

The Gilead Research Scholars Program supports innovative research from emerging investigators around the world to incorporate new perspectives in pursuit of scientific understanding and progress. This program is exclusively focused on implementation science and clinical epidemiology focused on HIV and/or viral hepatitis, with the aim of strengthening aspects of the care cascade.

Eligibility  

• Hold an MD/MBChB/MBBS, PhD or equivalent degree at time of award
• No more than 10 years have elapsed since the degree was awarded
• Currently working with an academic research institution or public health organization (e.g. Department of Health or within a hospital) and be on track to achieving a Researcher appointment, faculty appointment or other equivalent positions
• Have a strong interest in public health research focused on HIV and/or viral hepatitis
• Have a research mentor with extensive experience in the field of HIV and/or viral hepatitis or expertise in a discipline relevant to implementation science e.g., economics, engineering, psychology, anthropology etc.
• Be able to devote approximately 50% of professional time to research for the next two years (versus administrative, patient care or teaching responsibilities)
• Be able to complete the proposed research within the two-year award period
   

Award details    

• Up to $100,000 for two years

Download the PDF outlining UCT’s deadlines for internal approval

Funder deadline:  

28 August 2026

(https://www.samrc.ac.za/funding/samrc-researcher-development-programme-phd-research-funding-clinical-medical-or-health)

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) is soliciting applications through its Clinician-Researcher Development Porgramme. This funding instrument is intended to support individuals employed at public academic institutions, SAMRC intramural and extramural research units, and SAMRC research centres, who are engaged in health, medical or clinical research, to improve their academic qualifications. This once-off award is aimed at emerging researchers in the final 12 months of their PhD studies and is intended to alleviate pressures that may hinder the timely completion of the degree. The funds can be used to afford dedicated time to spend on research activities, either as a salary while on unpaid leave or to pay for work relief, or any other justified intervention that will facilitate PhD completion. Priority will be given to applicants who demonstrate a high likelihood of successful completion within 12 months of being awarded funding, including those with a strong publication track record or at least one accepted publication arising from their PhD research. The programme targets designated groups and is expected to increase the number of academics with PhD degrees as part of overall research capacity strengthening and transformation

Eligibility  

• South African citizen or permanent resident.
• Full-time employees of public academic institutions in South Africa or SAMRC researchers.
• Officially approved research proposal and ethics clearance (where applicable) for the PhD project.
• Must have at least one accepted publication emanating from their PhD studies.
• Must complete their thesis write-up within twelve (12) months from the date of commencement of the award.
• Research abstract to be provided.
• Full research proposal to be provided.

Please see RFA for more information

Award details    

• R250,000, for up to 12 months

Download the PDF outlining UCT’s deadlines for internal approval

Funder deadline:  

18August 2026