These awards support registration and travel (if appropriate) to major national or international meetings (either in person or on-line), in particular, ASM, ICAAC, IDSA, and ECCMID to present original research, where the abstract is already accepted. Accommodation costs may also be included up to the grant limit. You can make applications for retrospective expenses if the timing of the conference, or abstract notification, did not align with the application deadlines.
Grants
View BIA's past grant winner - Previous Grant Winners | British Infection Association (BIA)
BIA Travel Awards
Supporting registration and travel to major national or international meetings to present original research.
Key Dates
- 1st Round - Applications open 1st October - 31st January - CLOSED FOR 2026
- 2nd Round - Applications are open between 1st February - 30th June - NOW OPEN
- 3rd Round* - Applications are open between 1st July - 30th September - CLOSED FOR 2025
Overview
Criteria & Assessment
Travel grants are assessed by the Scientific and Research Committee and awarded according to pre-determined criteria that include:
- UK or Ireland-based salaried trainees who are not in a consultant-level post, working on infection-related research. This includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, trainee clinical scientists, high specialist scientist trainees, and other healthcare-focused careers.
- UK or Ireland-based undergraduates working on infection-related research.
- Acceptance of an abstract for an oral or poster presentation at the conference.
- Benefit to the applicant from attending the conference.
- All applicants will be required to be members of the British Infection Association. Individuals can join at the time of submitting their applications. Membership is free of charge for all undergraduate students, medically-qualified doctors-in-training in the UK and Ireland, as well as non-medically qualified personnel including nurses, pharmacists and laboratory scientists.
Applying
To apply, please forward to admin@Britishinfection.org
Applications can be made at any time throughout the year, and will be assessed after the 31st January, 30th June and 30th September. Each award is for a maximum of £1000. Four awards will be made in each round, with one ring-fenced for undergraduate students.
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A cover letter/email summarising the potential impact and case for support
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Name of conference
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Accepted abstract
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Letter of acceptance
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2-page C.V.
*3rd round applications to conferences other than FIS will be prioritised, given the availability of separate FIS bursaries, please see below for more information.
Previous Winners
2025
- Germain Lam
- Mimi Hou
- Christopher Darlow
- Miles Edwards
- Alice Scharmeli, Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust
- Harsita Patel, Queen Mary University of London / Royal London Hospital
- Sathyavani Subbarao, Specialist Registrar in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
- Jee Whang Kim, University of leicester
- Anna Bote-Casamitjana, University College of London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Cate Goldwater Breheny, Imperial College London
- Daisy Woolham, Visiting Researcher, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
- Katie Jones, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
- Megan Owens, Newcastle University
- Nienke Schouten, St Georges Hospital
- Rachel Southern-Thomas, Imperial College London
- Sanjita Brito Mutunayagam, Oxford Vaccine Group, University of Oxford
- Sarah Jawad, University of London
2024
- Daniela Kirwan, St Georges, University of London
- Hugh Adler, Liverpool University Hospital
- Vanesa Anton-Vazquez, St Georges Hospital
- Jee Kim, University of Leicester
- Sharenja Ratnakumar, St Georges Hospital
- Manik Kohli, St Georges Hospital
- Sophie Skarbek, ST3 ID/Virlogy
- Shakeela Brown, 4th Year Medical Student
- Maria Krutikov, Clinical Lecturer
- Sunya Aslam, F3/MSc Student
2023
- Joanne Byrne, University College Dublin
- Arabella Stuart, University of Oxford
- Cristina Loader, HTD
- Balram Rathish, GSTT
- David Hettle, Bristol
- Sally Percy, Bristol
2022
- Blair Merrick, GSTT
- Daniel Pan, Leicester
- Manik Kohli, Central and North West London NHS FT
- Rohma Ghani, Imperial College London
2019
- Fadil Bidmos
- Francesc Coll
- Suzanna Paterson
- Tomasz Benedyk
- Angela McBride
- Eva Galiza
2016
- Daniel O'Connor, University of Oxford, Oxford Vaccine Group
ESPID 2016 - Kyriaki Giorgakoudi, University of Cambridge Disease Dynamics Unit
CMTB at the University of Nottingham - Infectious disease modelling and public health policy
2015
- Thomas C Darton, Sheffield Teaching Hospital Trust
9th International Conference on Typhoid and Invasive NTS Disease - Louise Frances Hill, London School of Hygiene & Trop Med 33rd
Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) - Sara Brilha, Imperial College London
Poster Presentation Final yr of PhD. ECI in Vienna - Elvire Berthenet, Swansea University
Speaker Award winner for CHRO meeting in NZ - Stephen Tuffs, Roslin Institute
Oral presentation at Staph mtg in Gordon conference Tuscany - Fadil Bidmo, Imperial College London
Poster at European Meningococcal disease Society Amsterdam - Anna Last
- Hema Sharma
2014
- Clark Russell, University of Edinburgh
- Defres Sylviane, University of Liverpool
- Enrique Castro Sanchez, Imperial College London
- Clare Turner, Imperial College London
- Megan Osbourne, Queen's University Belfast
Frontiers of Immunology in Health & Disease, Sept 2014 - Sabrina Roberts, Kingston University London
XIXth International Pathogenic Neisseria Conf (IPNC), October 2014 - Madeleine Malina, Royal Free Hospital London
- Jennifer Roe, University College London
- Jamie Whitehorn, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
2013
- Felicia Lim; Paul McAdam
Federation of Infection Societies (FIS) Conference Bursary
Bursary places to support registration and travel to the FIS Conference for eligible applicants whose abstract are already accepted
Key Dates
- Applications open: 1st July 2026
- Closing date: 30th September 2026
Overview
BIA are providing up to 8 bursary places to support registration and travel to the FIS Conference for eligible applicants whose abstract are already accepted. One bursary will be ring-fenced for undergraduate applicants. Accommodation costs may also be included, up to £1000 grant limit.
Criteria & Assessment
FIS Bursaries will be assessed by the Scientific and Research Committee and awarded according to pre-determined criteria that include:
- UK or Ireland-based salaried trainees who are not in a consultant-level post, working on infection-related research. This includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, trainee clinical scientists, higher specialist scientist trainees, and other healthcare-focused careers.
- UK or Ireland-based undergraduates working on infection-related research.
- Acceptance of an abstract for an oral or poster presentation at the conference.
- Benefit to the applicant from attending the conference.
- All applicants will be required to be members of the British Infection Association. Individuals can join at the time of submitting their applications. Membership is free of charge for all undergraduate students, medically qualified doctors-in-training in the UK and Ireland, as well as non-medically qualified personnel including nurses, pharmacists and laboratory scientists.
Applying
To apply, please forward by e-mail to admin@Britishinfection.org
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A cover letter/email summarising the potential impact and case for support
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Name of conference
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Accepted abstract
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Letter of acceptance
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2-page C.V.
APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN 1st JULY 2026
Previous Winners
2024
- Humaira Ahmed, University of Plymouth
- Alistair Yeoh, Liverpool University Hospitals
- Ruby Hadfield Kilner, Sheffield Children's Hospital
- Alyssa Hudson, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
- Opeyemi Makanjuola, University Hospitals Sussex
- Olivia Plumpton, Newcastle University
- Jenni Shuttleworth, North Bristol NHS Trust
- Vanessa Tobert, Oxford University Hospitals
2023
- Annalise Unsworth, Oxford University Hospital
- Wankumbu Chisala, Sheffield Teaching Hospital
- Lara Payne, University College London
- Timothy Jones, University of Oxford
- Mo Chung Kwok, West Middlesex University Hospital
- Junko Takata, Oxford University Hospital
- Sanjita Therese Brito-Mutunayagam, Oxford Vaccine Group
- Fergus Hamilton, University of Bristol
Barnett Christie Lecture at FIS
Applications open: 1st May 2026
Applications close: Midnight, 30th June 2026
Each year the BIA invites applications to deliver this highly prestigious lecture at the conference of the Federation of Infection Societies. The successful applicant will be invited to give a lecture at the annual meeting of the Federation of Infection Societies (FIS) held each autumn.
Award: In addition to presenting this BIA lecture, your attendance at the conference is funded to include, FIS Conference.Registration, accommodation and travel. The award winner will also receive £1,500 cash award.
Application process:
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A two-sided A4 outline of a proposed lecture plus a short curriculum vitae, listing all publications and other relevant scientific achievements should be sent by e-mail to the admin@Britishinfection.org
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All applications will be reviewed by the Scientific and Research Committee and scored according to their body of independent research, its quality, novelty and impact, the quality of the lecture proposal and career trajectory.
