MQ: Transforming Mental Health

MQ: Transforming Mental Health, the UK's leading mental health research charity founded in 2013 by philanthropists and sector leaders, drives scientific breakthroughs to understand, treat, and prevent mental illness—addressing its historical underfunding compared to physical health. Its mission emphasizes bold, interdisciplinary research with core values of scientific excellence, inclusivity, person-centred approaches, and challenging the status quo, prioritizing lived experience involvement from design to dissemination, early-career talent development, and tackling inequalities.

It funds innovative projects across mental health science, including depression, anxiety, psychosis, eating disorders, suicide prevention, trauma, neurodevelopmental conditions, and mental-physical health integration, with 38% prevention-focused and 48% yielding new treatments. Supported activities span basic biology, data science, digital interventions, clinical trials, and policy-influencing work, often in children/young people, racially minoritised groups, and low/middle-income countries. Flagship programmes like Fellows Awards and Scholarships build diverse research workforces, with global reach but UK priority.

Eligible applicants are researchers or teams at universities, hospitals, or research institutions worldwide (excluding mainland China and UK-sanctioned countries), with no income/size restrictions; direct charity support is rare outside partnerships. Typical grants range £50,000–£250,000 (e.g., Fellows up to £250,000 over three years), covering research costs like salaries and PPI but not core/unrestricted funding, capital, or emergencies. Applications via EOI (3 November–12 December 2025, next deadline 12 December), then full proposals if shortlisted (due 3 April 2026); no rolling calls.

Distinctive for its exclusive mental health research focus, rigorous peer/lived experience review, policy impact (e.g., IDEA, Gone Too Soon), and multi-funder collaborations, MQ rejects proposals lacking scientific merit or addressing unmet needs.