Animal Free Research UK research funding

We award research funding to cutting-edge scientists that develop human methods and non-animal technologies to study human disease.

Research funding is awarded to scientists in universities, hospitals and research organisations all over the UK following a rigorous and independent peer-reviewed selection procedure.

You can view the research funding that we have previously granted on our active projects, completed projects or Summer Student Programme pages.

For additional queries relating to our grants, please contact grants@animalfreeresearchuk.org.

We send notifications of open grant calls, alongside the latest animal free science news and updates from our current researchers, in our monthly science newsletter. Sign up to the science mailing list to be notified of our next grant call.

Open Grant Calls

Grant Application: Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about our current grants call.

Summer Student Grants

Funding to allow students to gain practical animal-replacement research experience.

Closed grant calls

PhD & Postdoc Grants

PhD and Postdoctoral research associate funding. (Deadline 2 August 2019)

Pilot Study Grants

Funding for short proof-of-concept studies to enable researchers to secure larger grant funding. (Deadline 2 August 2019.)

Direct impact on the replacement of animals in biomedical research

We support scientists to develop techniques that replace experiments on living animals. All the projects that we fund must have the potential to advance the development, validation or application of non-animal methods in biomedical research or teaching, as replacements for current animal experiments.

Only research that is directly relevant to human health will be funded by Animal Free Research UK. Acceptable scientific approaches may include, the use of human volunteers, epidemiology, human cell lines, ex vivo or primary human tissues or cells, microorganisms, plants, human sub-cellular components in vitro, biophysical and biochemical analytical techniques or computer technology.

Research that requires or involves the use of animals in any way, even though the ultimate aim may be to replace their use, will not be supported. We will not fund the purchase or maintenance of animals or animal-derived biomaterials for any reason.

We define the term animal as including all organisms of the Kingdom Animalia (excluding Humans), not only the animals that are protected under the Animals in Scientific Procedures Act 1986.