FOI2026/00163: Ophthalmology and Vision Research Applications to the MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship
Case reference FOI2026/00163
Received 27 February 2026
Published 11 May 2026
Request
Request Received: 27 February 2026
[Part A] Please provide aggregate data for the most recent five completed competition years (ideally 2021–2025 inclusive) for the MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship, including applications submitted under the opportunity titled “Clinician scientist fellowship” and/or “Early independence: clinician scientist fellowship” (or any direct successor/renamed listing for the same scheme).
Using existing internal classification fields only (no creation of new data), please identify applications relevant to ophthalmology and vision research, including where available: ophthalmology, vision science, retina, glaucoma, cornea/ocular surface, uveitis/ocular inflammation, ophthalmic imaging, ocular genetics, ocular AI, and regenerative ophthalmology/vision regeneration.
For those ophthalmology/vision-relevant applications, please provide by competition year:
1. Number of applications submitted
2. Number funded
3. Median of total cost requested
4. Median of total cost awarded
Please also provide the same items 1–4 for the scheme overall (all subjects) for the same years, to allow comparison.
Additional Request Received: 1 March 2026
[Part B] Please provide aggregate data for the MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship (including any “Early independence: clinician scientist fellowship” listing or direct successor) covering the most recent 12 months of completed funding decisions (i.e., decision dates within the last 12 months).
I am seeking to understand whether recorded collaboration patterns are associated with funding success. Please provide an aggregated contingency table showing, for applications decided in the last 12 months, the number of funded and not funded applications in each of the following categories (excluding the lead applicant):
1. 0 co-applicants / co-investigators
2. 1 co-applicant / co-investigator
3. 2 co-applicants / co-investigators
4. 3+ co-applicants / co-investigators
For each category, please provide:
• number of applications funded
• number of applications not funded
• the resulting success rate (funded / total)
Response
Response Sent: 30 March 2026
Full details of this response are provided in the attached documents.
Documents
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