• The applicant must have an academic post and be continuing in that post for the duration of the award.
• The applicant must be a current, fully-paid up full member of SRF and must have 5 paid consecutive years of membership immediately prior to application.
• The applicant must be an active member of SRF (e.g. by attending conferences, membership of committees, publishing in Reproduction Journal).
• Academic Scholarship awardees must complete a further five years of continuous SRF membership before being eligible to receive another Academic Scholarship (i.e. only one award will be made per individual per five years of membership).

• The applicant should be a Principal Investigator on an independent research Fellowship (either RCUK, institutional, charity or equivalent) at time of application and be continuing in that post for the duration of the award.
• The applicant must be a current, fully-paid up full member of SRF and must have been a continuous full member for at least the preceding 2 years prior to application.
• The applicant must be an active member of the SRF (e.g. by attending conferences, membership of committees, publishing in Reproduction).
• Upon completion of their Research Fellowship Scholarship, the applicant must complete a further three years of continuous SRF membership before being eligible to apply for subsequent Academic Scholarships.
• Applicants must not already be in receipt of substantial research funding as the Principal Investigator (defined as sufficient to employ a postdoctoral researcher or technical support).
• In conjunction with their application, a letter from the applicant’s host research institution will be required confirming (i) the applicant’s status as an independent research Fellow, (ii) the current levels of financial support being received by the applicant and (iii) that the applicant will be supported and hosted by the institution for the duration of the award.
• The applicant cannot be employed as a postdoctoral researcher or hold a tenured position.

• The applicant should be within the first three years of a tenured academic position at the time of application and be continuing in that post for the duration of the award.
• The applicant must be a current, fully-paid up, full member of SRF and must have been a full member for at least 2 consecutive years immediately prior to application.
• The applicant must be an active member of SRF (e.g. by attending conferences, membership of committees, publishing in Reproduction).
• The applicant must complete a further three years of continuous SRF membership before being eligible to apply for the Academic Scholarship (i.e. only one award will be made per individual per three years of membership).
• The applicant cannot currently hold substantive funding (defined as sufficient to employ a postdoctoral researcher or technical support)

• Applicants must have taken at least six month’s continuous maternity, adoption and/or shared parental leave. There is no maximal leave limit. Confirmation of duration of leave will be required from the applicant’s home institution.
• Applicants must be a current, fully-paid up, full member of SRF and must have been a full member for at least 2 continuous years.
• Applicants must be an active member of SRF (e.g. by attending conferences, membership of committees, publishing in Reproduction).
• Applicants who have previously received the Return to Research Scholarship may make additional applications when taking further maternity, adoption and/or shared parental leave.
• Applicants must apply within 12 months of returning to work from maternity, adoption and/or shared parental leave.
• Applicants must hold a permanent academic position and be continuing in that post for the duration of the award.
• The Scholarship cannot be used to cover the applicant’s salary, maternity pay or childcare costs.

• The principal applicant must have a tenured post and be continuing in that post for the duration of the award.

• The principal applicant must be a current, fully-paid up full member of SRF and must have been a continuous full member for at least the preceding 2 years prior to application.

• The award must be used to support the principal applicant, members of their research team (i.e. undergraduate students, postgraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, technical staff) or their designated collaborator(s) to travel between each other’s research setting with the aim of developing/learning/teaching new skills or techniques.

• The award can only be used to support travel, accommodation, subsistence, and/or consumables associated with the activities being undertaken during the Knowledge Transfer Scholarship.

• The principal applicant must be an active member of the SRF (e.g. by attending conferences, membership in committees, publishing in Reproduction).

• Collaborative Research Scholarship awardees must complete a further 1 year of continuous SRF membership before being eligible to apply for any subsequent Academic Scholarship (i.e. only one award will be made per individual per 2 years of membership).

