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The Hester Cordelia Parsons Fund (HCP) invites applications from members of the University for grants that support the costs of research in experimental biological science.

Remit of the scheme

The Fund aims to encourage the development of experimental methods at the boundaries of biological, physical and chemical sciences. Applications that do not clearly involve the development of experimental methods (e.g. applications for basic laboratory running costs, etc.) are unlikely to be competitive. 

Projects will typically be no longer than 12 months.

Support available

Grants from the fund, typically in the range of £500 to £5,000, may support: 

          (1)     Travel and subsistence costs in visiting laboratories in the United Kingdom or overseas;

          (2)     Training courses in experimental techniques;

          (3)     Purchase of small items of equipment;

          (4)     Other relevant purposes, at the discretion of the board of management.

 

Requests for the following will NOT be supported: 

          (a)     Laptops;

          (b)     Contributions to the cost of large items of equipment;

          (c)     Routine consumables;

          (d)     Attendance at conferences.

The Fund is open to graduate/DPhil students, early career post-doctoral researchers and early stage researchers (including those with independently funded fellowships).

Please submit your application online via the Internal Research Award Management System (IRAMS).

Guidance on using IRAMS for applicants, departmental approvers, and administrators can be found on the Research Support pages.

Note that some departments may have set an earlier internal deadline so please check with your local admin team and prepare your application well in advance of the advertised deadline date. Applications must be reviewed online for eligibility and departmental support by departmental approvers and, where approved, submitted to the Committee for review. 

As part of the application you will need to complete and upload a short Case for Support, which can be downloaded from IRAMS, and a 1 page CV.

The Hester Cordelia Parsons Fund is currently closed to applications. The next funding round is anticipated to be launched in Trinity 2023/Michaelmas 2023 pending review.  

For queries, please contact research@mpls.ox.ac.uk.