Grants

BIA grant calls are announced every autumn and are responsive to the clinical and academic environment. Details of recent and active grant calls can be found below.

BIA Travel Awards

Applications can be made at any time, they are assessed 31 January, 31 May, 31 October each year.
You can make applications for retrospective travel expenses for travel which took place after the previous award review date.

These awards support registration and travel (if appropriate) to major national or international meetings (either in person or on-line), in particular, ASM, ICAAC, IDSA, and ECCMID to present original research, where the abstract is already accepted. Accommodation costs may also be included, up to the £1000 grant limit.

There are three rounds of travel awards per year, with two prizes awarded each round. Deadlines every year are 31st January, 30th May and 31st October. Travel grants may be awarded retroactively if the timing of the conference or abstract notifications have not aligned with these deadlines.

Travel grants are assessed by the Scientific and Research Committee and awarded according to pre-determined criteria that include:

UK or Ireland-based clinically-qualified trainees in infection or infection-related specialities who are not in a consultant-level post. This includes nurses, pharmacists and other patient-facing careers.
Acceptance of an abstract for an oral or poster presentation at the conference
Potential benefit to the applicant from attending the conference

To apply, please forward by e-mail to Profesor Thushan de Silva, BIA Scientific & Research Secretary:

A cover letter/email summarising the potential impact and case for support
Name of conference
Accepted abstract
Letter of acceptance
2-page C.V.

Barnett Christie Lecture at FIS 2023

Applications open: Monday 5th June 2023
Applications close: Midnight, Monday 3rd July 2023

Each year the BIA invites applications to deliver this highly prestigious lecture at the conference of the Federation of Infection Societies. The successful applicant will be invited to give a lecture at the annual meeting of the Federation of Infection Societies (FIS) held each autumn.

Award: In addition to presenting this BIA lecture, the award winner will receive £500 and full sponsorship to attend the FIS Conference.

Application process:

A two-sided A4 outline of a proposed lecture plus a short curriculum vitae, listing all publications and other relevant scientific achievements should be sent by e-mail to the BIA Secretariat.
All applications will be reviewed by the Scientific and Research Committee and scored according to their body of independent research, its quality, novelty and impact, the quality of the lecture proposal and career trajectory (see here [hyperlink] for scoring criteria)

Eligibility:

UK and Ireland based clinically-qualified trainees in infection or infection-related specialties who are not in a Consultant-level post.
UK and Ireland based non-clinical post-doctoral scientists within 4 years of PhD and not in a tenured academic or top-grade scientist post. If you are beyond 4 years since awarding of PhD, but have had career breaks (e.g. for maternity, paternity or other reasons), you could still be eligible and should explain the situation in a covering email or letter with the application.
View the Barnett Christie flyer for full details

BIA Early Career Research Grant

Applications open: September 2023

These awards flexibly provide consumables and/or salary costs for trainees pre-PhD undertaking an infection-related research project in an academic centre in the UK or Ireland. The BIA recognises that not all trainees have the benefit of protected research time as part of an Academic Clinical Fellowship but may be interested in furthering an academic career. The Early Career Research Grant is therefore provided prioritising those without research salary support to generate preliminary data with the intention of taking the work forward towards a higher degree. It is expected that this would enable the successful candidate to take time out of their clinical training, for example as a block of up to 3 months or spread part-time over part/all of the award period in preparation for a fellowship application.

Type of Award: One award will be made of £30,000 for up to two years, to cover salary and/or non-salary costs of research.

Eligibility:

UK or Ireland-based clinically-qualified trainees in infection or infection-related specialities who are not in a consultant-level post
This includes nurses, pharmacists and other patient-facing careers.
All applicants must be supported by a named supervisor(s) at place of intended research.
Applicants who do not have salaried research time in their job plan and who do not yet have a PhD will be prioritised but other applicants will be considered.

Application Process:

Complete the BIA Research Grant Application Form and return to BIA Scientific & Research Secretary
All applications will be reviewed by the Scientific and Research Committee and scored according to importance, clarity of aims, appropriateness of research methodology, feasibility and potential impact (see here [hyperlink] for scoring criteria)

Tenure: up to 2 years, but shorter periods of clearly-defined full-time research are welcomed. Grants must be taken up within 12 months of award.

BIA Small Project Grant

Applications open: September 2023

These awards provide consumables costs for trainees undertaking an infection-related research project in an academic centre in the UK or Ireland. Funds are intended to support the generation of preliminary data with the intention of developing the work through a research fellowship or as an adjunct to existing but as yet unfunded projects.

Type of Award: Up to four awards will be made of up to £10,000 for 12 months, to cover non-salary costs of research only.

Eligibility:

UK or Ireland-based clinically-qualified trainees in infection or infection-related specialities who are not in a Consultant-level post.
This includes nurses, pharmacists and other patient-facing careers.
All applicants must be supported by a named supervisor(s) at place on intended research.
Applicants may be pre- or post-doctoral, with applications from these different career stages separately judged.

Application Process:

Complete the BIA Small Project Grant Application Form and return to BIA Scientific & Research Secretary
All applications will be reviewed by the Scientific and Research Committee and scored according to importance, clarity of aims, appropriateness of research methodology, feasibility and potential impact (see here [hyperlink] for scoring criteria)
The Scientific Advisory Committee will endeavour to make awards to both pre- and post-doctoral researchers at every grant round.

Tenure: 1 year. Grants must be taken up within 12 months of award.

Federation of Infection Societies (FIS) Conference Bursaries

Applications open: July 2023

The BIA is providing up to 8 bursaries to support registration and travel to the FIS Conference 2022 to eligible applicants whose abstract is already accepted. Accommodation costs may also be included, up to the £1000 grant limit.

FIS Bursaries will be assessed by the Scientific and Research Committee and awarded according to pre-determined criteria that include:

UK or Ireland-based clinically-qualified trainees in infection or infection-related specialities who are not in a consultant-level post. This includes nurses, pharmacists and other patient-facing careers.
Acceptance of an abstract for an oral or poster presentation at the conference
Potential benefit to the applicant from attending the conference

To apply, please forward by e-mail to Prof Chris Chiu, BIA Scientific & Research Secretary:

A cover letter/email summarising the potential impact and case for support
Name of conference
Accepted abstract
Letter of acceptance
2-page C.V.