MRC Funded Research Opportunities Harriet Warburton Programme Manager, Research Career Awards, MRC

1. MRC Funded Research Opportunities Harriet Warburton Programme Manager, Research Career Awards, MRC Imperial College Junior Doctors’ Training Day London – 12th September 2012

2. About the Medical Research Council The Medical Research Council was founded in 1913 is a publicly-funded organisation dedicated to improving human health. We support research across the entire spectrum of medical sciences, in universities and hospitals, in our own units, centres and institutes in the UK, and in our units in Africa. MRC funding for research - £758m (2009/10) 50% of funding is directly to MRC research establishments 3 institutes, 28 units (2 overseas) 50% of funding is to universities and centres22 centres, research grants, training awards and fellowships £78m pa on training and career development People Supports 5,700 staff 350 research fellows and 1,500 students

3. Fellowships The person The project The ‘place’ Grants The project / programme The people The ‘place (s)’ “The thing I enjoy so much is that my work has direct application to people…” MRC/Academy of Medical Sciences Clinician Scientist Balance: People – Project - Place

4. MRC Fellowship Schemes Features: No age limits Return from a career break Awards can be held part time Support for maternity/sick leave Procedures are designed to minimise discrimination MRC fellowships enable outstanding individuals to undertake challenging projects in excellent research and training environments.

5. Range of MRC fellowships Senior Non-Clinical Career Development Award Yrs Post PhD CRTF ClinicalLectureship Clinician Scientist Senior ClinicalLectureship Senior Clinical Population Health Science Biomed informatics, Biostats, Economics of Health Methodology Development

6. MRC Clinical Research Fellows • Potential research leaders of the future • Outstanding candidates (potential not just project)) • Vision (appropriate to their career stage) • Synergy between clinical & research training • Development through excellent research • Intellectually demanding • Using advanced methods, skills & technologies • Access to essential research facilities & resources • Development in an excellent environment • Inspirational leadership & supervision • High quality and impact science • Engagement in research translation • Access to national & international excellence • Great mentorship • Enabling career choices and advancement • As clinician and researcher

7. Opportunities for Clinical Scientists

8. Clinical Fellowships class of ‘91

9. Clinical Research Training Fellowships • At pre-doctoral/ entry level for clinically qualified to undertake specialised or further research training in clinical or bio-medical sciences within the UK. • Combining research with clinical training • 2 clinical sessions/week (3 for surgeons) • 12 month abeyance of award for concentrated training • Personal salary • Research expenses - £15K p.a. plus animal costs • Overseas training allowance • 2 rounds p.a. (Jan & Sept) approx 50 fellowships offered per year • Research overseas (1yr)/ 2nd UK Centre/UK Industrial Training • Opportunities to be co-funded by Royal Colleges or charities related to the field of study • Average cost around £200k

10. Opportunities for Clinical Scientists

11. Clinician Scientist Fellowship • The MRC’s Clinician Scientist Fellowships aim to develop outstanding medically and other clinically qualified professionals who have gained a PhD/DPhil to establish themselves as independent researchers. • They will demonstrate a rigorous and insightful approach to research, and the ability to relate their research to clinical medicine and to the improvement of health. • They will have a clear sense of how they wish to develop their careers as clinicians and scientists and show the potential to become research and/or clinical leaders in the future. • The proposed project and centre will provide valuable training experience and the applicant will gain generic and transferable skills

12. Opportunities for Clinical Scientists

13. Senior Clinical Fellowships • The MRC’s senior clinical fellowships aim to develop outstanding medically and other clinically qualified professionals such that they become research leaders. • They will have a strong track record of challenging, original and productive research; of effective collaboration; and of training in robust research methods and technologies. • They will demonstrate scientific vision, insight and originality; the ability to relate their proposed research to clinical medicine and the potential to lead other scientists.    • It is expected that applicants’ clinical work helps to inform and strengthen their research work. • There is not the same expectation to move centres.

14. Other funding: Types of grants • Standard “response mode” Grants • Research grants • New investigator research grants • Programme grants • Awards to promote collaboration • Between HEIs (Partnership grants) • With industry (MRC Industry Collaboration Awards) • Short awards for personal development • Discipline hopping • People exchange

15. Being successful Understand the funder Science: remit and opportunities Administrative: Forms; CV; page length & number; finance & signatures. Be bold Ambitious, original… and NOT boring Plan well & be realistic You will be over-optimistic! A complex study will roll out more slowly than you think. Agreements and authorisations will take time. Not everything will work. Clarify dependencies and risks, and plan contingencies 15

16. Being successful Discuss and learn Draw on experienced colleagues, mentors, research Board members, funding officials & patient groups Learn from “failure” and feedback (<25% of applications may be funded) Present clearly: person, project, place Be specific: what you aim to achieve, why and how You will need to inform and persuade a diverse audience Explain and justify research question / hypothesis design / strategy delivery (methods, collaborations, management); ethics resources 16

17. Our website www.mrc.ac.ukshould be your first port of call

18. Clinical Fellowship deadlines • Clinical Research Training Fellowship (Round 2) • Call opens: 04 December 2012 • Submissions by 4pm: 15 January 2013 • Short listing: May 2013 • Interviews: 20 - 21 June 2013 • Take up dates: August 2013 to January 2014 • Clinician Scientist Fellowship • Call opens: 26 February 2013 • Submissions by 4pm: 09 April 2013 • Short listing: September 2013 • Interviews: 19 -21 November 2013 • Take up dates: January to June 2014 • Senior Clinical Fellowship • Call opens: 26 February 2013 • Submissions by 4pm: 09 April 2013 • Short listing: September 2013 • Interviews: 19 -21 November 2013 • Take up dates: January to June 2014

19. Thank you Harriet.warburton@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

20. MRC & NIHR: Delivering research with health, societal and economic impacts Discovery & Exploratory Research Application & Delivery Research MRC lead Health Departments’ lead Genetics/genomics Structural biology Imaging Systems medicine Global health Ageing: lifecourse Stem cells Infections Population science Pharmacogenomics Animal/human models Regenerative medicine Programmes in Applied research Research for Patient Benefit Service Delivery and Organisation Experimental medicine Methodology Global health Stratified medicine HTA Trials EME Trials(Late stage III) Public health E-health NIHR (England) CSO (Scotland) WORD (Wales) HSCNI (Northern Ireland)