The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research council invite applications for their transformative research technologies call, under the tools and resources development fund and the technology touching life initiative. This supports instrumentation, tools, and software relevant to TTL, with the intention to pump prime development of early stage research technologies for discovery research in the life sciences in the UK. The initiative aims to foster interdisciplinary research into innovative and potentially disruptive technological capabilities that will drive world-leading basic discovery research. Research is expected to focus on the development of novel techniques and technologies based on new advances in fundamental engineering and physical sciences, with clear identification of appropriate challenges in life sciences discovery research that technology would help address in the short-medium term, and with potential broad utility.
Applications may be for small high-risk, high-reward pilot studies, that focus on one or more of the following:
• new advances in engineering and physical sciences research;
• development of technologies that will provide new research capabilities;
• innovative improvements to current technological capabilities that deliver a step change;
• development of software tools and algorithms.
Researchers based in UK HEIs, strategically funded institutes and research council approved independent research organisations may apply. Projects are expected to include a significant contribution of staff such as technical researchers and research software engineers.
Grants are worth up to £150,000 each over six to 18 months. The total budget is £3.5 million.
https://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/filter/2017-tools-resources-development-fund/
