Race Against Dementia Teams Award 2025-26
Teaming Up Again to Drive Out Dementia
Aim
Rosetrees and Race Against Dementia are joining forces once again to accelerate progress in dementia research through a new round of grant funding.
This collaborative effort brings together two highly innovative charities with a shared vision: to fast-track the most promising dementia research by supporting the UK’s top scientific talent. Following the success of the first round, we’re once again looking to back outstanding research leaders - those with bold, original ideas - by offering the long-term support they need to take their work to the next level.
Our goal is to help these researchers build exceptional teams capable of making real breakthroughs in the race to beat dementia.
Rosetrees will part-fund the grants, with Race Against Dementia – founded by three-time Formula 1 World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart – providing the core funding and continuing to offer access to elite performance training and mentoring inspired by the world of Formula 1. These resources are designed to enhance, where needed, existing research capabilities and ensure teams can perform at the highest level.
Key Information
£750,000 paid over 5 years, capped at £150k per year
Preliminary Application Submission
Full Application Submission
Submission Opening
Submission Closing
Submission Opening
Submission Closing
Notification of Funding Decision
Funding
Teams awards are for up to £750,000 over 5 years, capped at £150,000 per year.
Race Against Dementia and Rosetrees Trust will only pay directly incurred costs. We do not pay directly related costs (direct salary costs of tenured/salaried principal and co-applicants) or institutional overhead costs.
A maximum of £2000 per year can be requested to attend conferences and meetings in which data generated from the award is being presented. Travel, subsistence and accommodation can only be provided for the principal applicant and staff employed on the award. Where possible, please seek additional funding from internal sources to supplement travel costs.
Small equipment that is essential to the project can be purchased but must be clearly justified. You can also include costs for the provision of laptops/desktops for staff employed on the award (up to £1500 per item).
Open access publication costs can be included but can only be incurred during the period of the grant. If these costs are not incurred during the grant-funding period, these funds should be returned to Race Against Dementia/Rosetrees Trust.
One-off consultancy fees can be considered; however, consultants must be named and critical to the success of the project. Consultancy fees cannot be paid to the principal and co-applicants.
We will consider appropriate staff training costs of up to £1000 per year, where specific training is required to deliver the project.
Eligibility
We are inviting applications for basic science, translational, or clinical research projects in the following key areas:
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Development of new diagnostic tests
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Strategies for prevention
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Understanding disease mechanisms
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Identification and evaluation of potential new treatments
We're committed to supporting high-risk/high-reward projects, particularly—though not exclusively - those that leverage AI in meaningful ways to accelerate progress and improve patient outcomes.
We believe Principal Investigators (PIs) should have the flexibility to assemble the team they believe will deliver the greatest impact. Teams will typically include a mix of outstanding early-career postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, clinical research fellows, and skilled technicians — but the exact composition is up to the applicant.
Applications
Rosetrees is managing the full application process for this funding initiative through our Flexigrant portal. In addition to overseeing the application process, we will also monitor and support each successful project throughout its duration.
Application Process
The application process will follow a two-stage format:
Stage 1 – Expression of Interest (EOI)
Applicants must complete and submit a short preliminary form via Flexigrant. The EOI submission window will be open from Wednesday, 19 November 2025 to Monday, 2 February 2026.
Submissions will be reviewed by our expert panel, made up of leading dementia-focused clinicians and scientists.
Stage 2 – Full Application
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal from Monday, 30 March 2026. All applications — preliminary and full — will be assessed by a panel of dementia experts, chaired by Professor John O’Brien, University of Cambridge.
The outcome of funding decisions will be announced in December 2026.
How to Apply
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The lead Principal Investigator can access the preliminary application form via our Flexigrant portal.
Review Process
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All applications will undergo an initial eligibility check. Expressions of interest will be evaluated by an internal scientific panel, which will select the most promising submissions to proceed to the next stage. This triage process will consider several factors, including:
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Significance of the unmet clinical need and how and when the research will benefit patients with dementia
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Overall scientific quality
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Feasibility of the work proposed
- Track record of the principal applicant and the research team
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Potential for further development and clinical translation
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Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full application, which will undergo specialist external review. The highest-scoring applications will be further shortlisted and reviewed by the expert panel, which will make funding recommendations.
- The final funding decision will be subject to internal approval. Please note that applicants may be interviewed prior to final funding decisions.
Enquiries
Please see our FAQs prior to contacting us. For further general enquiries regarding eligibility and the application process, please contact Richard Miller (rmiller@rosetrees.org.uk).
Please note that our offices will be closed from our office will be closed from lunchtime, 24th December and will reopen 2nd January 2026.
Apply here on flexigrant
All applications to Rosetrees are made through Flexigrant.
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS OF THE RACE AGAINST DEMENTIA TEAMS AWARD
Professor Sona Gandhi's team (Francis Crick Institute) - Role of Air Pollution in Dementia
Dr Alexander Murley's team (University of Cambridge) - SYNAPSE-FTLD: Design and delivery of clinical trials to treat challenging behaviours in the syndromes associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration
Dr Richard Killick's team (King's College London) - Alzheimer's and Parkinson's share a common disease process: increasing our understanding of mechanisms, moving us closer to effective treatments
Dr Ashwini Oswal's team (University of Oxford) - Improving cognition in Lewy body dementia using focused ultrasound
Professor Joanna Wardlaw's team (University of Edinburgh) -Team Vascular - Prevention and Treatment of Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.
Dr Ross Paterson's team (University College London) - Understanding early pathological amyloid and tau deposition in living human brain using stable isotope labeling kinetics