Professional doctorate: clinical research training fellowship is sponsored by Medical Research Council (MRC). Professional doctorate: clinical research training fellowship. Funding opportunity from Medical Research Council (MRC).

Professional doctorate: clinical research training fellowship – UKRI Funding opportunity: Professional doctorate: clinical research training fellowship Medical Research Council (MRC) 15 January 2026 9:00am UK time 8 April 2026 4:00pm UK time Apply for funding to undertake a PhD. Your research can focus on any area of Medical Research Council (MRC)’s remit to improve human health.

be a registered healthcare professional be at an appropriate point in your training to undertake a PhD show plans to pursue a research career We will fund your salary and project costs for three years. We will fund 100% of the justified costs. You may also choose to apply for joint funding from one of the collaborating organisations.

This is an ongoing funding opportunity. Application rounds close every January, April and September. This funding opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility.

Check if your organisation is eligible . Applications are welcomed from applicants of all nationalities, including those not currently located in the UK, however, this is subject to the fellowship being based at an eligible UK research organisation . You can apply if you’re a registered healthcare professional.

This includes, but is not limited to: allied health professionals We welcome both predoctoral and postdoctoral clinical research training fellowship (CRTF) applicants. This funding opportunity is specific to you if you want to undertake a PhD or similar. If you already have a PhD or similar and want to apply for funding to reacquire research skills, see the Capacity building: clinical research training fellowship funding opportunity .

This funding supports clinically active healthcare professionals to undertake a higher research degree, such as a PhD or MD.

To be eligible for this funding opportunity you must: be able to demonstrate ownership of your project and show ambition to follow a clinical academic career be at an appropriate point in your clinical training to study for a PhD, with clear plans for completing your speciality training want to request a minimum of 24 months funding full-time equivalent to complete your PhD have the support of an eligible research organisation intend to be clinically active in the UK during or after the award You do not need to have registered for a PhD at the time of your fellowship application.

If you have spent significantly more time than one year on your PhD course, we will consider your application only in exceptional circumstances and you should contact us in advance of submission at fellows@mrc. ukri. org You do not need to have held a position that includes formal research time, for example, an academic foundation or an academic clinical fellowship.

We expect you to be undertaking your specialty training and have completed your membership of the Royal College of Physicians’ exams or equivalent. You should consult your deanery about studying for a PhD and your plans for completing specialty training before you apply for a clinical research training fellowship.

If you are earlier or later in your clinical training, you will need to make a clear case for why now is the right time for you to undertake a PhD. We recommend discussing this with us by contacting fellows@mrc. ukri.

org General practitioners (GP) If you are a GP, you are considered to be at an appropriate career stage to apply for up to three years post-qualification. If you are a veterinarian, you may apply if you are a registered vet and a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Your proposed project must be relevant to human health.

If you are a clinical psychologist, you must have a professional doctorate-level qualification in clinical psychology that is accredited by the British Psychological Society before starting the fellowship.

Non-medical healthcare professionals If you are a non-medical healthcare professional, such as a nurse, midwife or allied health professional, you must have: completed your professional training hold a research master’s degree or equivalent postgraduate research-oriented qualification Applications are welcomed from applicants of all nationalities, including those not currently based in the UK.

However, this is subject to the fellowship being hosted by an eligible UK based research organisation. You will need to be registered with a UK regulatory body, such as the General Medical Council or the Health and Care Professions Council or have plans in place to hold the required registration by the proposed award start date.

Who is not eligible to apply You are not eligible to apply if: you have applied for an MRC fellowship within the last year or twice before you have applied for another UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) fellowship of the same type, and your application is being assessed you are not planning to be based at an eligible UK organisation for your fellowship If you want to reapply within a year, you should request permission from the relevant programme manager before resubmission by emailing fellows@mrc.

ukri. org Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: support for people with caring responsibilities alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

We are supportive of applicants wishing to combine their research training with caring responsibilities and in that context, our fellowship awards may be held on a part-time basis or within flexible working arrangements . Further fellowship guidance Further information related to all aspects of the fellowship application process, can be found in the MRC guidance for fellowship applicants .

If you’re unsure whether you are eligible to apply, email fellows@mrc. ukri. org before beginning your application.

We welcome applications from across all areas of our remit to improve human health. This may range from basic studies with relevance to mechanisms of disease, to translational and developmental clinical research. We expect your clinical work will help to inform and strengthen your research work.

Our science areas include: molecular and cellular medicine population and systems medicine neurosciences and mental health Explore MRC’s areas of scientific remit . Please note that global health research should align with MRC’s core remit spanning from biomedical discovery research to early translational research.

explain why a fellowship is the best way to support your plan to pursue a research career show how your skills and experience match those of the training career stage by exploring our applicant skills and experience criteria You also must have at least one supervisor, who: is a member of the department where you are applying to host your fellowship will have academic responsibility for you has expertise in the research area and acts as guarantor for the quality of the proposed work, suitability of you as a fellowship candidate and the quality of training and development you will receive You can have additional supervisors if necessary to support all areas of the proposed work and they may be from other organisations.

If your application does not clearly address the requirements, it may be rejected prior to seeking expert reviewer comments. What the fellowship gives you This fellowship provides a competitive salary, giving you the chance to concentrate fully on your research, training and development.

You may: spend up to six hours a week (pro-rated for part-time fellowships) on other commitments such as teaching, demonstrating, or other funded projects undertake up to two clinical sessions a week Explore MRC’s guidance on research staff development . We recognise the challenges faced by clinicians in combining research training with the demands of a clinical career. We operate this fellowship as flexibly as possible.

This gives you the chance to negotiate the extent of your clinical commitment depending on your specialty and your research needs. For individuals in craft specialties including surgeons and fellows undertaking patient-oriented projects where the clinical sessions will be of direct relevance to the research, applicants may undertake up to four clinical sessions a week.

If you are planning to undertake more than two clinical sessions a week during your fellowship or request more than three years funding, we advise you email fellows@mrc. ukri. org before applying Explore what to expect as an MRC fellow .

Clinical research training fellowships usually last three years but never less than two years. For patient-oriented projects where additional time is needed to collect patient samples and complete follow up assessments, you may request up to four years funding. These periods are based on full-time equivalents.

Awards may be held on a part-time basis to meet personal commitments but not because of other professional commitments. We will consider requests from GPs, nurses, midwives, allied health professions and other non-medic healthcare professionals to undertake a part-time award to continue professional clinical responsibilities during the fellowship.

Medically qualified applicants may not apply for a part-time award in order to continue higher specialist training during the fellowship. We expect you to start your fellowship no earlier than February 2027 and no later than May 2027. Any start dates outside of this must be discussed with MRC prior to the November 2026 decision meeting.

There is no limit to the amount of funding you can request. However, all costs must be fully justified and demonstrate value for money. Your application must be for an amount that: is appropriate to the project you can justify in order to meet the objectives of your proposed research We will fund 100% of the justified costs and all costs must be entered as exceptions in the application resources and cost justification section.

If costs are not entered as exceptions, the application risks being rejected. This fellowship is not subject to full economic costing. Explore full economic costing .

This fellowship provides: a salary appropriate to your level of training tuition fees at standard home student rate (set by the research organisation) or supervisors’ time up to £25,000 each year to cover consumables, equipment and travel For consultants, salaries must be capped within the Level 1 threshold for the duration of the award, reflecting the changing role and return to training.

Supervisor costs can only be requested if you are not requesting tuition fees and are only supported in exceptional circumstances when well justified. The request should not exceed 5% of their time (or a total of 5% FTE across all supervisors if more than one).

Staff costs will only be funded in exceptional circumstances where the delivery of the project requires additional staff costs, these must be requested within the £25,000 each year limit.

You may be able to request extra funding for: the cost of training at an overseas or second centre or industry placement the purchase and maintenance cost of animals, excluding experimental costs, related consumables or project licences the costs associated with healthy volunteer studies, where costs for patient studies would be met by local clinical research networks the costs associated with an experimental intervention or challenge in humans and human medical imaging (such as magnetic resonance imaging), where costs cannot be met by local clinical research networks Only these costs can be applied for above the £25,000 each year limit which must be clearly identified and justified within the application.

If you are requesting costs above the £25,000 each year limit you should be mindful of the scope and aims of the fellowship, with the proposed project demonstrating an appropriate level of ambition. estates and indirect costs We collaborate with royal colleges and charity funders to offer jointly funded clinical research training fellowships.

These awards offer the prestige of having the relevant organisation co-fund your fellowship and may offer additional opportunities to report on your project, present your work at meetings and take part in professional networking.

We are inviting applications for jointly funded clinical research training fellowship with the following organisations: Addiction Healthcare Goals (AHG), led by the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) Breakthrough T1D (formerly Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) British Journal of Anaesthesia DEBRA (the butterfly skin charity) Epilepsy Research Institute Medical Research Foundation Motor Neurone Disease Association Multiple Sclerosis Society Scleroderma & Raynaud’s UK We will offer all jointly funded fellowships under standard UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and MRC terms and conditions, except where the co-funder has specified additional terms and conditions.

See ‘Additional information’ for further details of the joint funders. A project partner is a collaborating organisation in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU, who will have an integral role in the proposed research.

You may include project partners that will support your fellowship through cash or in-kind contributions, such as: recruitment of people as research participants providing samples, such as human tissue, for the project Each project partner must provide a statement of support.

If your application involves industry partners, they must provide additional information if the team project partner falls within the industry collaboration framework . Find out more about subcontractors and dual roles . Who cannot be included as a project partner Any individual included in your application with a core team role cannot also be a project partner.

Any organisation that employs a member of the application core team cannot be a project partner organisation. This includes other departments within the same organisation. Supporting skills and talent We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment .

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where applicants can find additional support.

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. The fellow is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

The fellow will need input from their research office for costing the fellowship and submitting the application by the deadline. Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. If the lead research organisation is an NHS organisation check it is available in the Funding Service, you are encouraged to check this early as there may be addition steps for the organisation to be set up before you can apply.

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page. Confirm you are the fellow. Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service.

We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you. Answer questions directly in the text boxes.

You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.

Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.

Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI. Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must: provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) insert each new image on a new line use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words.

The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include: sentences or paragraphs of text excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: how applicants use the Funding Service how research offices use the Funding Service how reviewers use the Funding Service References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application. Hyperlinks can be used in reference information.

When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that: references are easily identifiable by the assessors references are formatted as appropriate to your research persistent identifiers are used where possible General use of hyperlinks Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information.

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment . MRC must receive your application by 8 April 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines. Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.

MRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications. We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice .

If you apply for a jointly funded fellowship, we will need to share the application and any personal information that it contains with the joint funder so that they can participate in the assessment process. For more information on how the joint funders use personal information, visit their websites. If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email fellows@mrc.

ukri. org Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include: individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave) additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection the application is an invited resubmission For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice .

Institutional matched funding There is no requirement for matched funding from the institutions hosting the project lead. Expert reviewers and panels assessing UKRI funding applications must not consider levels of institutional matched funding as a factor on which to base recommendations. Direct and in-kind contributions from third party project partners are encouraged.

This policy does not remove the need for support from host organisations who must provide the necessary research environment and infrastructure for award-specific activities funded by UKRI. For example, research facilities, training and development of staff. MRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at board and panel outcomes .

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research . In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application. We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information.

Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example: the wider research community Guidance for writing a summary Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of: the challenge the project addresses potential applications and benefits List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as fellow.

If you include more than one fellow, your application will fail at the checking stage. Other roles are only used if additional staff costs can be exceptionally justified to deliver the project. Your supervisor(s) should not be listed in the core team, unless requesting costs for their time.

Our previous guidance advised you to include all supervisors as professional enabling staff, we no longer require this. Mentors should not be listed in the core team. UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type.

Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application. Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications . What are you hoping to achieve with your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how your proposed work: is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) has the potential to advance current understanding, or generate new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area of its focus is timely, given current trends, context, and needs impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment Within the Vision section we also expect you to: identify the potential direct or indirect benefits and who the beneficiaries might be identify potential improvements in human or population health, whether through contributing to relieving disease or disability burden, improving quality of life or providing benefit to the health service or health-related industry outline your plans for engagement, communication and dissemination about your research and its outcomes with the research community and, where appropriate, with potentially interested wider audiences References may be included within this section.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. How are you going to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Explain how you have designed your work so that it: is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how you will manage them uses a clearly written and transparent methodology (if applicable) summarises the previous work and describes how you will build on and progress this work (if applicable) will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts Within the Approach section we also expect you to: demonstrate access to the appropriate services, facilities, infrastructure, or equipment to deliver the proposed work provide a detailed and comprehensive project plan, including milestones and timelines in the form of a Gantt chart or diagram explain who you intend to collaborate with at the host organisation and your plans for wider research collaborations (project partner details should be provided only in that section) include details of work that will take place as part of the proposed fellowship at a second UK or overseas organisation (if applicable) explain and justify how you will approach diversity and inclusion in the study population and follow the MRC embedding diversity in research design policy (if applicable) show how you will use male and female animals or tissues and cells from female and male donors (if applicable) in your research.

