Transcript Academic Training Day, Imperial College London Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust’s Support for Clinical Academics Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
17 November 2011
James Harden Clinical Activities Manager
Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
The talk
•Why do research ?
•The Wellcome Trust and its schemes •Tips on writing a good application •The interview
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
Why do research?
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
Slide title here
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GMC Good Medical Practice
•‘Good doctors make the care of their patients their first concern: they are competent, keep their knowledge and skills up to date, establish and maintain good relationships with patients and colleagues, are honest and trustworthy, and act with integrity’ •Themes covered under three headings relate to the doctor as…..
•
A scientist and scholar
•As a practitioner •As a professional
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A new environment…
Collaboration & organisation • UK Clinical Research Collaboration • Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research • NIHR • Ring-fenced fund for R&D • Tooke Report • Darzi – Next Stage Review Infrastructure • Clinical Research Facilities • Clinical Research Networks • Biomedical Research Centres • Flexible Academic Career Pathways Science • Genetics • Medical Imaging – physiology • Medical engineering • Genomic and proteomic analysis • e-health and informatics
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
The Wellcome Trust and its Schemes
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
The Wellcome Trust
•Independent research-funding charity •Established in 1936 •Funded from a private endowment •Spend approx £600M/year on grants •Our interests range from science to the history of medicine to public engagement •Our
vision
is to achieve extraordinary improvements in human and animal health.
•Our
mission
is to support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities.
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
Clinical Fellowships
Academic career development
Principal Research Fellowships Senior Research Fellowships in Clinical Science Research Training Fellowships Clinical PhD Programmes Integrated Training Fellowship for Veterinarians MB/PhD Postdoctoral Fellowships Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowships Intermediate Clinical Fellowships Senior Investigator Awards New Investigator Awards Veterinary Postdoctoral Fellowships
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Why Apply for a Fellowship?
• Allows protected research time • All of our current Senior Clinical Fellows have previously held competitive fellowships from a major funder during their research career
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Research Training Fellowships
• For medical, dental and veterinary graduates who have little or no research training but who wish to develop a career in
academic medicine
• Applications from individuals who wish to undertake a high quality research training leading to a
PhD
• High-quality research project that balances provision of training with the opportunity to
advance knowledge
in a given area • Research Training Fellowship – up to 3-year award (Clinical salary and research expenses) Considered three times a year with interviews in December, March and June/July - no preliminary application.
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Next deadline for full applications:
3 February 2012
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PhD Programmes for Clinicians
• Complement Research Training Fellowships • Tailored to the unique needs of clinician-scientists • Programmes provide: • a structured, well-mentored environments • access to high-quality research environments • 170 training slots over five years - 30-35 training slots available annually • University of Oxford • University of Cambridge • Imperial College London • University of Edinburgh • University of Dundee • University of Liverpool • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine • University of Birmingham • Institute of Cancer Research
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Interdisciplinary Training Programmes for Clinicians in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics
• High-quality integrated research training programmes for clinicians • Will provide clinicians with the expertise to design and conduct studies that aim to develop and evaluate novel therapies in humans • Partnerships: from a single academic institution and industrial partner • Programmes provide a range of training opportunities tailored to a clinician's needs at several levels • Imperial • Edinburgh • Cambridge • Newcastle
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Who has been successful?
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Postdoctoral opportunities and beyond…
•Postdoctoral Training Fellowship for MB/PhD Graduates • Early Postdoctoral Training Fellowship for Clinician Scientists •Starter Grants for Clinical Lecturers •Intermediate Clinical Fellowship •Senior Clinical Fellowship
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Early Postdoctoral Training Fellowship for Clinician Scientists
•A new fellowship opportunity for the most promising clinician scientists who have recently obtained a higher degree.
•A chance to gain a postdoctoral research training in the best laboratories in the UK and overseas.
•Support for 3 years. Research time decreased to 50% in the final year to allow re-integration into clinical training.
•Three decision points per annum Preliminary application deadline for Round 1: 21 November 2011
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
Intermediate Clinical Fellowships
• For
outstanding
research career through a period of post doctoral research training individuals to continue to develop their • Will hold a PhD/MD and have
published papers
quality journals in good • Four year award (fellowship salary and research expenses) for applicants who have completed, or are about to complete, their clinical training • ‘Clinician Scientist’ training
five year
award (fellowship salary and research expenses) allows applicant to complete clinical • Considered twice a year with interviews in December and June/July.
Next preliminary application deadline: 20 April 2012
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
Senior Clinical Fellowships
•For outstanding individuals of research
exceptional ability
to continue their independent programmes of •4–~6 years’ postdoctoral research experience •5-year award
funded in full
(fellowship salary and research expenses) by the Trust •Renewable for five-year periods with 50% fellowship salary funded by the host institution
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Tips on writing a good application
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First hurdle: shortlisting
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
Before starting your application…
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• Read the application form and guidance notes carefully and think about the answers to all the questions • Check deadlines to
avoid rushed applications
and accept what the word “deadline” means e.g. it’s not necessarily ready to submit when you have finished with it as it must have been through your
admin office
too • Queries? Concerns? Contact the Trust for advice. Also seek local expertise/advice: talk to current Fellows in your institution
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A ‘Good’ Application – Part 1
• A strong and original
central hypothesis
• Evident
knowledge
of the area Consider what’s already known, address conflicting opinions, use appropriate citations and references. • Clear
research plan
Is the technical approach feasible? Is the timescale realistic? What are the potential pitfalls and your fall-back plans? Are the requested resources appropriate?
• Convincing
preliminary
data • Not over- or under- ambitious • Appropriate
expertise
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A ‘Good’ Application – Part 2
• Easy to understand and read • Consider all readers,
avoid jargon
and abbreviations; check grammar and spelling • All staff, equipment and materials & consumables should be
fully justified
• Animal use should be carefully justified and
power calculations
provided, where appropriate • Should offer the very best value for money
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The assessment criteria…
Fellowships:
person, project, place:
• Standing of the candidate, e.g. track record • Candidate’s suitability for the type of fellowship - e.g. vision of how the award will enhance their career development and their longer term aspirations • Importance of the
research question
• Relevance of background information • Strengths and weaknesses of application; quality of science, feasibility. • Resources requested; are they appropriate?
• Candidate’s choice of appropriate
sponsor
& what that
location
offers Comparison with other applications of the same type –
it’s a competition
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
The interview
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Academic Training Day, Imperial College London
Before the interview
• Practice, practice, practice! No substitute for mock interviews • Know your application backwards – own the project!
• Know recent data in the field • Be prepared to give a concise summary of your proposed project and your research career to date
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The interview itself
• Calm, confident, not cocky! Make a positive impression… • Smile, make eye contact, remember to breath!
• Appearance does matter!
• No trick questions • Listen carefully, and ensure you answer the question posed, not something similar • Answer concisely • Be prepared to defend, know when to concede
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Final issues to consider
• Have I built a competitive CV?
• Do I have the right sponsor, supervisor and mentor?
• Is this the ‘right’ project for me?
• When is the best time in my career to do research?
• Am I being realistic?
• Will I enjoy it?
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The last word
Check scheme details and deadlines well in advance.
Our website is a comprehensive source of information, but don’t hesitate to contact the Trust Staff if you need advice.
www.wellcome.ac.uk