Who should apply?
- We welcome applications from trainees in all clinical specialties.
- You must be eligible now to undertake clinical practice in the UK.
- You will have completed MCRP or equivalent and are likely to have embarked upon training in a specific clinical specialty.
- You may be close to completing or have completed an NIHR academic clinical fellowship.
- You may have previously undertaken published research, written up case reports, and / or undertaken an intercalated BSc while a medical student.
- You may have secured honours in your undergraduate degrees.
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The scheme is open to applicants who are clinically active and whose research is within the Wellcome Trust remit.
- PhD registration prior to 4ward North fellowship application: PhD registration can be a maximum of 12 months at the time of take up of fellowship (not including statutory career breaks). If the applicant is already registered and undertaking a PhD then 4ward North funding would likely be for 2 years only (3 years funding would be agreed at 4ward North’s discretion).
Funding
- Those who secure a place on the 3-year PhD programme will become ‘Wellcome clinical PhD fellows’, a prestigious marker of esteem for a future career combining research with clinical practice.
- For those familiar with the old national Wellcome scheme, this award replaces that funding stream, i.e. salary + pension contributions, project running costs and an annual training allowance.
- The funding is also very similar to that offered by the Medical Research Council (MRC) for its clinical research training fellowship (CRTF) scheme.
In addition, our successful awardees will receive:
- a comprehensive quarterly training programme with leading clinical academics and bespoke mentoring; a personalised training plan with one of the Programme Directors;
- an additional £2,000 per annum bursary for three years awarded after the PhD for flexible training and meeting attendance;
- and, towards the end of the PhD, an opportunity to compete for our ‘Leading Scholars’ Programme’ in collaboration with the FCI which offers 12-months research immediately after the PhD to pump-prime postdoctoral clinical career development applications.