Funded research into COVID-19

The NIHR has worked with partners to fund new research into COVID-19. We seek to share the projects funded under these calls in a timely manner, and list some of the calls funded by NIHR and co-funded with partners below.

Rapid research co-funded with UKRI

The NIHR and UK Research and Innovation have co-funded rapid research to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funded projects are expected to lead to a benefit in UK, potentially international, public health within 12 months.

Find out more about our partnership with UKRI and see a list of the projects funded.

NIHR COVID-19 research calls

Recovery and Learning

Under NIHR’s restart framework, urgent public health research into COVID-19 continues to be our number one priority. We do, however, recognise the importance of also investing in longer-term research.

Our first response to help better understand and manage the health and social care consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic beyond the acute phase was to launch a UK wide  Recovery and Learning funding call to provide high quality and timely evidence to inform policy and to support system recovery and learning. This call is now closed and all projects funded through this call are listed on the NIHR Funding and Awards website.

NIHR Policy Research Programme (PRP)

The Policy Research Programme held a specific call  for applications for research to inform policy responses to COVID-19. This call has now closed, and the successful projects will be listed on the Funding and Awards website in due course.

Read a list of the projects funded through the Policy Research Programme's rapid COVID-19 funding process, or supported from existing funding to Policy Research Units. 

Research into the the longer term physical and mental effects

The NIHR and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have launched a £20m joint research call to fund ambitious and comprehensive research into the longer term physical and mental effects of COVID-19 in non-hospitalised individuals. This call has now closed. Find out about the funded projects looking at understanding and treating long COVID.

Prophylaxis research

The NIHR is funding a new trial to look at reducing the transmission of Covid-19 and its severity in care homes. Researchers led by the University of Nottingham are now looking for up to 400 care homes to take part in the ground-breaking trial - called PROTECT.

Read more on the NIHR Funding and Awards website.