Applications for Cohort Four Challenge led Accelerator Programme was launched in partnership with GSK Consumer Healthcare Next & Beyond teams on Monday 16 March 2020. The meta challenge, Future of Pain, was developed in collaboration with GSK Consumer Healthcare targeting early career researchers working on novel solutions, experimental and alternative ways of addressing how science, medicine and society understands, diagnoses and measures pain. How technologies may innovate or address the challenge;

• Understanding– New and novel ways to understand and objectively measure pain
• Pre-emption and prevention–Early interventions and preventative tools to reduce risk factors associated with pain
• Visualisation and interpretation-Tools and approaches to support clinicians and individuals with the interpretation of data and alternative explanatory methods
• Management and treatment-New and novel ways to improve quality of life suffered by pain patients

The accelerator programme offers postdocs and PhD candidates from its consortium higher education institutions a salary replacement to take six-months (full-time) away from the lab to develop a medical technology into a business venture. The programme offers entrepreneurship masterclasses, specialist advice, access to co-working space and an allowance for travel and consumables (up to £45,000).