Details of the Awards:

• Eligible applicants may only apply for one Scholarship (Academic, Early Career Researcher, Return to Research, Research Fellow, Collaborative Research) in any single year.
• The maximum amount awarded for the Academic, Early Career Researcher, Return to Research, or Research Fellow Scholarship will be £10,000.
• The maximum amount awarded for the Collaborative Research Scholarship will be £3,000.
• The number of awards made each year will depend on the quality of the applications received and the financial position of the society.
• The Society reserves the right not to make any awards in any given year if the quality of applications does not meet the required standards.
• Funds will be paid to the applicant’s institution.
• Funds awarded are final, do not include overheads, and are not subject to appeal.
• Incomplete or late applications will not be considered
• All successful applicants must submit a report within 3 months of completing the project describing how the funds were used
• Failure to provide the appropriate reports within the stated time will result in the applicant becoming ineligible to apply for further SRF supported funding.
• All successful applicants must acknowledge the SRF in any publications or presentations arising from work supported by this fund.
• The main criteria will be the quality of the application, however, if two applicants are equally rated, preference will be given to first time applicants.

Application Process:

Before applying, please click here for an overview of all the Academic Scholarships, to help you decide which Scholarship to apply for and eligibility.

Applications must be made using the online application form. At the top of the form, select the scholarship you are applying for from the drop down menu.

To assist you in the preparation of your application, you will find templates of the application form for each of the four scholarships at the bottom of the online application page.

Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application 6-8 weeks after the deadline: Sunday 30 October 2022.  Project start dates should therefore be no earlier than 3 months after the closing date for applications.

Please note that the SRF cannot provide individual feedback for unsuccessful applicants.

If you have any questions about the awards please don’t hesitate to contact us via the Contact form.

 Academic Scholarships awarded are listed below. To read a summary of each project click here.

Name: Dr William Colledge (2019)
Project title: Does kisspeptin signalling mediate β-NGF-stimulated ovulation in mice?

Name: Dr Federica Lopes (2019)
Project title:  The impact of the cell cycle of prepubertal testicular germline stem cells on the sensitivity to chemotherapy-induced damage

Name: Dr Mark Fenwick (2018)
Project title: Illuminating the molecular phenotype of granulosa cells in the ovarian reserve

Name: Dr Franchesca Houghton (2018)
Project title: Hypoxia-induced epigenetic regulation of  human embryonic stem cells

Name: Dr Suzannah Williams (2018)
Project title: Rescuing Premature Ovarian Insufficiency

Name: Dr Kathryn Woad (2018)
Project title: Mechanisms linking bacterial endotoxin to the inhibition of angiogenesis.

Name: Professor Jane Morrell (2017)
Project title: Physical removal of bacteria as an alternative to antibiotics in boar semen extenders.

Name: Professor Kevin Sinclair (2017)
Project title: Sheep as a model species for mitochondrial replacement therapy: Genetic variances between haplotype groups

Name: Professor Norah Spears (2017)
Project title: Are primordial follicles protected from chemotherapy drug-induced damage in the human ovary?

Name: Dr. Agnieszka Waclawik (2017)
Project title: Contribution of prostaglandin F2alpha and prokineticin 1 to embryo-maternal interactions

Name: Professor Fiona Menzies (2019)
Project title: Determination of the impact of ethanol on trophoblast syncytialisation and inflammation

Name: Professor Lisa Thurston (2017)
Project title: Investigating the role of extracellular vesicles in gamete-oviductal cell communication in the female reproductive tract

Name: Dr  Peter Ruane (2018)
Project title: Investigating hCG effects on the endometrium and embryo implantation in an organoid model

Name: Dr  Juan Hermandes-Medrano (2018)
Project title: Whole Ovary Cryopreservation: CPA Equilibration And Vascular Integrity

Name: Dr Kim Jonas (2017)
Project title: Deciphering the role of follicle stimulating hormone glycosylation variants on human ovarian function

Name: Dr Sander van den Driesche (2017)
Project title: Human masculinization disorders: investigation of mechanistic origins using an animal model

Name: Dr Nick Wheelhouse (2017)
Project title: Chlamydia induced progesterone resistance in the endometrium