Pilot Projects

Pilot Projects

Funds early dementia science concepts in the United Kingdom with exploratory research support.

Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) Pilot Projects are small investigator-led grants designed to fund novel, high-risk dementia research ideas that carry the potential to develop into larger investigations. The award provides up to £70,000 in total funding over a maximum of two years, covering salary costs for research and technical staff, small equipment purchases, animal research costs, and experimental running costs. The program opens in July 2026, with an October 2026 deadline anticipated and decisions expected in early 2027. Applications are submitted through ARUK's Flexigrant portal.

Eligibility requires the lead applicant to hold a position at a UK academic or research institution under a fixed-term or tenure-status contract that covers the full grant period. If the lead applicant does not hold tenure, a co-applicant with a tenured position is required. International collaborators and industry SME co-applicants are permitted, though the lead institution must be UK-based. Projects involving human participants are subject to a lived-experience review process, in addition to standard ethical approval and any Home Office licensing requirements for animal work.

The Pilot Projects program is specifically intended to generate preliminary data capable of supporting a future Major Projects application or other follow-on funding. Successful applicants typically propose a clearly scoped experimental question with defined endpoints achievable within the two-year window. The £70,000 ceiling makes this program most suitable for hypothesis-testing work rather than large multidisciplinary studies. ARUK has funded more than 100 active grants and positions this program as the entry point into its investigator-led portfolio for researchers establishing new directions in dementia science.