Rosetrees NEXT Award
Rosetrees NEXT - New Exceptional Transformational Award (2026)
IMPORTANT NOTE: This New Award Now Replaces Rosetrees Interdisciplinary Award
Aim
Rosetrees is seeking an exceptional researcher ready to deliver major, patient focused impact. As a unique private charity funding pioneering medical research, we back bold thinkers with high risk, high reward ideas. The NEXT Award is our most ambitious initiative yet - designed to propel one outstanding researcher toward a breakthrough in their chosen disease area.
Who and What Are We Looking For?
An Exceptional Research Leader - A recognised expert with:
- A track record of scientific excellence and competitive funding
- The ability to generate disruptive ideas
- A capable team
- Strong communication and leadership skills
Real World Impact - Your project must address a clear unmet need and move a validated concept toward clinical or market adoption. Examples include:
- Diagnostics progressing from preclinical validation to early clinical evaluation
- Therapeutics reaching a pivotal translational milestone
- Digital or regenerative innovations moving toward deployment
Genuine Innovation - We welcome high potential technologies across:
- Therapeutics
- Devices
- Diagnostics
- Digital health
- Cell and regenerative medicine
Your idea should offer clear advantages over current solutions, be supported by proof of concept data, and have a credible development pathway.
Cost Effectiveness and Strategy - Budgets must be proportionate and milestone aligned with:
- Strong IP
- A clear development plan
- Evidence of future investment potential
Patient Centred Design - Patients should be active partners. Proposals must reflect:
- Real world needs
- Lived experience
- Patient defined priorities and outcomes
Clear, Measurable Milestones
Annual reviews will assess progress, with a major gate at Year 3. Continuation funding depends on demonstrable movement toward patient benefit.
Ready to Change the Future
If you have a transformative idea - and the drive to deliver it - the NEXT Award offers the platform to accelerate your innovation and create meaningful impact for patients worldwide.
Key Information
Up to £750,000 paid over 3-5 years
Preliminary Application Submission
Full Application Submission
Submission Opening
Submission Closing
Submission Opening
Submission Closing
Notification of Funding Decision
Funding
The NEXT award is for £150k per year for years 1-3 (total £450k), with a formal Year 3 review with potential for 2 years additional funding for up to £300k (£150k per year).
Funding can be used for salaries of post-doctoral research associates, research technicians and research assistants. In special cases, we may consider funding PhD stipends. In these cases, the prospective PhD student must be embedded within a larger programme of research (e.g. a clinical trial or a programme grant) and there must be a clear case that Rosetrees support will provide additional impact.
We will fund directly incurred costs associated with the project, including salaries, consumables, and other essential running costs. We do not fund directly allocated costs, indirect costs, or PhD tuition fees. Travel costs may be considered, but these should be co-funded by the institution or other funding sources.
Small equipment that is essential to the project can be purchased but must be clearly justified. You can also include costs for the provision of laptops/desktops for staff employed on the award (up to £1500 per item).
Open access publication costs can be included but can only be incurred during the period of the grant. If these costs are not incurred during the grant-funding period, these funds should be returned to Rosetrees.
One-off consultancy fees can be considered; however, consultants must be named and critical to the success of the project. Consultancy fees cannot be paid to the principal and co-applicants.
We will consider appropriate staff training costs of up to £1000 per year, where specific training is required to deliver the project.
Eligibility
The principal applicant will usually hold a tenured post or be able to demonstrate secured salary support for the duration of the grant. They must be a researcher with a PhD (or equivalent), a proven track record in managing grants and delivering research studies, and a strong publication record. The specific expertise, experience, and attributes sought in the principal applicant are outlined in the Aim section above.
Applications
Please note that the deadline for submission of preliminary applications to Rosetrees is 4pm on 8th June 2026.
The application process will follow a two-stage format:
Stage 1 – Expression of Interest (EOI)
Applicants must complete and submit a short preliminary form via Flexigrant. The preliminary submission window will be open from Monday 30th March 2026 to Monday 8th June 2026. Submissions will be reviewed by the NEXT Award grants panel and successful applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal.
We will only accept one application per university/institution and it is up to each host institution to select the single best application for submission to Rosetrees. Please contact your research office to enquire about the internal application process.
Once the best application has been selected by the Institution/University, the lead PI can access the preliminary application form on our Flexigrant portal.
Stage 2 – Full Application
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal in July 2026 (date TBC). All applications, preliminary and full, will be assessed by the NEXT Award grants panel chaired by Professor David Lomas (UCL).
Those applications selected for funding by the grants panel will be invited for interview.
The outcome of funding decisions will be announced in February/ March 2027.
Review Process
- All applications will undergo an initial eligibility check. Preliminary applications will be firstly evaluated by the NEXT Award grants panel, which will select the most promising submissions to proceed to the next stage. This triage process will consider several factors, including:
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- Significance of the unmet need and patient benefit – Clear real-world need, measurable impact and patient involvement.
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- Scientific quality and novelty – Innovative and strong proof-of-concept with clear advantages over existing solutions.
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- Feasibility – Realistic, milestone-driven plan with proportionate budget.
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- Track record of the principal applicant and team – Demonstrated excellence, leadership and experience delivering translational projects.
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- Potential for further development and translation – Credible translational pathway to patient benefit.
- Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full application, which will undergo specialist external review. The highest-scoring applications will be further shortlisted and reviewed by the NEXT Award grants panel, which will make funding recommendations.
- The final funding decision will be subject to internal approval. Please note that selected applicants will be interviewed prior to final funding decisions.
Enquiries
For general enquiries regarding eligibility and the application process, please contact Richard Miller (rmiller@rosetrees.org.uk).
Apply here on flexigrant
Please contact the Research and Innovation Office at your institution. They will be managing the process and will be able to provide the guidelines.