Industry Partnership Development Bursary

The UK Human Functional Genomics Initiative is pleased to announce the launch of a new Industry Partnership Development Bursary, designed to strengthen collaboration between academic researchers and industry partners across the human functional genomics landscape. 

This new scheme will provide flexible funding to support academics in building and developing partnerships with industry, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, digital health, data science, and clinical genomics sectors. 

The bursary can be used to support:

• Travel to meet existing or prospective industry collaborators 

• Attendance at industry-focused conferences and partnering events 

• Short exploratory visits or secondments 

• Accommodation and registration costs associated with partnership-building activities 

By lowering practical barriers to engagement, the scheme aims to accelerate the translation of cutting-edge functional genomics research into real-world applications and societal benefit. 

Human functional genomics is central to understanding gene regulation, variant interpretation, disease mechanisms, and therapeutic development. Strong academia and industry partnerships are critical to ensuring that discoveries in this field lead to innovation in diagnostics, therapeutics, and precision medicine. 

Through this bursary, the Initiative seeks to:

• Catalyse new collaborations 

• Support co-development of research programmes 

• Enable joint funding applications 

• Enhance knowledge exchange between academia and industry 

• Support career development, particularly for early- and mid-career researchers 

Who Can Apply?

The bursary is open to researchers working in human functional genomics at eligible UK institutions, including postdoctoral researchers, fellows, and academic staff. 

Apply Now

Applications are now open and will be considered on a rolling basis. 

Full details, eligibility criteria, and the application form are available below. 

We look forward to supporting the next generation of impactful academia and industry partnerships in human functional genomics.