Our Work
The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine funds high quality biomedical researchers through annual prize grants.
Acquisition and advancement of preventive medicine knowledge is crucial to our understanding of health and disease, and we believe that top-performing individuals, and their dedicated supporting staff, are best placed to drive progress.
Our funding programme is structured to identify these researchers and provide them with the appropriate support at crucial stages in their careers.
We do not give priority to any specific area of medicine, and we hope that funded research will lead to the development of new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease.
Our research prizes are one-off awards provided directly to individuals, and they may be used for any aspect of their research activities (except as a personal salary). Read the full eligibility criteria here.
How our funding programme works
We currently award six fellowships annually, each worth approximately £300,000 and provided under flexible terms to help researchers achieve the maximum impact with their work.
The fellowships are provided as a single lump-sum to the winner’s host institution and may be spent over a five-year period.
The application process
The research prizes are managed and administered by a small dedicated staff at the Lister Institute, supported by three experienced advisory boards.
Award applicants submit a written application that is assessed by relevant members of the Scientific Committee (SC) and a range of expert national and international referees. Short-listed candidates are subsequently invited to an interview, in which they give a brief presentation, with the SAC.
Find out more about the prize application process here.
Other activities
Alongside distributing research awards we also have a large member community, made up of former prize fellows and other leading researchers.
We also run an informal mentorship scheme that enables current prize fellows to engage with senior ex-Fellows and committee members, helping to improve their research, network and careers.
Finally, we provide funding for students to spend time at working laboratories with Institute Fellows and former Fellows during their summer holidays.
Through all of our work we hope help the ongoing development of a high quality and internationally competitive research community in the UK and Republic of Ireland.