Our Objectives
The Kennedy Trust’s mission is to provide support for basic and translational research into musculoskeletal and related inflammatory diseases, where we can make a clear difference and where other funding is not easily available.
Our investment in research is not purely financial; we want our funding relationships to be built on open, ongoing dialogue with potential recipients around their ideas and scientific approach.
Our Funding Priorities
The Trust has, for many years, focused its funding on the work of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford.
In meeting its charitable objectives, the Trust supports both basic and translational research at the Institute in the form of Fellowships, doctoral studentships, Senior Investigator Awards and core funding to underpin central services and facilities.
Whilst we continue to support the Kennedy Institute, the Trust has expanded the scope of its funding beyond the Institute in recent years. Our priority is to focus on the funding of strong individuals, particularly early-stage researchers, working in the fields of musculoskeletal and related inflammatory diseases.
Our Application Process and Reviews
The Trust’s funding strategy is guided by its Research Committee, which comprises the following Trustee and non-Trustee members:
Dr Edith Hessel (Chair)
Professor Carl Goodyear (Vice-Chair)
Professor Paul Lehner
Professor Philip Conaghan
Professor Dirk Elewaut
Professor Carola Vinuesa
Professor Paul Emery
Professor Paul Peter Tak
Former Chief Scientific Officer at Relation Therapeutics
Professor of Translational Immunology, University of Glasgow
Professor of Immunology, University of Cambridge
Professor of Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds
Professor of Medicine, Ghent University
Professor of Immunology, Francis Crick Institute
Professor of Rheumatology, University of Leeds
President & CEO, Candel Therapeutics
Non-voting members:
Professor Michael Patton
Chair of Board of Trustees, former Head of the Academic Unit of Medical Genetics at St Georges
Funding is provided through two distinct channels:
1) Long-term funding of the Kennedy Institute
An 8-year research funding strategy is agreed between the Director of the Institute and the Board of Trustees, with advice from the Research Committee. The Trust provides strategic funding for facilities, key posts (such as Senior Research Fellowships) and studentships.
The Institute is reviewed every four years by an External Advisory Board of independent scientists.
The most recent external review was carried out in November 2022 by Professors Tim Hardingham, Gitta Stockinger, Dylan Owen, Cornelia Weyand, and Ramnik Xavier.
The Institute is also assessed biennially by its own Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), which includes a Kennedy Trust representative who provides an independent report to our Board of Trustees.
2) Independent initiatives
We primarily establish our funding initiatives by identifying areas of need and issuing targeted calls for proposals.
The Trust appoints an independent Review Panel of expert scientists to assess applications for each initiative. Recommendations for funding are provided to the Board through the Research Committee.
We also respond to informal approaches from institutions and other funders for new funding initiatives. We do not consider personal applications.
Our Funding Initiatives
In addition to continuing to support the Kennedy Institute in Oxford, our independent funding initiatives now include Transition and Senior Research Fellowships, pump-priming Research Ignition Awards, and an MB PhD scheme for aspiring clinician scientists.
We also support the Arthritis Therapy Acceleration Programme (A-TAP) between the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford, and Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowships designed to enable talented scientists and researchers to retrain and return to research after a career break.
Further information on all of our funding initiatives can be found below.
Global Talent Visa
The Kennedy Trust has been accepted by the UKRI to join the Government’s list of Endorsed Funders under the Global Talent Visa scheme. This endorsement enables all international researchers funded by Kennedy Trust grants to apply for a fast-tracked, Tier 1 Global Talent Visa. Further information can be found here.
National Institute for Health Research
The Kennedy Trust is an NIHR RDN Non-commercial Partner. This means that the studies we fund may be eligible to access the NIHR Study Support Service which is provided by the NIHR Research Delivery Network within the NHS, and the wider public health and social care environment, across England. Read the full policy here.
