Funding is now available for the development and use of electronic resources in health research. The deadline for expressions of interest is 10 October 2007.

In a new partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Economic and Social Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council, we are inviting proposals in the following areas:

1) Health research using electronic patient records and major longitudinal cohort databases, including studies of:

• population health and disease burden
• major determinants of health (biological, social, economic or cultural)
• health impact and effectiveness of health interventions and policies including, but not exclusively, clinical trials implemented through national health systems.

2) Training programmes and workshops in the development and use of methodologies and/or technologies for research using complex patient records and databases.

3) Public engagement activities to explore issues around the use of electronic patient databases for research, and to raise awareness of the importance of such databases and research for patient benefit.

Applications proposing linked activities in more than one of these areas are particularly encouraged, as is international comparative research.

Selected applicants will be invited to a workshop to be held at the Trust on 14 November 2007.

For further information, see our Electronic patient records pages. Alternatively please contact patientdatabase@wellcome.ac.uk.