If you are not proposing to do this justify why explain and justify the inclusion of public partnerships (if applicable) and the added value these offer References may be included within this section. You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Reproducibility and statistical design How will you ensure your proposed work is reliable, robust and reproducible? What assessors are looking for in your response Information about reproducibility and how you will ensure reliability and robustness of your proposed work, such as further details of statistical analyses, methodology and experimental design, not provided in your approach.

We expect you to seek professional statistical or other relevant advice in preparing your response, which should include, as appropriate: planned statistical analyses models chosen (for example animal model, cell line) potential sources of bias and how these will be mitigated during analysis how your approach to addressing diversity is reflected in the experimental design and analyses Refer to the MRC guidance for applicants , for further information, examples and online tools.

If your proposed work involves animals, and you provide information on animal sample sizes and statistical analyses here, you should not duplicate it in the ‘Research involving the use of animals’ section. Use the ‘Research involving the use of animals’ section to provide information on the rationale for using animals, choice of species, welfare and procedure severity.

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service. The length of your response will vary depending on the type of project, you may not need to use 500 words.

Have you registered for your PhD? What the assessors are looking for in your response If you are not currently registered for a higher degree, then answer ‘No’. If you are registered for a higher degree, answer ‘Yes’ and state your registration date and the percentage of time you are registered (full time or part time).

Clinical activities and training Do you intend to be clinically active during or after the fellowship and what level of clinical training do you have? What the assessors are looking for in your response Download the fellowships clinical activities and training template (DOCX, 43KB) complete the table and paste it into the text box within the Funding Service.

Explain your clinical activities and training and how these relate to the proposed fellowship, including: your professional registration number (name of body and registration number for example, HCPC or GMC 1234567) your clinical speciality or profession your current training stage or nearest equivalent (foundation, speciality registrar with grade, consultant) your completion of training date Royal College Examination, with name of exam and date or anticipated date if you intend to be clinically active during or after the fellowship if you will seek an honorary clinical contract the percentage of your time you will spend on clinical duties, you may spend up to 20% of your time on clinical duties as part of a full-time fellowship (two clinical sessions a week) the percentage of this time that will have direct relevance to your proposed work Why is this fellowship the right way to develop your career and how will you use it to benefit others?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Ensure that you have identified: career development goals appropriate to the fellowship funding opportunity how the fellowship will provide a feasible and appropriate trajectory for your personal development and to achieve your stated career development goals how you will instigate positive change in the wider research and innovation community, for example through Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), advocacy or advisory roles, stakeholder engagement, participation in expert review, influencing policy, public engagement, or outreach Within the Career development section, we also expect you to describe: how the proposed work will provide a feasible and appropriate trajectory for you to acquire additional skills, like research, leadership, communication and management Applicant capability to deliver Why are you the right individual to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Evidence of how you have: the relevant experience to make best use of the benefits presented by this funding opportunity to develop your career the right balance of skills and aptitude to deliver the proposed work contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community the appropriate team working or leadership skills (appropriate to career stage) You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. The word limit for this section is 2,000 words, 1,500 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions. Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you have and how this will help to deliver the proposed work.

You can include specific achievements and choose past contributions that best evidence your ability to deliver this work. You are encouraged to include ORCID iDs for individuals where relevant, as this can help to demonstrate and verify their achievements. Complete this section using the following R4RI module headings.

You should use each heading once, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI .

You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills you bring: contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships contributions to the wider research and innovation community contributions to broader research or innovation, users and audiences, and towards wider societal benefit, including public partnerships Additions: Provide any further details