MRC Funded Research Opportunities

Harriet WarburtonProgramme Manager, Research Career Awards, MRCImperial College Junior Doctors’ Training DayLondon – 12th September 2012

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

Balance: People – Project - Place

• 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

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.

Methodology Development

Range of MRC fellowships

-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Career Development

Award

Senior Non-Clinical

CRTF

Clinician ScientistSenior Clinical

ClinicalLectureship Senior Clinical

Lectureship

Population Health Science

Biomed informatics, Biostats, Economics of Health

Yrs Post PhD

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

Opportunities for Clinical Scientists

Clinical Fellowships class of ‘91

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 training2 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

Opportunities for Clinical Scientists

• 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

Clinician Scientist Fellowship

Opportunities for Clinical Scientists

• 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.

Senior Clinical Fellowships

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

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

Our website www.mrc.ac.uk should be your first port of call

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

Thank you

Harriet.warburton@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

Discovery & Exploratory Research Application & Delivery Research

MRC lead Health Departments’ lead

Pharmacogenomics

Animal/human models

Regenerative medicine

Genetics/genomics

Structural biology

Imaging

Systems medicine

Global health

Ageing: lifecourse

Stem cells

Infections

Population science

Experimental

medicine

Methodology

Global health

Stratified medicine

Public health

E-health

HTA Trials

EME Trials(Late stage III)

Programmes in

Applied research

Research for Patient Benefit

Service Delivery and Organisation

NIHR (England)

CSO (Scotland)

WORD (Wales)

HSCNI (Northern Ireland)

MRC & NIHR: Delivering research with health, societal and economic impacts