MRC Fellowship Funding Opportunities
Simone Bryan
Programme Manager, Medical Research Council
Athena Swan Career Development Workshop, UCL 13 January 2015
The Medical Research Council – created in
1913
The Medical Research Council is dedicated to improving
human health through the best scientific research.
MRC’s work, on behalf of the UK
taxpayer, ranges from molecular
level science to public health
medicine and understanding of
the human body in health and
disease.
Delivering MRC strategy
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New frontiers
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Supporting skills in strategic
interdisciplinary areas such as
experimental medicine and
bioinformatics, across
interfaces (academic / clinical /
industry / disciplinary /
regulatory)
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Promoting diversity of our
research base, ensuring
enhanced career support and
mentorship
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Streamlining support
mechanisms to ensure funding
is flexible to support key career
stages and transitions
Mental health & wellbeing
Lifestyle behaviours and health
Global and population
health
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MRC Fellowship Priorities
Living a long and healthy
life
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Stratified medicine
Regenerative medicine
Systems medicine
E-health
Infections
Safeguarding the UK skills
base
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Training the next generation of
biomedical researchers
Providing a world-class
research environment
MRC Fellowships
• PERSON: Potential research leaders of the future
• Outstanding candidates (potential not just project)
• Vision (appropriate to their career stage)
• PROJECT: Development through excellent research
• Intellectually demanding
• Using advanced methods, skills & technologies
• PLACE: Development in an excellent environment
• Inspirational leadership & supervision
• High quality and impact science
• Engagement in research translation
• Access to national & international excellence
• Great mentorship
Fellowships: More than just a grant!
• Personal award
• Resources
• Protected time
• Connections, networks
• Potential to establish
competitive position
• Route to independence
• Recognition
• Influence
“My fellowship led
directly to more
opportunities and
collaborations…”
MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow
MRC Fellowships – supporting flexible careers
• No age limits
• Return from a career break
• Awards can be held P/T
• Support for parental/sick leave
• Mentoring, Induction workshops, Annual Symposium,
Stewardship visits
• Supporting flexible careers
Time since post-doc eligibility criteria removed
Impact of career breaks
Increased support for career re-entry scheme
Supporting transitions
MRC Career Framework
Skills Development Fellowships
• Training at early post-doctoral career stage or enable changes in
discipline
• Focussed on priority areas requiring capacity building at this level
Quantitative Expertise: mathematics, statistics, computation and
informatics applicable to any biomedical or health related data sources,
from molecular to population level.
Interdisciplinary skills: All interfaces inc. chemical/ physical/
engineering, social/economical and clinical, applied to e.g., imaging,
health economics, antimicrobial resistance and translational medicine.
• Applicants should hold a PhD (or equivalent)
• 3 years support: full personal salary costs, together with support for
consumables expenses, travel costs and capital equipment
• Support a period of research overseas, at a second UK institution, or
within industry
• Next deadline: 16 June 2015
Non-Clinical Fellowships
Career Development Award
• For post-doctoral researchers who wish
to consolidate their research skills and
make the transition to independent
investigators
• Up to 5 years support
• Includes an option of 12 months
research training (outside the UK, in UK
industry, or at another UK research
centre)
• The average cost per award is
approximately £1m.
• Next deadlines: 28 April & 24 Sept 2015
Non-Clinical Fellowships
Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship
• Highly prestigious award for proven
independent non-clinical researchers of
exceptional ability. Developing future
research leaders.
• 7 years funding
• Stewardship visit in year 4 / 5
• Up to 1 year at a second centre
encouraged
• Each award costs around £1.0-1.5m
• Next Deadlines: 28 April & 24 Sept 2015
MRC Early-Career Grant
New Investigator Research Grant
• Researchers who are capable of becoming principal investigators
and who are now ready to take the next step towards that goal.
• Can provide early-career scientists with a route into a
permanent lectureship position. For those with a post: funding
and ‘protected time’ with which to establish an independent
research career.
• Currently within first 3 years of a permanent academic position
OR less than 10 years post PhD
• Time attributed to the NIRG project is commensurate with
career stage and academic responsibilities
• Usually 3 years
“MRC wants to boost the
success rates of young
researchers applying for
grants”
Sir John Savill, MRC CEO
Career Re-entry: Daphne Jackson Fellowship
• Returners scheme aimed to help scientists, engineers,
mathematicians and technologists after a career break
• Run by a charity with different partners such as MRC
amongst others
• Eligibility: PhD + 1 or 2 postdoc, publication, UK residency
• P/T, paid 2 year fellowships across the UK for retraining
• 7 out of 10 fellows remain in research for at least 2 years
“Qualified women who are unemployed or under-employed following a
career break for family commitments represent an appalling waste of
talent and of investment in their initial education.
Many such women are eager to return to their original careers or to a
new field of activity for which their initial education is relevant, provided
that retraining can be given and that they can, at least initially, work on
a part-time basis.”
Daphne Jackson
Fellowships: Success rate of female applicants
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Female Applicants
Successful Women
Career
Development
Award
Senior Non
Clinical Fellowship
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
Female Applicants
10
Successful Women
0
MRC as an Employer: Units and Institutes
• Institutes - very long-term flexible multidisciplinary
investments
• Units – more focussed investments established for as long as
needed to support a scientific need and/ or deliver a research
vision
• Centres - build on existing MRC and other support to add
value and help establish a centre of excellence.
They are expected to recruit and, in partnership with the HEIs
and other organisations, develop outstanding researchers
with specialist and transferable skills for academic research,
the health services and the national economy.
Find full details of all roles available www.topcareer.jobs or MRC
Institutes and Units
More information
www.mrc.ac.uk
fellows@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk