Discovery Research Grant

Our Discovery Research Grants support projects that will generate knowledge to underpin the discovery of treatments for hearing loss or tinnitus, or improve how new treatments are developed and tested.

This year, we are also working with Alzheimer’s Research UK to co-fund research that will increase our understanding of the common biological mechanisms underlying hearing loss and dementia.

We have increased the value of the Discovery Research Grant this year, from a total of £160,000 to £200,000.

See our Biomedical Research Strategy for more information

Summary of Grant

• Deadline for preliminary application: Closed
• Full application: By invitation only
• Duration: Up to three years
• Eligibility: Applicants may be from any university or research institute based anywhere in the world
• Value: Up to £200K in total, funding will not exceed £67k in one year. 

In the last round of funding, we received 76 preliminary applications. Of these, 30 applicants were invited to submit a full application, following which, four grants were awarded.

Application Process

Please note that the application procedure for the Discovery Research Grant has two stages, an open preliminary application stage followed by an invitation-only full application stage.

Download Discovery Research Grant standard terms and conditions

Selection procedure

Preliminary applications are assessed by our Discovery Research Grant review panel; they will identify the best proposals to take forward to the full application stage.

Full applications are sent to at least two external referees in the field, who are asked to rate the scientific value and feasibility of the project. Applicants will be given the opportunity to respond to the external peer reviews. The reviews, rebuttals and the original proposals are then rated by members of our Discovery Research Grant review panel. The top-rated applications are funded. Applicants are notified of the outcome as soon as possible following the final decision.

Everyone involved in the review process of any grant application is asked to abide by our code of conduct.

Review panel

• Professor Abigail Tucker, King’s College London (chair)
• Dr Doug Hartley, University of Nottingham
• Professor Corne Kros, University of Sussex
• Professor Michael Lovett, Imperial College London
• Dr Roland Schaette, University College London
• Professor John Culling, Cardiff University
• Professor Ian Forsythe, University of Leicester
• Dr Padraig Kitterick, University of Nottingham
• Professor Cynthia Morton, Harvard Medical School / University of Manchester
• Dr Graham Naylor, University of Nottingham

For this year’s scheme, members of the Alzheimer’s Research UK Grant Review Board will join the Discovery Research Grant review panel.Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC) and open access publications

Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC) and open access publications

RNID is a member of the Europe PMC Funders’ Group. We support open access publications and require RNID grant holders to make their publications open access.

Read our open access publication policy for more information and visit the Europe PMC website.

For more information

If you would like more information about the Discovery Research Grant, please get in touch: