Research Opportunities

The Starter Grants for Clinical Lecturers provide up to £30,000 over 1-2 years for consumables, to support Clinical Lecturers who are looking to develop and strengthen their research careers by gathering data to strengthen their bids for longer-term fellowships and funding. The grants are run by the Academy of Medical Sciences and are open for applications twice every year.

BTS is particularly keen to promote the scheme to members of the respiratory research community with an interest in TB, as its funding pool includes the 2017 Helen and Andrew Douglas Bequest, which was given to BTS to promote research into TB control. The Bequest is currently administered via the Academy using the Starter Grants scheme.

To be eligible to apply you need to:

• Have a PhD or MD.
• Hold a medical, dental or veterinary undergraduate degree and be registered with the General Medical Council, General Dental Council or Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
• Hold a clinical contract at a UK institution.

If you are a clinician in human or dental medicine, you must also:

1.   Be a research-active Clinical Lecturer

2.   Hold an NTN or NTN(A)

3.   Be within higher specialty training.

4.   Have undertaken a substantial period of research equivalent to a PhD or research MD, if you have qualified abroad with an MD.

5.   Note the following eligibility criteria relating to the timing of your CCT:

• If your CCT date will fall during the course of your proposed project, you must have secured protected research time throughout the proposed project (including the part taking place post-CCT). Please contact the Office to discuss your eligibility. 
• Clinical Lectureships in Primary Care and Dentistry are primarily awarded post-CCT and we welcome applications from these groups. However, for all other specialties candidates are not eligible to apply if they have already attained their CCT. 

Senior Clinical Lecturers and Clinical Psychologists are not eligible for this scheme.

The Asthma + Lung UK research grant rounds are now open. Applications are invited for the following funding streams:

• Mesothelioma grants - clinical trial, project grants, and pump-priming grants
• Early career starter awards - for PhD graduates 
• Healthcare professional PhD bursary awards - for healthcare professionals studying for, or applying for, a PhD 

Principal investigators and host institutions based in the UK are eligible to apply. International collaboration is welcome.

For more information, please follow the link below or email on research@asthmaandlung.org.uk

These are 1–2 year fellowships to provide postdoctoral research experience for clinicians, working in a Crick research group on a project agreed between the fellow and the Crick group leader. 

The fellowships aim to:

• Foster long-term clinical links and collaborations.
• Provide clinicians with a postdoctoral extension of their research experience, and with scientific networking, training and career development opportunities.
• Provide a platform from which fellows may apply for external funding, e.g. clinician scientist fellowships, to be held at the Crick or elsewhere.

Fellows at the Crick will be embedded in a vibrant multidisciplinary research community of more than 1000 scientists carrying out research to improve our understanding of health and disease. 

This opportunity would suit talented and motivated postdoctoral clinicians who are passionate about research and show outstanding potential for continuing a career in academic medicine and research. Applicants should have completed a medical degree, or equivalent clinical professional qualification, and hold, or be about to hold, a research PhD. 

The application submission window for Crick fully funded fellowships (route 1) is open from early March 2025 to end of April 2025.

Applications from fellows with funding for their own salary support (route 2) are welcome all year round. 

Our fully funded fellowships provide an opportunity for talented clinicians to perform biomedical discovery research while following our three-year clinical PhD programme. Our multidisciplinary research aims to understand why disease develops and to help improve disease diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Fellows will be based at the Crick, supported by a Crick primary supervisor, a secondary supervisor from one of the Crick partner universities (Imperial, King’s and UCL) and a dedicated thesis committee. They will benefit from well-resourced research labs, state-of-the-art science technology platforms, and a supportive and stimulating research environment.

We are looking for talented and motivated clinicians who are passionate about research, have a strong academic track record and hold GMC registration or equivalent.

Application deadline: 15 November 2024