Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: Clinical research training fellowship: Jan 2022

Opportunity status:: Closed
Funders:: Medical Research Council (MRC)
Funding type:: Fellowship
Publication date:: 3 September 2021
Opening date:: 1 November 2021
Closing date:: 12 January 2022 16:00 UK time

Last updated: 15 December 2021

Apply for funding to undertake a PhD or to reacquire research skills. Your research can focus on any area of MRC’s remit to improve human health.

You must be a registered healthcare professional, either:

planning to undertake a PhD or similar
a PhD graduate working outside of research for at least five years.

You must be at an appropriate point in your clinical training to undertake a PhD.

You may also choose to apply for joint funding from one of the collaborating organisations.

We will fund your salary and project costs for three years.

Who can apply

Eligible professions

You can apply if you’re a registered healthcare professional. This includes, but is not limited to:

nurses
midwives
allied health professionals
healthcare scientists
pharmacists
clinical psychologists
doctors
dentists
general practitioners.

We also invite veterinarians to apply if they have equivalent qualifications, providing their proposed project is relevant to human health.

Types of funding available

We welcome both predoctoral and postdoctoral applicants.

Predoctoral applicants

The aim of this scheme is to support clinically active healthcare professionals to undertake a higher research degree, such as a PhD or MD.

You must:

be able to demonstrate ownership of your project and your ambition to follow a clinical academic career
be at an appropriate point in your clinical training to study for a PhD, with clear plans for completing your specialty training
show you would be no more than one year into your PhD course when starting your fellowship award
have the support of an eligible research organisation.

You do not need to have registered for a PhD at the time of your fellowship application.

If you have spent more than one year on the course, you must explain within your proposal why you are a suitable candidate. If you have spent significantly more time than one year on your PhD course, we will consider your application only in exceptional circumstances.

You do not need to have held a position which includes formal research time, for example an academic foundation or an academic clinical fellowship.

If you are clinically qualified, we will expect you to be undertaking your specialty training and have completed your membership of the Royal College of Physicians’ exams or equivalent. You should consult your deanery about studying for a PhD and your plans for completing specialty training before you apply for a clinical research training fellowship.

If you are a veterinarian, you may apply if you are a registered vet and a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

If you are a clinical psychologist, you must have a professional doctorate-level qualification in clinical psychology that is accredited by the British Psychological Society before starting the fellowship.

If you are a non-medical healthcare professional (such as a nurse, midwife or allied health professional), you must have completed your professional training and hold a research master’s degree or equivalent postgraduate research-oriented qualification.

Postdoctoral applicants

The aim of this scheme is to offer applicants who already have a PhD, but have not been active in research since, an opportunity to progress to a clinical scientist fellowship level by undertaking a new research project.

You can apply if you:

have received a PhD or equivalent, usually five or more years ago
are at a similar career stage to predoctoral applicants and undertaking your specialty training
have not undertaken substantial periods of academic research since your PhD (we may also consider your application if you have a National Institute for Health Research academic clinical fellowship or similar since your PhD)
have the support of an eligible research organisation.

If you have completed your PhD within the last few years and are not eligible to apply for a clinical research training fellowship, you should consider the clinician scientist fellowship.

We will take into account any career breaks, flexible working and changes in discipline when assessing your research experience and current track record. Read our guidance on career breaks and flexible working (PDF, 41KB).

You do not need to have a specific period of postdoctoral experience.

You can find out more in our guidance for fellowship applicants. Our frequently asked questions page also has further details on eligibility.

If you’re not sure if you’re eligible, email us before beginning your application: fellows@mrc.ukri.org.

Global Talent visa

Clinician research training fellowship holders are eligible for a Global Talent visa under the ‘exceptional promise’ category for future research leaders.
Find out about the Global Talent visa.

What we're looking for

We welcome applications from across all areas of MRC’s remit to improve human health, ranging from basic studies with relevance to mechanisms of disease to translational and developmental clinical research.

Explore MRC’s areas of scientific remit.

Science areas include:

infections and immunity
molecular and cellular medicine
population and systems medicine
neurosciences and mental health
translation
global health
methodology
public health.

We also welcome proposals for interdisciplinary approaches or research which will address global health issues and be of benefit to those living in low and middle income countries.

Clinical research training fellowships usually last three years but never less than two years. For patient-orientated projects where the clinical sessions will be of direct relevance to your research, you may request up to four years’ funding and undertake up to four clinical sessions a week.

These periods are based on full-time equivalents. Awards may be held on a part-time basis to meet personal commitments but not because of other professional commitments.

We expect you to take up your fellowship no more than six months after the date of the review meeting.

This fellowship scheme provides a salary, giving you protected time to concentrate on your research, training and development. You may spend up to six hours a week (pro-rated for part-time fellowships) on other commitments such as teaching, demonstrating and other funded projects or you may undertake up to two clinical sessions a week.

Read MRC’s guidance on research staff development.

We recognise the challenges faced by clinicians in combining research training with the demands of a clinical career. We operate this scheme as flexible as possible giving you the chance to negotiate the extent of your clinical commitment depending on your specialty and your research needs.

If you are planning to undertake more than two clinical sessions a week during your fellowship, we advise you to email MRC head office before you apply: on fellows@mrc.ukri.org.