Eligibility:
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UK and Ireland based clinically-qualified trainees in infection or infection-related specialties who are not in a Consultant-level post.
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UK and Ireland based non-clinical post-doctoral scientists within 4 years of PhD and not in a tenured academic or top-grade scientist post. If you are beyond 4 years since awarding of PhD, but have had career breaks (e.g. for maternity, paternity or other reasons), you could still be eligible and should explain the situation in a covering email or letter with the application.
BIA Early Career Research Grant
Applications Open: 1st October 2026
Applications Close: 31st January 2027
These awards flexibly provide consumables and/or salary costs for trainees undertaking an infection-related research project in an academic centre in the UK or Ireland. Trainees will usually be working in an infection-related speciality and pre-PhD but other applicants from related specialities will be considered. The BIA recognises that not all trainees have the benefit of protected research time as part of an Academic Clinical Fellowship or similar scheme but may be interested in furthering an academic career. The Early Career Research Grant will therefore prioritise those without research salary support to generate preliminary data with the intention of taking the work forward towards a higher degree. It is expected that this would enable the successful candidate to take time out of their training, for example as a block of up to 3 months or spread part-time over part/all of the award period in preparation for a fellowship application.
Type of Award: One award would be made of £30,000 to be taken up over one to three years as required for the proposed research, to cover salary and/or non-salary costs of research.
Eligibility:
- UK or Ireland-based salaried trainees undertaking an infection-related research project who are not in a consultant-level post.
- This includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, trainee clinical scientists, high specialist scientist trainees, and other healthcare-focused careers.
- All applicants must be supported by a named supervisor(s) at the place of intended research.
- Applicants who do not have salaried research time in their job plan and who do not yet have a PhD will be prioritised, but other applicants will be considered.
- All applicants will be required to be members of the British Infection Association. Individuals can join at the time of submitting their applications. Membership is free of charge for medically qualified doctors-in-training in the UK and Ireland, as well as non-medically qualified personnel including nurses, pharmacists, and laboratory scientists .
Application Process:
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Complete the BIA Research Grant Application Form and return to admin@Britishinfection.org
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All applications will be reviewed by the Scientific and Research Committee and scored according to importance, clarity of aims, appropriateness of research methodology, feasibility and potential impact.
Tenure: 1-2 years, Grants must be taken up within 12 months of award.
BIA Small Project Grant
Applications Open: 1st October 2026
Applications Close: 31st January 2027
These awards provide consumables costs for trainees undertaking an infection-related research project in an academic centre in the UK or Ireland. Funds are intended to support the generation of preliminary data with the intention of developing the work through a research fellowship or as an adjunct to existing but as yet unfunded projects.
Type of Award: Up to four awards will be made of up to £10,000 for 12 months, to cover non-salary costs of research only. One award will be ring fenced for applicants who are allied health professionals who are not medically qualified.
Eligibility:
- UK or Ireland-based salaried trainees undertaking an infection-related research project who are not in a consultant-level post.
- This includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, trainee clinical scientists, high specialist scientist trainees, and other healthcare-focused careers.
- All applicants must be supported by a named supervisor(s) at the place of intended research.
- Applicants may be pre- or post-doctoral, with applications from these different career stages assessed separately.
- All applicants will be required to be members of the British Infection Association. Individuals can join at the time of submitting their applications. Membership is free of charge for medically qualified doctors-in-training in the UK and Ireland, as well as non-medically qualified personnel including nurses, pharmacists, and laboratory scientists.
Application Process:
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Complete the BIA Small Project Grant Application Form and return to admin@Britishinfection.org
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All applications will be reviewed by the Scientific and Research Committee and scored according to importance, clarity of aims, appropriateness of research methodology, feasibility and potential impact.
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The Scientific Advisory Committee will endeavour to make awards to both pre-and post-doctoral researchers at every grant round.
Tenure: 1 year. Grants must be taken up within 12 months of award.
BIA/ESCMID Young Scientist Member Travel Award
The BIA/ESCMID Young Scientist member travel award provides registration and € 500 travel/accommodation allowance. BIA welcomes applications from those who have submitted abstracts for ECCMID. Applicants need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Young Scientist Member of ESCMID
- Trainee Member of the BIA
- Abstract accepted to ECCMID 2027
This award is highly competitive and therefore individual case presentations or retrospective series are unlikely to be successful.
More details to follow when applications open early 2027.
APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED