NIHR GOSH BRC Accelerating Novel Therapies Statistics Support Fund 2025

The NIHR GOSH BRC is a collaboration between Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH). The NIHR GOSH BRC provides cutting-edge facilities and world-leading expertise and access to over 200 rare disease patient populations allowing our staff and NHS, university, and industry collaborators to conduct pioneering translational research into childhood illnesses.

We were first awarded BRC status from the NIHR in 2007 and, in 2022, we secured £35 million for our fourth term from 2022 - 2028. Essential to delivering the BRC’s strategy is also our newly created Paediatric Excellence Initiative (PEI), a partnership between the GOSH BRC, Alder Hey, Birmingham and Sheffield Children’s Hospitals. GOSH BRC has five research themes including Accelerating Novel Therapies (ANT) which is funding this call. The ANT theme develops treatment for rare diseases through early bench-to-bedside translation, innovative trial methodologies and biomarker development.

The GOSH BRC Accelerating Novel Therapies (ANT) Statistics Support call provides an opportunity for early career researchers (ECRs) from any speciality/profession across GOSH, ICH and our PEI partners [Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital or Sheffield Children’s Hospital] to pay for statistical support for paediatric translational research projects.

Each applicant can apply for up to £3,000 worth of statistics support and can utilise this for various purposes, including but not limited to:

• Preparing a grant application – including assisting in the design of research studies, sample size calculations, and statistical analysis plan.
• Data analysis – including conducting appropriate statistical analysis or helping to interpret research findings.
• Highly specialised statistics training - general statistics training is not allowed on this call.

Priority will be given to applicants actively in the process of preparing a grant application.

The cost of time for an experienced biostatistician is £600 per half day. This rate reflects the expertise and specialised knowledge required to provide high-quality statistical support.

To ensure efficient use of resources, there is a cap on expenses associated with statistical support. We expect costs to be reasonable for the relevant statistical need and in line with the recommendation above.

The call is open to all early career researchers who hold a substantive employment or studentship contract with GOSH or ICH or our PEI partners, including clinicians, non-clinical researchers, nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists and health care scientists and any others relevant healthcare professionals not mentioned here.

• For this funding call, an early career researcher is defined as a PhD student or staff member who has ≤£250k in total grant income as Primary Investigator across their career (excluding their own salary e.g., a fellowship grant) and does not hold a tenured academic position.
  • Contact the brc@gosh.nhs.uk if you have any queries regarding your eligibility for this call.

If you have been previously awarded a statistical support fund grant from this scheme, you are not eligible to apply again.

You do not need to have had prior links with the GOSH BRC to be eligible to apply. If you would like to apply, please read and the application form and return as a word document to brc@gosh.nhs.uk

Identify the provider of the statistical support (e.g., UCL CCTU, University of Sheffield Statistical Services Unit)
Time or amount requested must align with recommendation highlighted above and stated in the application.

Applications will be reviewed every three months, the deadlines for applications are as follows

• 01 April 2025
• 01 July 2025
• 01 October 2025
• 05 January 2026

Applications will be reviewed by the ANT theme leadership team. Please note that this is a competitive process and funding is not guaranteed. The following selection criteria will be used during the review process:

• Benefit of the statistics support fund for the applicant’s career development.
• Benefit of the fund to the recipient’s wider team.
• Alignment with the BRC’s translational research objectives.

Priority will be given to applicants actively in the process of preparing a grant application.

• Funding awarded must be fully spent and invoiced by 31 March 2026. No extensions can be granted.
• The NIHR GOSH BRC funding is formally not allowed to support any research using animals; therefore, the research you need statistical support for must contain a substantial component of human translation research activity.
• Awardees must acknowledge the NIHR GOSH BRC in any presentations or publications.