Funding Opportunities

Announcement – Funding Opportunity – Call For Proposals – 2 February 2026

Effects of the Usage of Digital Technology on Brain Development, Social Behaviours and Mental Health in Children and Young People

A long-standing interest of HFF has been the effect and impact of usage of digital technology on young people. The rapid rise and use of this technology has permeated much of society and transformed the way many humans interact.  There has been a broad array of research efforts that mostly have involved relatively crude measures of the amount of usage of digital technology (e.g. total screen time) and the observed effects and impact on health. Despite these efforts, the full implications – both positive and negative – on human physiology, psychology, behaviour, well-being and mental health remain unclear.   

We believe there is an opportunity to help advance the research and the field of knowledge in this area, both by strengthening existing as well as creating new methods and approaches to better model and unpick the complexities of this topic.

The Foundation

HFF is a grant-giving foundation based in London. Its mission is to support education, communities and the pursuit of knowledge. The Foundation’s current focus is in three main areas: education; the arts; and science. Since its inception in 2009, it has pledged over $100M to impactful projects in the UK, US and China. Through its donations, the Foundation hopes to improve the prospects of individuals, and to support the work of organisations seeking to ensure a safe and successful future for all society.

Funding opportunity

HFF is establishing a research portfolio on the Effects of the Usage of Digital Technology on Brain Development, Social Behaviours and Mental Health in Children and Young People. This is our second annual call.

We are pleased to announce an open call for proposals with a total budget of up to £6M / ~$8.1M.

We welcome applications for Huo early-career fellowships and junior faculty research grants (as detailed further below). We want to help train the next generation of exceptional scientists in this rapidly evolving field and to support multi-disciplinary work.    Applications should attempt to understand mechanisms, causal pathways and directions.

Awarded grants can be held at degree-awarding colleges and universities in the UK or the US. The college or university should have an appropriate charitable or tax-exempt status. Researchers based at hospitals or research institutes must apply via their affiliated university.

As detailed in the timeline below, applications should be submitted via our online grant system by 1 May 2026, and will then be peer-reviewed and shortlisted proposals considered by a funding committee of external experts. Funding decisions will be issued in November 2026, with the first annual grant payment in December 2026 or January 2027 for research activity to begin in early 2027.

Award timeline

2 February 2026 – call announced with grant information | HFF grant system opens for applications grants.huofamilyfoundation.org

1 May 2026 by 23.59 (UK time), 18.59 (Eastern), 15.59 (Pacific) – deadline for submission of applications

Summer 2026 – applications considered by external peer-review

18 September 2026 – applications shortlisted for the funding committee

21 – 28 September 2026 – if shortlisted for the funding committee, applicants respond to peer-review comments

22 – 23 October 2026 – shortlisted applications considered by the funding committee

w/c 23 November 2026 – funding decisions released

December 2026 – award agreements issued and first annual payment made

January 2027 – start of award grants

Two grant schemes – and other particulars

1. Huo early-career fellowships – up to three years, up to £130k/$175.5k pa – to support talented and promising postdoctoral researchers on the path to independence. Typically, the researchers must be within four years of completing PhD and without their first permanent position. Fellows should have a sponsor, who has a permanent position at the host institution. Find out more about applying for this grant.

2. Junior faculty research grants – up to three years, up to £170k/$229.5k pa – to support focused research projects led by new lecturers/assistant professors, who typically took up their first permanent/tenure-track position within the last four years. Find out more about applying for this grant.

Information on the awardees from the inaugural call in 2025, including research abstracts can be found here.

Programme contact

HFF Science Team science@huofamilyfoundation.org