Find out more about what to expect as an MRC fellow.

Predoctoral fellowships

This fellowship provides:

a salary appropriate to your level of training, up to but not including NHS consultant level
up to £20,000 each year to cover consumables, equipment, conference travel, PhD and other course fees.

You may be able to request extra funding for costs such as:

the cost of training at an overseas or second centre or industry placement
the purchase and maintenance cost of animals (excluding experimental costs, related consumables or project licences)
the costs associated with healthy volunteer studies, where costs for patient studies would be met by local clinical research networks.

You can find out more in:

Postdoctoral fellowships

This fellowship provides:

salary costs appropriate to your level of training up to but not including NHS consultant level
funding to cover research expenses and travel costs (full economic costing).

There is no limit to the amount you can claim for expenses.

MRC will typically fund 80% of the full economic cost. The research organisation must agree to find the balance of full economic cost from other resources.

Jointly funded clinical research training fellowships

MRC collaborates with royal colleges and charity funders to offer jointly funded clinical research training fellowships.

These awards offer the prestige of having the relevant organisation co-fund your fellowship and may offer additional opportunities to report on your project, present your work at meetings and take part in professional networking.

Read about MRC’s jointly funded clinical research training fellowships.

To apply for joint funding, you must include the joint funding form as part of your cover letter. Download the joint funding form.

Joint-funding does not alter the assessment process. We will offer all jointly funded fellowships under standard MRC terms and conditions, except where the co-funder has specified extra terms and conditions. If you apply for a jointly funded award which is not available for any reason, we will automatically consider you for a standard MRC fellowship instead.

How to apply

You must apply using the Joint Electronic Submission system (Je-S).

We recommend you start your application early. You can save completed details in Je-S at any time and return to continue your application later.

When applying select ‘New document’ then follow either to follow the appropriate process for the fellowship type you’re applying for.

To apply for a predoctoral fellowship select:

council: MRC
document type: fellowship proposal
scheme: total costs fellowship
call: Clinical Research Training Fellowship Predoctoral Jan 2022.

To apply for a postdoctoral fellowship select:

council: MRC
document type: fellowship proposal
scheme: fellowships, FEC
call: Clinical Research Training Fellowship Postdoctoral Jan 2022.

You can find advice on completing your application in the Je-S handbook.

If you need further help, you can contact the Je-S help desk on 01793 444164 or by email jeshelp@je-s.ukri.org.

Your host organisation will be able to provide advice and guidance on completing your application.

The clinical research training fellowship award opens three times a year, closing in:

January
April
September.

Find dates for future funding opportunities.

If you need advice on your suitability for an MRC fellowship scheme, email your CV using the fellowship CV template (DOCX, 57KB), to fellows@mrc.ukri.org including:

a one-page project outline
a list of your publications
a description of how you meet the skills and experience for this scheme.

You may apply to any MRC fellowship scheme no more than twice even if your proposal changes. You should allow at least a year between submissions whether applying to the same or a different scheme. If you want to reapply within a year you should request permission from the relevant programme manager before resubmission by emailing fellows@mrc.ukri.org.

Applying for a jointly funded clinical research training fellowship

To apply for a fellowship that is jointly funded by the royal colleges or charity funders, your application must include the joint funding form.

Read about the MRC’s jointly funded clinical research training fellowships.

For more information on the application process, see:

If you need further information, you can email us on fellows@mrc.ukri.org.

How we will assess your application

When we receive your application, we will check it to make sure it is within remit. It will then be peer reviewed by at least three independent experts from the UK and overseas.

You can nominate up to three independent reviewers. We will invite only one to assess your application and may decide not to approach any of your nominated reviewers.

Criteria

Peer reviewers will assess your application and provide comments. They will also score it using the peer reviewer scoring system against the following criteria.

Read the detailed assessment criteria for each fellowship type.

Importance

How important are the questions, or gaps in knowledge, that are being addressed?

Scientific potential

What are the prospects for good scientific progress?

Resources requested

Are the funds requested essential for the work? And do the importance and scientific potential justify funding on the scale requested?

Does the proposal represent good value for money?

Decision

A sub-committee of members of the clinical training and career development panel will review these scores and comments at a shortlisting meeting. We continue with the highest-quality applications with potential to be funded.

If your application passes the shortlisting stage, we will invite you to interview and send you copies of the external reviewers’ comments.

Interviews with the clinical training and career development panel will usually last 30 minutes. We will contribute towards the cost of your return travel, modest subsistence costs and reasonable additional family care costs.

Feedback

We will let you know as soon as possible after we have made a final decision about your application. This is usually within five working days of your interview.

If you reach the interview stage, we will send you feedback and let you know the reasons for the panel’s decision. If you are not invited to interview we will send you copies of the external reviewers’ comments.

We aim to make a decision within six months of receiving your application.

Find out more about:

the MRC fellowship assessment
an overview of the MRC review process.

Contact details

Ask about this funding opportunity

Email: fellows@mrc.ukri.org

Get help with applying through Je-S

Email: jeshelp@je-s.ukri.org
Telephone: 01793 444164

Opening times

The Je-S helpdesk is:

open Monday to Thursday 8:30 to 17:00
open Fridays 8:30 to 16:30
closed on weekends, bank holidays and other holidays.