The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a 5-year £1.5Bn fund and a key component in the delivery of the UK Aid Strategy. The research councils have each received directly allocated portions of the GCRF and BBSRC, MRC, ESRC, AHRC and NERC drew on their individual allocations to support this opportunity for Foundation Awards in Global Agriculture and Food Systems. The investment is part of the wider suite of GCRF foundations activities, with five UK research councils pledging over £40 million to tackle global challenges focused on non-communicable disease, global infection, and agriculture and food systems.

Many congratulations to:

• Real-time and seasonal forecasting of wheat rust epidemics to inform surveillance and control: Ethiopia as a LMIC test case, led by Christopher Gilligan (Department of Plant Sciences)
• Targeting virus transmission in a vital crop for African food security, led by John Carr (Department of Plant Sciences)

Please read more about about upcoming GCRF funding opportunities here.