Grants, Awards & PhD's

The 2024 Clulow Award Round will be OPEN later in the year.

In 2001, Mildred B Clulow bequeathed a legacy to the British Pain Society to fund research into the causes and cure of pain. In 2011 a further legacy was bequeathed from Elaine Clulow; the Society,created a research grant award named the Clulow Award. This is a bi-ennial award. 

Standard Procedure for the award of the Clulow Grant:
You may download a copy of the standard procedures for the award of the British Pain Society Clulow Award by clicking here.

Grant conditions:
You may download a copy of the standard British Pain Society research grant conditions by clicking here.

Full economic costing:
Applicants should note that in accordance with the Association of Medical Research Charities, to which the British Pain Society belongs, grants awarded by the Society will not fund the full economic costs of research (fECs), or a proportion of these. Applicant may read the AMRC statement at http://www.amrc.org.uk.

Eligibility:

• The applicant must be a current, Ordinary member of the British Pain Society, in good standing, and have been a member for a minimum of 6 months.
• The subject of the research must be within the field of pain
• The research must be undertaken in the UK

Application:
The applicant must complete the 2024 Clulow Research Grant application form which can be downloaded here. 
Please submit completed applications to [email protected]. The deadline will be annouce later in the year.

The criteria for the application can be found here.

The British Pain Society is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC). All AMRC members support the AMRC position statement on the use of animals in research.

Clinical Research funded by the BPS may be eligible for NIHR portfolio adoption.

Decision:

• Applications will be evaluated by peer review. For our peer review process, please see our Standard Procedures for the award of the Clulow Award.
• The British Pain Society Science and Research Committee will assess the peer review and will submit their recommendation for approval at the autumn Council meeting.
• Funding will be forwarded to the institution who employs the successful applicant, in stages, according to each project and on submission of relevant expense receipts 

Progress reports and presentation of research:
The Grant will be paid in four instalments. The first three at 30% of the total grant value and the fourth at 10%, each against an invoice from the Receiving Institution. The first instalment will be transferred following receipt of grant award letter from the BPS. The second and thirds instalments will be paid upon receipt and approval by The British Pain Society of two progress reports to be submitted at 12 and 18 months from the date of receipt of grant award letter. A final instalment of 10% will be paid upon receipt of the study final report.

Failure to submit timely progress reports will result in withholding of funds.

Previous Awards:
In 2005, the Mildred B Clulow Grant was awarded to Prof. Maria Fitzgerald to support a project on 'Cortical pain processing in preterm infants'. Click here to read the report.

In 2007, the Mildred B Clulow Grant was awarded to Dr Laura Mitchell to support a project on 'Experimental investigation of the effects of cannabis use on pain perception, control and coping'. (No report yet provided).

In 2009, the Mildred B Clulow Grant was awarded to Dr Tara Renton to support a project on 'Mapping of central changes, using cASL, induced by post-surgical pain after third molar surgery before and after Perfalgan infusion'. Click here to read the report.

In 2011, the Mildred B Clulow Grant was awarded to Prof. Gary Macfarlane to support a project on 'The Epidemiology of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women'. Click here to read the report.

In 2013, the Clulow Grant was awarded to Dr Patrick McHugh to support a project on 'Improving the understanding and treatment of neuropathic pain'.

In 2015, the Clulow Grant was awarded to Dr Ilona Obara to support a project on 'mTORC1 and the regulation of opioid analgesic efficacy in chronic pain: a translational approach'.

In 2017, the Clulow Grant was awarded to Dr Harriet Kemp to support a project on 'Neuropathic pain in retroviral infection: a human cross-sectional study’.

No award was granted in 2019.

In 2021, the Clulow Grant was awarded to Dr Joanna Zakrzewska to support the project: “Co-production Of A New Tool To Support The Identification And Diagnosis Of Trigeminal Neuralgia In Primary Dental Care”.

No award was granted in 2023.

This bursary is only available on the years that the IASP hold their bi-ennual Congress. 

The 21st World Congress on Pain will take place on 5-9 August 2024, in Amsterdam, Netherlands

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY

In order to encourage members to attend the International Association for the Study of Pain World Congresses, The British Pain Society makes funds available to assist its members who require financial assistance to attend the World Congress on Pain.

