Open call for research projects on alopecia areata

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune form of hair loss that affects an estimated 2% of the UK population at any point in their life. Typically starting as small patches, the hair loss can develop to affect the whole body. In many people, this has significant impacts on their mental health and quality of life. The unpredictability of the disease, and lack of a cure or even effective treatment options, add to the difficulty of living with this condition. 

Up to £60,000 in research funding is available for projects on any aspect of alopecia areata that gets us closer to understanding its causes and a future cure. This is made possible due to a generous legacy donation, the terms of which restrict awards to research specifically on causes and cures for alopecia areata. This call is therefore intended to support new research that helps us better understand the causes and triggers for alopecia areata, and research that helps us get closer to a cure. 

As such, this funding call is open to applications on environmental, biomedical, clinical and psychological research, which address the biological and physiological processes, as well as the psychological impacts, of alopecia areata. Please note, due to a specific clause in the legacy, this call is not open to research projects exploring other types of alopecia or experimental topical treatments.

Funding process

Applications will be reviewed by a range of experts, including our Research Committee, and patients and carers with lived experience of alopecia, on our Lay Research Panel. The priorities for alopecia areata research were established during a Priority Settings Partnership, and we encourage consideration of these priorities in your proposal. Research that does not address these priorities will still be considered but the relevance and importance to patients should be clearly explained in your application. We encourage involvement of patients in the development of projects, and have a Lay Research Panel of experts by lived experience who can be consulted. 

Applications of any value between £5,000 and £60,000 will be considered. 

As our current financial year ends on 31 March 2024, we will need to prioritise applications that are received before 31 January 2024, to allow appropriate time for reviewing. 

If you are considering an application, please register your interest with us by contacting [email protected].

We are not currently accepting new applications as we are reviewing applications received in January. Future funding opportunities will be communicated in due course. 

How to apply

Before making any application, please read our Terms and Conditions and other useful documents on our Information for Applicants page.

To apply, complete the application form and email it to [email protected].

*Lead applicants should be based at a UK institution, but can draw on international collaborators. Please note Alopecia UK is unable to distribute funding outside of the UK.

Interested in applying?

If you have any research project ideas you would like to discuss, further questions, or would like to request Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) or other research support, please get in touch with the Research Manager on [email protected].