The Dunhill Medical Trust
RESEARCH TRAINING FELLOWSHIPS
research training fellowships
Ageing, rehabilitation and palliative care
In October 2009 DMT launched a pilot scheme of Research Training Fellowships (RTFs) to provide talented clinicians, health professionals and scientists with the opportunity to undertake research training together with a practical research project leading to a higher degree, as a basis for a career in research in the fields of ageing, rehabilitation or palliative care.
The RTFs are intended to be flexible and may be undertaken on either a full-time (three year) or part-time (up to 4 year) basis.
The awards may either be in the form of a PhD studentship or granted to experienced health professionals who wish to branch into research. Financial support will include either a PhD stipend or an individual’s salary at the appropriate grade (including on-costs), plus an additional amount, up to £10k annually, to cover research expenses, tuition and other fees.
Applicants should hold an appropriate first degree (or equivalent) and are expected to undertake a higher degree during the course of their Fellowship.
The main focus of the RTF will be the completion of a robust training programme to equip Fellows with a detailed understanding of applied research principles and practice. Successful applicants will therefore be expected to undertake a practical research project.
Host institutions for the Fellowships should be a relevant university department, teaching hospital or other recognised research centre within the UK. Supervisors should be experienced researchers based in a host department appropriate to the research proposed and be prepared to commit sufficient time to ensuring that the Fellow receives a thorough theoretical and practical grounding in research methods.
Outcome of Pilot Round
A pilot round of DMT Research Training Fellowships was held in 2009/10 and resulted in two Fellowships being awarded to:
- Melissa Galea (Division of Applied Biomedical Research, King's College London): 4 year part-time Research Training Fellowship. PhD project entitled Increasing walking activity in patients with peripheral arterial disease: the role of cognition.
- Dr Alice Ong (Faculty of Health, University of East Anglia): 3 year full-time Research Training Fellowship. PhD project entitled Do abnormalities in dynamic cerebral autoregulation underlie the pathophysiology of the common causes of syncope in older people?
Outcome of Second Round
As a result of the sucessful pilot, a further round of Research Training Fellowships was held in 2010/11. The exceptionally strong field of candidates resulted in the award of four further Fellowships:
- Dr Amanda Barugh (Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh): 3 year full-time Research Training Fellowship; PhD project entitled Delirium and long-term cognitive impairment after stroke: the role of dysregulation of the hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
- Jacqueline Kindell (Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, University of Manchester): 4 year part-time Research Training Fellowship; PhD project entitled Improving everyday conversations for couples where one partner has semantic dementia.
- Dr Edward Richfield (Postgraduate School of Medicine, University of Hull): 3 year full-time Research Training Fellowship; PhD project entitled Assessing palliative care needs in Parkinson’s Disease: Developing a needs assessment tool.
- Joanne Woodford (College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter): 3 year full-time Research Training Fellowship; a PhD project entitled Development and Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial of Guided Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Self-Help for Informal Carers of Stroke Patients.
Future rounds
A third round of DMT Research Training Fellowships is being planned. Prospective applicants are advised to monitor the web site for updates.
To download a specimen copy of the Research Training Fellowship guidelines CLICK HERE
To download the terms and conditions for research and research related grants CLICK HERE
Prospective applicants
Prospective applicants may find it helpful to note the interview panel's feedback and guidance below, which sets out the hallmarks of a sucessful application:
- Applicants for a Research Training Fellowship should have the support of at least two experienced supervisors, with at least one having a strong track record of sucessful PhD supervision and the expertise appropriate to cover each aspect of the proposed project.
- The proposed research training programme should include courses taken outside the host institution, as well as internal training. Advantage should also be taken of free high quality courses (such as that provided by the UK Cochrane Centre on systematic reviews).
- The proposed project should be kept relatively simple and appropriate for sucessful completion of a PhD (or other research degree). Over-complexity should be avoided.
- The host department should proved a suitable research training environment which is synchronised with the needs of the Research Training Fellow, and where there are other postgraduate students, journal clubs etc. and readily available support from other appropriate senior researchers.