Mind Matters introduces new research grants

Applications are now open for the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) first Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant, named for an elected RCVS Council member who tragically passed away in 2017.

One £20,000 grant will be awarded each year for five years, starting in 2019 (making a £100,000 total by 2023) to fund research that focuses on mental health and wellbeing within the veterinary professions, including areas such as prevention, diagnosis, intervention and treatment.

Applications are welcome from individuals at all stages of their research careers, including those who have not previously been published, with research proposals relating to any aspect of mental health or wellbeing in the veterinary professions. Researchers must be affiliated with a university, and ethical approval must be in place.

Our CEO, Lizzie Lockett (pictured right), says: “Sarah Brown was a talented veterinary surgeon who was passionate about her profession. She was respected and loved by so many people and worked hard to support others. So it is fitting that, with the blessing of Sarah’s family, we are able to launch this grant in her memory. It’s only by improving the veterinary mental health evidence base that we will be able to hone the interventions and support that is available to members of the veterinary team.”

Applicants should send their research proposal, along with a CV and short biography for all lead researchers, to Lisa Quigley, Mind Matters Initiative Manager, by 5pm on Friday 31 May 2019.

Each proposal should be a maximum of 3,000 words and should include aims, methods, ethical considerations, proposed timelines, and a bibliography. Any academic literature referred to within the proposal should be accurately referenced. The winner of the grant will be decided in June 2019, with the winner then receiving their award at Royal College Day in London on Friday 12 July 2019.

The recipient of the Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant for 2019 will be invited to present their research findings at the biennial Mind Matters Initiative Research Symposium in 2021.

Applications are particularly welcomed from those at an early stage in their research career. Guidance on how to prepare a research proposal is available on the Economic and Social Research Council's website.