Eligibility

• The applicant must be a current, Ordinary member of the British Pain Society, in good standing, and have been a member for a minimum of 6 months. and a member of IASP.
• The applicant must have an income of less than £40,000 p.a. and give evidence of such
• The applicant must be working within the field of pain
• The applicant may not apply for this bursary if he/she has been granted other British Pain Society bursaries within 12 months of this application
• The applicant must be presenting work at the Congress

Application

• Applications may be submitted by post by submitting the 'IASP World Congress Bursary Application Form' available to download here.

• The Application Form must be counter-signed by the Head of Department or supervisor
• The applicant must provide a copy of the abstract they intend to present and confirmation of receipt of abstract
• The applicant must submit a CV (including full list of publications)

Decision

• Applications will be evaluated by a British Pain Society sub-committee
• The applicant will be notified of the decision in writing
• If successful, the applicant must provide all receipts against which the aid is to be provided. Aid is limited to the cost of registration, accommodation and economy travel. A cheque will then be sent to the applicant.

Professor Patrick Wall had an international reputation for research work on pain, especially the application of basic research towards clinical benefit.  In particular, he was keen to promote the work of young researchers.  The Society has made funds available to assist scientists, clinical or allied health practitioners at the early stages of their career in pain research who require financial assistance to present their work at overseas scientific meetings, other than the British Pain Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting and the IASP World Congress (separate bursaries are available for these two meetings).  

Eligibility

• The applicant must be within ten years of their last degree.
• The applicant must have an income of less than £40,000 p.a. and give evidence of such.
• The applicant must be carrying out scientific or clinical research within the field of pain.
• The applicant may not apply for this bursary if he/she has been granted other British Pain Society bursaries within 12 months of this application.
• The applicant must be a major contributor to the research that is being presented in oral or poster form at the meeting.
• The applicant should either be a current Ordinary Member of the British Pain Society or be applying for such membership (award of the Bursary is dependent upon BPS membership being formally approved)

Application

• Applications must be submitted on the attached Application Form (accompanied by your email receipt of online application of membership of the British Pain Society if applicable).
• The Application Form must be counter-signed by the Head of Department or Sponsor.
• The applicant must provide a copy of the abstract they intend to present and confirmation of acceptance.
• The applicant must submit a CV (including full list of publications).

Deadline

• Applications will be considered twice yearly, for which applications must be submitted by:
  • 31st May
  • 30th November.

Decision

• Applications will be evaluated by the Science & Research Committee of the British Pain Society.
• The applicant will be notified of the decision in writing within two weeks of the deadline.
• Each year a certain amount is set aside in the budget to provide Pat Wall bursaries.  The size of each bursary is therefore dependent on the number of applications received and may not cover the full amount requested.  Financial contributions are available towards part, or all, of the following costs only; registration fees, accommodation, and economy class travel.

How to apply
Applications must be submitted on the Bursary Application Form; available here. 

The British Pain Society launched a series of study days covering selected aspects of the core curriculum for pain specialists, entitled the "Learning in pain" series. The study days are designed to be refresher days for established pain practitioners, and educational days for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in training.

The Society has made limited funds available to assist those members of the British Pain Society who require financial assistance to attend these study days 

Eligibility

• The applicant must be a current, Ordinary member of the British Pain Society, in good standing and have been a member for a minimum of 6 months.
• The applicant must have an income of less than £25,000/annum
• The applicant may not apply for this bursary if he/she has been granted other British Pain Society bursaries within 12 months of this application.

Level of support offered
Assistance will be provided towards the cost of registration and travel (up to a maximum of £50) and will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis.

How to apply
An application form is available on request from the Secretariat at: info@britishpainsociety.org. 

Please return completed application forms to: info@britishpainsociety.org

Decision

• Applications will be evaluated by the British Pain Society Education Committee.
• The applicant will be notified of the decision in writing within one week of applying.
• If the application is successful, the Society will waive the cost of the registration fee and the applicant’s registration to attend the meeting will be processed with immediate effect.
• If the application for support towards the cost of travel expenses is successful, the Society will reimburse the costs after the study day, once receipts are submitted. Receipts are to be sent to the Secretariat, marked for the attention of the Honorary Treasurer.

From time to time the Society is made aware of grants, awards & PhD's offered by third parties, including industry-sponsored grants and awards, that may be of interest to members of the British Pain Society, and these will then be listed here. Please check back.

The Thalidomide Trust
Pain Management Research – Call for Applications

Please click here for more info.
Research brief here.