Wellcome Institutional Strategic Support Fund
The University’s Wellcome Institutional Strategic Support Fund (Wellcome ISSF) supports a portfolio of biomedical research activities that harmonises with our research strategy.
The current ISSF award of £2.5 million will run for five years (2016-2021) and support a range of activities including fellowship opportunities for early career researchers, funding for interdisciplinary collaboration in biomedical research, projects in public engagement, and awards for training, collaborative visits and 'discipline-hopping'.
The calls have been designed to provide the maximum added value to our research activities. It is a strategic priority for the University to conduct biomedical research of the highest quality which results in impacts that have economic, social and cultural benefits.
Calls
The University has been awarded Institutional Strategic Support Funding (ISSF) from Wellcome. In addition to supporting research, there is currently funding available for pump-priming research fellowships.
Learn more: Wellcome ISSF Pump Priming Fellowships 2021 (PDF)
See information on other opportunities at the links below.
Interdisciplinary cross-faculty consortia call
Awards to pump-prime new collaborations across the University.
Public engagement calls
Funding for imaginative and substantial projects that engage a broad range of the public.
Fellowships
Awards to fund outstanding researchers to enhance competitiveness at external competition.
Researcher visits, training and discipline-hopping calls
Establish external collaborations, develop new technologies or experience a different research environment.
Funding research success
Our successes
Since 2011, the ISSF has helped us to realise our biomedical strategy by facilitating integrated research, enhancing core facilities and supporting early career fellows.
Read more
Past calls
See details of all individual awards funded by the University’s Wellcome ISSF between 2014 and 2017.
Read more
Supporting early career fellows
Read first hand accounts of how the ISSF has helped our researchers to achieve their career aims.
Dr Rocco Chiou
Rocco received a Stepping Stone Fellowship, funded by the ISSF, which provided him with the foundation to win a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowship.
Dr Joanne Konkel
Joanne was awarded a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship, made possible through initial pump-priming of her work by the ISSF via a Stepping Stones Fellowship.
A Stepping Stones fellowship funded by the Wellcome Trust ISSF allowed me to continue my research whilst applying for external fellowships. I now have my own lab in the Wellcome Trust Cell-Matrix Centre, supported by a Wellcome Sir Henry Dale fellowship. I’m thoroughly enjoying running my own group – it’s exciting to see your own ideas being developed by others.
Dr Sarah Woolner / Sir Henry Dale Research Fellow
Case studies
Funding from the ISSF has been used to drive a number of activities that engage the public in our research.
B e d r o c k art exhibition
Artwork responding to the Versus Arthritis Centre for Epidemiology's historic collection of x-rays.
Syria: Reaching out to children and parents of war
Bringing together psychologists and humanitarian workers working with families affected by war.
Broken Brain Games
Using interactive activities to explain the causes of stroke and research into potential treatments.
Have You Heard?
Developing the tools to clear the haze that often surrounds scientific news stories in the media.
The MixLab
Pairing health researchers with creatives to see what happens when art and science collide.
Evaluating Public Engagement
Training staff to evaluate their public engagement activities.
Thinking Out of the Box
Using puzzles inspired by escape rooms to communicate brain research to school pupils.
Psoriasis Shout Out: 50-Second Shout Outs
Recording the accounts of people living with psoriasis.
Still Life
Encouraging mothers who have experienced stillbirth to engage with research.
Hack Your Body Clock
Setting a challenge for junior and adult hackers to engage with biotiming research.
Digital technology and public engagement
Mentoring sessions on digital technology in interactive audience work.
Becoming a master science communicator
Taking an intensive four-day course in science communication.
Learning about science filmmaking
Taking a three-day science filmmaking course to help develop practice.
Learning about creative facilitation and immersive theatre
Courses for developing practice in meaningful and impactful ways.
Highlight publications
See key outputs from research funded by the ISSF.