Prevention and Population Research Programme Award

About this scheme
How to apply to this scheme

About this scheme

Key information

Career level

Established independent researcher

Clinician

Non-clinical researcher

Research area

Cancer aetiology

Cancer prevention

Epidemiology

Behavioural research

Statistics and methodology

Clinical trials

Preliminary submission

27 March 2025

Committee review

May 2025

Funding period

5 years

Funding amount

Up to £2.5 million

Provides long-term support for broad, multidisciplinary research with transformative potential in prevention and population research.

Eligibility

You should:

Be a research scientist based at a UK university or research institution for the duration of the proposed award.
Have extensive postdoctoral experience, an internationally-recognised track record, and ability to successfully run an independent research group.

Scientific remit

PPRC Programme Awards can be awarded in one or more of the following areas:

• Population-based studies, including classical, clinical and molecular epidemiological approaches, to help understand risk and disease aetiology, and to test and validate strategies to improve the prevention and control of cancer in patients and the public.

• Incidence rates of cancer, including changes over time and geographies. Investigation into the changes in cancer survival, driven by risk factors or other relevant factors.

• Methodological and statistical research relating to prevention and population sciences.

• Population-level epidemiological studies of secondary physical effects of cancer treatment.

• Risk stratification and associated cancer prevention studies, including identification of high-risk groups for whom preventative interventions would be beneficial and in which preventative intervention research could be conducted.

• Exploratory and confirmatory clinical trials seeking to test the efficacy and safety of chemopreventive agents.

• Development and evaluation of behavioural and lifestyle interventions to support prevention of cancer, including cancer recurrence, across a range of risk factors, which may include tobacco, alcohol, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, obesity and UV exposure (individual or population level).

• Screening as a form of prevention, including population-level trials of screening approaches.

• Policy-focused research to help develop Cancer Research UK’s policies and advocacy strategies concerning cancer prevention, including policy research on tobacco control.

Please note early diagnosis research now sits within the remit of the Early Detection & Diagnosis Research Committee.

What is funded

How to apply to this scheme

Application process

We strongly encourage you to contact the CRUK office for an informal and confidential discussion of your proposal. We will advise you on your eligibility and funding options. Please contact us more than 1 month and no later than 2 weeks before a submission deadline to help us best assist you.

All applications must be made online through our online grant management system, Flexi-Grant.

Submit an outline application

1. All applications for a Programme Award begin with an outline application (see application guidelines).

2. Your application will be reviewed by the Prevention and Population Research Committee.

3. If your application is successful, you will be invited to submit a full application. All applications, regardless of outcome, will receive feedback from the Committee.

Submit a full application

1. We will provide you with a link to submit your full application (see application guidelines). Your Host Institution must approve your submission.

2. Your application will be peer-reviewed by one of our Expert Review Panels. You will have the opportunity to respond to comments at interview. Your full application will also be considered by our Patient and Public Review Panel.

3. The Prevention and Population Research Committee will make a final decision on funding.

Timelines

Outline application deadline	Committee shortlisting decision	Full application deadline	Expert Review Panel interview	Committee funding decision
27 March 2025	May 2025	TBC July 2025	September 2025	November 2025

Before you begin your application

You must read the application guidelines, , together with our Grant Conditions, before starting your application, even if you have applied for funding with us before.

If you are submitting an outline application, please read

PPRC Programme Outline Application Guidelines (PDF)

PPRC Programme Outline Application Guidelines (PDF)
If you have been invited to submit a full application, please read

PPRC Programme Full Application Guidelines (PDF)

PPRC Programme Full Application Guidelines (PDF)

What makes a successful application

Applications are judged on the basis of scientific excellence, innovation and relevance to cancer research and to the priorities outlined in our Research Strategy, and potential impact on policy and practice. The relevant Expert Review Panel(s) will make a recommendation to the Committee based on:

Scientific excellence: your application must have a strong scientific rationale to support the proposed research proposal.
Cancer-relevance: likely to advance value of the proposed work in advancing the fundamental understanding of cancer or improving how cancer is diagnosed and/or treated.
Track record: you and your team members should have an excellent track record and potential to produce outstanding results.
Excellent team and collaborative environment: suitability and feasibility of the Lead Applicant/s (and supporting roles) to carry out the proposed research with access to the resources and facilities required for the successful fulfillment of the Award. It is important to demonstrate the added value of the proposed collaboration and the individual contributions, as well as the steps taken to ensure an effective collaboration

The Committee will also consider the strategic value of the proposal as a long-term award, such as capacity building and succession planning. We also look at how the proposed research aligns with the priorities set out in our Research Strategy.

The 5 year rolling success rate (financial year 2019-2024) from application to funding for this scheme is 63%.

Find out more about what makes a successful application

We prioritise funding for projects of sufficient scientific quality that focus on cancers of the brain, lung, pancreas, oesophagus, liver and stomach.

Find out more

Funding committee reviewing your application

Prevention and Population Research Committee

Start your application

Cancer Research UK contact details

Please contact the relevant Research Grants Manager if you have questions about your eligibility or require any assistance with your application or active award.

For London and The South of England (including Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol)

Dr Alice Burke

Research Grants Manager

Email: pprc@cancer.org.uk

For the rest of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Dr Emily Friar

Research Grants Manager

Email: pprc@cancer.org.uk

See recently awarded grants by this committee

Prevention and Population Research Programme Award

About this scheme

Key information

Scientific remit

How to apply to this scheme

​Application process

Timelines

Before you begin your application

PPRC Programme Outline Application Guidelines (PDF)

PPRC Programme Full Application Guidelines (PDF)

Cancer Research UK contact details

For London and The South of England (including Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol)

For the rest of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Other opportunities for prevention and population researchers

Disability and accessibility support

Environmental sustainability in research

Our prevention research strategy

PPI Toolkit

Richard Martin: How to write an award-winning population research funding proposal

Application process