Kevin Murphy (Chair) (London)

Craig Beall (Exeter)

Gavin Bewick (London)

Alexander Comninos (London)

Gabriela da Silva Xavier (Birmingham)

Craig Doig (Nottingham)

Matthew Gage (London)

Fadil Hannan (Oxford)

Nicole Horwood (Norwich)

Li Kang (Dundee)

Anne Marland (Oxford)

Rhianne Mason (Exeter)

Zoi Michailidou (Edinburgh)

Ruth Morgan (Edinburgh)

Rob Murray (Leeds)

Cath Williamson (London)

(2017-2021; currently under review in autumn 2021)

The Society for Endocrinology has a clear aim to support the advancement of scientific and clinical education, and research in endocrinology for the public benefit. One of the ways the Society achieves this is by offering a portfolio of small grants which support research and research-related activities by our members. Our contribution to the research landscape takes advantage of the Society’s unique position as a national network of endocrine expertise to promote scientific understanding and better clinical outcomes for patients.

As a membership organisation, we support scientists, clinicians, nurses and other associated professionals who work with hormones throughout their careers. Applications submitted by members at recognised higher education research institutions and/or medical institutions will be considered.

Our Research Grant portfolio is designed to support the establishment or development of members’ careers in endocrinology, by providing small grants aimed primarily at providing seed funding for new research and essential equipment or practical training for early-career researchers.

The Society currently has five grants for research-related activities: Early Career Grant, Endocrine Nurse Grant, Summer Studentship, Equipment Grant and Practical Skills Grant.

The grants are reviewed and awarded by our Research Grants panel. After a deadline has passed, all eligible and complete applications are assigned to at least three members of the panel, taking into consideration any conflicts of interest.

Should a particular application be deemed to fall outside of the expertise on the panel, then up to two written reviews will be obtained from external reviewers, who are members of the relevant Endocrine Network.

Applications are marked according to:

• scientific quality - Scientific excellence will be paramount, although allowance may be made for less experienced researchers in the presentation of their proposal.
• benefit to applicant - The proposal should be of clear benefit to the future career of the researcher. Ideally, the proposed work should lead towards independent research.
• benefit to endocrine science/medicine/nursing practice - Proposals should address a problem of endocrine significance, which may be of clinical, basic science or translational importance.

All grant rounds are competitive, such that the number of fundable applications may exceed the available funding in a particular round. However, applicants are encouraged to revise their application and resubmit to a future round.

All Research Grant panel members (and external peer reviewers) must act in the best interest of the Society and its members. Any conflicts of interest should be declared before the applications are reviewed and the member concerned should not mark the application, provide a review or take part in any discussion related to the declared conflict.

For Research Grants, defined conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) where the panel member or external reviewer is:

• named on the application as an applicant, co-investigator, current supervisor, collaborator, etc
• is at the same institution as the applicant. A federated institution, such as the University of London or the University of Wales, is not regarded as a single institution for these purposes
• has a current or previous collaboration with the applicant in the last 5 years
• is related to the applicant, or has a personal connection that would be deemed a conflict of interest.

Updated May 2021

The UK is a world leader in pioneering medical research that has saved and improved the lives of millions, both human and animal. Current medicines and surgical techniques would not have been discovered without the work of basic science research programmes, involving research using animals.

The Society for Endocrinology considers that the benefits of utilising animals in research are justified for scientific purposes, when alternatives cannot be used. The Society recognises the ethical considerations involved, and that animal research must only be undertaken with the highest consideration of animal health and welfare and in accordance with stringent regulations.

To this end, the Society recognises the importance of the UK Home Office 1986 Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, related to EU Directive 2010/63/EU, and endeavours that all Society published material and data presented is in compliance with the Act. The approval process for the granting of licences to carry out research using animals under the 1986 Act requires that the possible benefits of the research are sufficient to justify their use.

Additionally, researchers must give full consideration to the 3Rs, which require that every effort is made to refine procedures to keep animal suffering to a minimum, to reduce the number of animals used, and to replace the use of animals with non-animal alternatives wherever possible. See the NC3Rs website for further information and guidance.

All grant holders using animals must implement the principles in the cross-funder guidance Responsibility in the Use of Animals in Bioscience Research. 

Research funded outside of the UK must be carried out in accordance with the principles of UK legislation as well as being compliant with all local legislation and ethical review processes. Resulting publications must include a statement of compliance with these requirements.

Grant holders should make use of the ARRIVE guidelines when designing their experiments, and ensure that they report animal-based studies in accordance with the ARRIVE guidelines as far as possible, taking into account the specific editorial policies of the journal concerned.

The Society for Endocrinology is a member of Understanding Animal Research and the Association of Medical Research Charities and we support the AMRC statement on the use of animals in research.