Research call: We’re investing £4 million in Early Detection and Targeted Treatments research

We plan to invest around £4 million in research projects which aim to improve the diagnosis and treatment of arthritis.

We’re offering between £100,000 and £1.2mn for ambitious, cutting-edge projects funded for up to five years.

What research do we want to fund and why?

Accurate diagnosis of arthritis takes far too long. This delay can cause irreversible damage to people’s joints, permanently reducing their quality of life.

We also need to take the guesswork out of treatment, to ensure people are given the most appropriate treatments first time. Ultimately, we want to ensure arthritis is diagnosed quickly, treated effectively and, where possible, is preventable.

That’s why we will be calling for research proposals that focus on our Early Detection and Prevention, and Targeted Treatments research priority areas from Our Better Lives Today, Better Lives Tomorrow Research Strategy 2022-2026.

• Early detection and prevention: spotting the biological signatures of arthritis early to maximise the opportunities for timely intervention and preventing it from getting worse.
• Targeted treatments: taking the guesswork out of treatment by increasing effective, reliable and timely drug and non-drug solutions to reduce, manage or cure disease.

Who can apply for this funding?

This call is open to applicants at any stage of their career.

We encourage lead-applications from fellows and lecturers who are looking to secure project support as a new investigator or mid-career researcher.

We welcome a wide range of disciplines and approaches. The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK institution, and one applicant must have a tenured position within the lead institute.

Versus Arthritis has a new collaboration with the NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (NIHR EME) programme, potentially considering applications seeking co-funding from both funders where projects address aspects relevant to this funding call and the remit of the NIHR EME programme.

For applicants who have an interest in seeking this co-funding, it is essential that contact is made as early as possible with the Versus Arthritis team through awards@versusarthritis.org

This call scope includes the many types of arthritis and associated musculoskeletal conditions described in our Research Strategy and their differential development at any stage of life.

The outcomes sought from this investment are progress toward:

• better understanding and tools to identify markers of risk to enable proactive screening and early detection (secondary prevention) approaches
• better tools and biomarkers to diagnose arthritis accurately and as rapidly as possible after symptoms begin
• clinical and care pathways applying a precision medicine and holistic approach
• accounting for individual variability in genes, environment and lifestyle and the management of pain, mental health and fatigue
• more effective, safer treatments and ultimately cures, that work for more people
• better tools to help decide the most appropriate treatments
• better understanding of how different diseases can be most effectively tackled together

Addressing unmet needs

We particularly welcome applications addressing areas of unmet need in Early Detection and Targeted Treatments that have been identified by our Research Advisory Groups and Clinical Studies Group.