UK Bioimaging User Access Fund

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Submission Guidelines

Before Submission:

MANDATORY: Discuss and agree your experimental plan (feasibility, cost, timeframes) with the chosen host facility(s).

We expect most applications to be for one of these UK Node sites*:

1. ESRIC (Edinburgh Super-resolution Imaging Consortium)
2. University of York, Imaging and Cytometry Facility
3. University of Liverpool, Centre for Cellular Imaging, Biomedical Electron Microscopy Unit, Pre-clinical Imaging, 
4. Oxford Brookes University, Centre for Bioimaging
5. King's College London, Nikon Imaging Centre, Microscopy Innovation Centre, London Metallomics Facility, Centre for Ultrastructural Imaging
6. The Francis Crick Institute, CALM facility

*Since the CLF OCTOPUS facility at Harwell already benefits from having dedicated UKRI-funded user access arrangements in place, this facility is excluded from this funding scheme; to access their equipment please visit the relevant pages on the Central Laser Facility website

Here is a list of eligible UK Node Facility information and contacts - 

UK Node Information and Contact Sheet

Evaluation Criteria:

• Scientific excellence and potential impact of the work
• Career stage (priority for PhD Students, Research Technical Professionals (RTPs), junior Post-docs (< 2 years in role), junior PIs (< 2 years in role)
• Existing financial support available to applicant/team
• Evidence of need and lack of local technology/expertise availability
• Justification for non-UK facility access (if applicable)
• Value for money

After Submission:

• Applications are evaluated in March, July, November by the Biological User Access Panel (BL-UAP)
• We expect funding decisions to be communicated within 4 weeks of panel meeting
• Successful applicants receive award letters with detailed terms and conditions
• Project must commence within 6 months of timeline described in question D3

Important Notes:

• Maximum one funded application per applicant per year
• Since the OCTOPUS facility at Harwell already benefits from having dedicated UKRI-funded user access arrangements in place, this facility is excluded from this funding scheme; to access their equipment please visit the relevant pages on the Central Laser Facility website
• All biological research projects or fields are within scope
• Completion of a short post-access survey is mandatory
• All costs must be pre-agreed with facilities
• Costs will be paid after completion of the work and completion of the post-access survey 

Support: For assistance with this application or facility connections, contact: UK Node Manager: Georgina Fletcher.