Ciara Wilton

Head of Research Funding

Biography

Background

I joined Edinburgh Research Office in 2022 to support the management and closure of a large, complex fellowship programme funded by the European Commission, as well as supporting with the management of a large GCRF UKRI project. I also led the Flexible Resource Centre early improvement initiative as part of the Growing Research Together Programme.  I took up the Team Lead Research Project Management role in 2023, wherein I led a team of project managers and administers who are deployed across the university to provide dedicated, professional, and embedded support to externally funded research projects, whilst also providing direct support to a number of large, complex research projects myself.  In 2026, I was appointed Head of Research Funding and I now lead the Research Funding Team in the provision of research funding services at the pre-award stage. 

I lead the Research Funding Team, in the Operations Directorate. In my role, I leverage the teams knowledge of funders and technical expertise of research funding to provide institution-wide pre-award support for research and research-related work. The team provide expertise to the to the costing, compliance, and submission of research applications, as well as manage the acceptance of successful awards to underpin a sustainable research portfolio delivering global impact.

For more information about ERO Directorates and teams visit: About Us | Edinburgh Research Office | Edinburgh Research Office. 

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