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International partnership: Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases

UK Research and Innovation

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) wish to encourage high quality, innovative research on the ecological, evolutionary, environmental, social, cultural and economic drivers that influence the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases.

The programme encompasses:

all host species (animal, human and plant)
all pathogens (bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses)
all ecologies and habitats

The central theme of submitted projects must be the quantitative, mathematical or computational understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics and can be informed by qualitative research, where applicable. Projects should be broad and multi-disciplinary in nature and the implications of findings should extend beyond the study system used.

Among the areas of particular interest for this funding opportunity are not limited to but include:

emerging zoonotic pathogens, for example avian influenza or vector-borne diseases
co-infection or microbial interactions
fungal pathogens and anti-fungal resistance
diseases of plants or crops

We are keen to encourage proposals that seek to address the following, although proposals outside of these areas will also be considered:

understanding the complex interplay between biological, physiological, ecological, environmental (natural and built) and socioeconomic factors affecting infectious disease transmission and evolution
the role of human behaviour or cultural practices (for example migration, trade of food or crops, habitation, demographic changes or interaction with domestic or wild animals) on transmission and evolution of plant and animal pathogens
the impact of environmental drivers or changes (for example climate change, plastics, biodiversity loss, pollution or land use change) on infectious disease transmission
the impact of public and social health measures, human behaviour, or both on host ecology and pathogen evolutionary dynamics, for example evolution of anti-microbial resistance or re-emergence of pathogens in animals, plants or humans
emergence of pathogens from non-pathogenic populations
host switching

It is strongly encouraged that project teams are multi-disciplinary, bringing together a broad range of expertise, including but not limited to:

life scientists across animal, human and plant systems, including physiologists, microbiologists, immunologists, evolutionary biologists
mathematicians, computational scientists, modellers, operational researchers
ecologists, natural scientists, environmental and physical scientists
clinicians and veterinarians
social scientists including anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, demographers, economists, population scientists, experts in international development

Specialties

Environmental Health

Infectious Diseases

Eligibility Requirements

The collaborative projects must include a project lead from the US who will lead the submission through the National Science Foundation (NSF) process.

The UK project lead’s institution will be responsible for receiving and distributing funding to UK institutions.

UK researchers can apply for

research projects
research coordination networks (RCNs)
planning proposals

with partners from the USA, China or Israel. Please see the What we are looking for section for more information about RCNs and planning proposals.

Applicants for the UK component must meet the UKRI eligibility rules and be based at one of the following:

higher education institution
research council institute
UKRI-approved independent research organisation (IRO)
eligible public sector research establishment (PSRE)

Before applying for funding, check the Eligibility of your organisation.

UKRI has introduced new role types for funding opportunities being run on the new UKRI Funding Service.

For full details, visit Eligibility as an individual.

Before applying for funding, check and understand all eligibility rules affecting you by reading our guidance: check if you’re eligible for funding.

Your international research team must be multi-disciplinary with the aim to combine knowledge across disciplines. It is strongly recommended that proposals demonstrate good integration of mathematical, computational, and social scientists with life scientists interested in infectious diseases of animals, humans, and plants. More information about the multi-disciplinary nature of Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) is detailed in the What we are looking for section below and can be found on the NSF webpage: Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID).

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: