DTP Bid Led by University of Warwick

This grant funds doctoral training partnerships, not a specific research project—it supports the next generation of scientists through structured postgraduate programmes. The problem this addresses is a gap in the UK’s research workforce. Without sustained funding for PhD training, the pipeline of skilled researchers in medical and biological sciences would shrink, slowing progress in areas from drug development to public health. The Medical Research Council uses these partnerships to ensure universities can recruit, train, and support doctoral students across a range of disciplines. If successful, this funding stream produces a cohort of trained researchers who will go on to work in academia, industry, healthcare, or policy. The impact is indirect but fundamental: it maintains the human infrastructure that underpins medical breakthroughs. Many advances in vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments depend on people who began their careers through such training schemes. This is primarily an education and skills investment rather than a curiosity-driven science project. Its value lies in building long-term research capacity, not in answering a specific scientific question. Similar training programmes have historically produced the researchers behind major discoveries in genetics, neuroscience, and epidemiology.