Northern universities secure national funding for medical research training programme

A decade-long PhD funding programme for medical researchers in Leeds is to continue after a consortium of northern universities won funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The DiMeN-XL MRC Doctoral Landscape Award will recruit and train a cohort of 25 new researchers each year working on diseases associated with health inequity, infection and immunity, and advanced therapies, and will run for three years from October 2027.

A continuation of the successful DiMeN doctoral training programme, which has been running for 10 years, the fresh MRC Doctoral Landscape Award was confirmed on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

Ade Whitehouse, Professor of Molecular Virology in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Leeds, is co-director of DiMeN-XL.

Professor Ade Whitehouse. Image: University of Leeds

He said: “The DiMeN programme has trained dozens of talented researchers, supporting them to work on some of the most pressing health challenges facing people today.

“Securing this further funding from the MRC Doctoral Landscape Award means that together with our partner universities, we can continue to provide superb doctoral training with a strong regional focus across Yorkshire and the North East. It provides a great opportunity to forge new research links to address health challenges and to engage with the bioeconomy across the region.

The DiMeN-XL partnership of the universities of Leeds, Sheffield, York, Newcastle and Durham will recruit students to work on PhD projects within its strategic research themes of:

• Multifactorial diseases associated with health inequity 

• Infection, Immunity and Inflammation 

• Translation of discovery science to advanced therapies and healthtech innovation 

Leeds and each of its DiMeN-XL partner universities will welcome four MRC-funded PhD students each year of the three-year project, plus one additional place funded by each institution each year. The researchers will work with businesses, NHS organisations, charities and public sector partners through placements, collaborative projects and specialist training.

By investing in researchers at the start of their careers, we are helping to strengthen the UK's medical research workforce and enable discoveries that improve lives.

Dr Joanna Robinson, Director of Research Talent, Skills and Careers at the MRC, which is part of UK Research and Innovation, said: 

"Medical research depends on talented people. 

“These awards will support doctoral researchers to develop deep scientific expertise alongside the broader capabilities needed for successful and rewarding careers across research, healthcare, industry and policy. 

“By investing in researchers at the start of their careers, we are helping to strengthen the UK's medical research workforce and enable discoveries that improve lives." 

The first researchers supported through the awards are expected to be recruited from later this year, ahead of starting their PhDs in October 2027. 

• Fine out more about the DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership on its website.