The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council invites outline proposals for its healthcare technologies challenge awards. These will enable early-career researchers to develop new research groups and capabilities that address long-term health challenges and will have the potential to become new centres of critical mass in multidisciplinary health technologies research.

Proposals must align with one of the following grand challenges:

• developing future therapies
• frontiers of physical intervention
• optimising treatment
• transforming community health and care.

In addition, proposals should further the following crosscutting research capabilities:

• advanced materials
• disruptive technologies for sensing and analysis
• future manufacturing technologies
• medical device design and innovation
• novel computational and mathematical sciences
• novel imaging technologies

Principal investigators should be academics working in and holding a permanent academic post for up to eight years at an HEI, a research council institute or an independent research organisation. Applications may include a limited number of co-investigators from a complimentary discipline, provided that their participation is crucial to the interdisciplinary nature of the work.

The total budget of £10 million will fund approximately 10 awards. Funding should enable the PI to devote 35 per cent of his/her time to the project. Other eligible costs include staff time, consumables and equipment, user engagement, impact and dissemination activities, and partner collaborations and exchanges.

For further information go to: https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/healthcaretechchallengeawards/

Closing date: 14 May 15