The Sir Jules Thorn Award for Biomedical Research

The Trust funds work in many areas of need but it is possible to segment these into five broad categories:

• Medical Science / Medicine

• Serious Illness

• Disability

• Disadvantage

• Overcoming Adversity

The Trust may use its grant programmes to assist various charities working across the matrix of its areas of focus.

 The Sir Jules Thorn Award for Biomedical Research

Applicants must demonstrate:-

• a track record in international cutting edge clinical translational research
• adequate infrastructure support
• commitment of internal resources for the synergy required

The work must involve research on patients. There must be a clear specification of the hypothesis based on pre-clinical experimental data supporting the rationale of the clinical study, arising from the applicant’s own work (not derivative of someone else’s observations). Further work to support the hypothesis in the early phase of the grant or to substantiate questions arising from clinical experiments may be supported by experimental animal models. There must be a clear strategy defining how the research will translate into benefit for patients and the timescale within which this will take place.

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. The work involved must be the major commitment of the Principal Applicant, comprising at least 70% of his/her research time or 50% of his/her total time, whichever is greater. Any co-applicants are expected to be actively involved in the work. Their precise role and time commitment must be stated. The Award may not be used to meet the salary costs of the applicant(s) who should be in institutionally funded posts for the duration of the grant. There must be visible strategic commitment to the research by the host institution.

There is a two-stage application process running from July in the year preceding the Award to November in the year in which the Award is made:-

1. A short preliminary submission leading to long-listing
2. A full application leading to short-listing, followed by detailed discussions and a decision on the award of the grant.

Applications procedures information is available on the Research Support website.