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Our portfolio

BBSRC funds research in:

  • plants (we are the principal public funder of plant science in the UK)
  • microbes
  • animals (including humans)
  • tools and technology underpinning biological research

We fund research from the level of molecules and cells, to tissues, whole organisms, populations and landscapes.

Overview of BBSRC and Research Councils remit boundaries

We work with other Research Councils to ensure that applications for funding for research close to remit boundaries are addressed by the most appropriate Council.

For example:

  • We fund human physiology, cell biology, and genetics and genomics research relevant to understanding normal human function, but we do not fund research focused on specific human diseases and disease processes or abnormal conditions, which fall within the remit of the Medical Research Council
  • We fund work on animal diseases however studies primarily involving animal models of human disease and human toxicology, including abnormal toxicological reactions and drug toxicity, are not in our remit

We fund research on livestock species and managed land (e.g. agriculture) and fund studies on wild species only when they act as a suitable model, and provide wider understanding of biological processes.

Increasingly, we work with our sister Research Councils to support multidisciplinary research that crosses Research Council remits.

We would strongly advise you to contact us with any queries about our remit before submitting an application.

For specific remit queries about applications to BBSRC contact the remit officer, or for general queries about BBSRC contact External Relations.

Contact

Remit officer

External Relations Unit