Ahmed Mohamed: Funding Fuels Science

Funding is a fundamental aspect of research and as important as research itself. One of them cannot go without the other. Often, researchers struggle to continue their work and apply their ideas due to lack of money. Securing funding for academic research and pursuing a doctorate degree is often one of the most daunting challenges for early-career scientists. Funding is the lifeline of scientific exploration, enabling researchers to acquire equipment, access resources, and conduct experiments. 

In this post, I will explore various funding options available for academia and PhD programs, highlighting the different systems across countries. This discussion ties into the importance of networking in science, as building meaningful connections often unlocks funding opportunities. 

Types of Funding Models  

Funding models can vary significantly from one country to another. Narrowing the focus to Europe and United States of America, these models mainly fall into one of these categories: 

1. International: to which any researcher can apply worldwide, for example:  

• Federal agencies such as National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) in United States of America.  
• EU’s Horizon Europe program and European Research Council (ERC), which are some of the largest funding sources globally, supporting research across member states and beyond. Also, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), which specifically fund PhD and postdoctoral researchers (which is funding our Neuro-Innovation PhD programme). 

2. National: to which researchers in the corresponding country can apply for, for example: 

• Universities offer assistantships (teaching or research) that cover tuition and provide stipends. These are often locked to specific projects or departmental needs. 

• National Research Councils in countries like Germany (via DFG), the UK (via UKRI), Finland (via Research Council of Finland, previously known as “Academy of Finland”) and France (via ANR). 

• Private Foundations like Gates Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in USA offer funding for specific research topics or promising individuals. Finnish foundations such as Aivosäätiö, OLVI-säätiö and Instrumentariumin. 

3. Industry: by which companies co-fund research projects. Academia-industry collaborations are always appreciated worldwide. 

4. Scholarships and Fellowships: often merit-based and provide tuition waivers and stipends like Fulbright, Rhodes, Swedish Institute scholarships which focus on academic excellence and leadership potential. This is more common for students at Master/PhD level or early-career researchers. 

5. Crowd Funding: Platforms like Experiment.com and Kickstarter are gaining traction, enabling researchers to secure funding directly from the public. There is even a local example in Finland at University of Helsinki called DogRisk, check it out here.  

These grants are highly competitive and often require a compelling research proposal and strong academic credentials. Networking plays a crucial role here. Relationships with established researchers can lead to collaborations on grant applications or invitations to join funded projects. 

Role of Networking in Securing Funding 

As emphasized in my previous blog post, networking is indispensable for career development in science and this holds true for funding too.  

Personally, when I first started my PhD in Finland, I had to look around for funding opportunities to fund my experiments and personal salary. I did not know much about which grants or scholarships I am eligible for or where to even find them.

Networking with peers at work or conferences helped in clearing these issues, even getting to know funding opportunities (awareness of opportunities) that I never thought of to work out for my entry level.

Another perk about networking is getting to know the experience from other people (mentorship) such as what they used in their application, which criteria weigh more for each grant or feedback on my proposal.

Collaboration is an undeniable critical aspect of the grant applications. This holds true all the time as we cannot conduct research alone. Often, we need multi-disciplinary collaboration to achieve our goals. Many grants require multi-institutional or interdisciplinary teams. Networking helps researchers find collaborators to strengthen their proposals. This was also true for my case as we collaborated with a group that has profound expertise in one area that we were missing which did not only strengthen my application, but also the science that we are doing.

Partnership with industry is another example for networking and funding your research. This was not my case, but a case of my colleague. They managed to collaborate with a company that produces an expensive drug that was needed for some experiments. The collaboration concluded that the company will provide the drug free of charge to conduct these experiments which got our research moving forward smoothly without additional funding.  

In conclusion, funding academic research and pursuing a PhD is challenging, but achievable with the right strategies and networks. Different countries offer unique opportunities and understanding these systems can help researchers tailor their efforts. Networking, as always, remains a cornerstone of success by connecting researchers with collaborators, mentors, and funders. 

By staying proactive and building meaningful connections, scientists can overcome funding barriers and continue making impactful contributions to their fields. 

Ahmed Mohamed works as a doctoral researcher in the Neuro-Innovation PhD programme. He is doing his PhD at the Neuroinflammation research group on air pollution.