Guidance for NMAHP and Clinical Scientist Applicants:

Who can apply?

You are eligible if you are:

• a nurse, midwife, allied health professional (AHP), healthcare scientist, clinical scientist, or other health professional.
• within three years FTE of being awarded a PhD (pro-rata).
• working in an NHS, public health or social care organisation within the East Midlands. (Clinical qualified applicants working in industry or other settings should contact the programme to discuss eligibility.)
• able to identify a suitable academic supervisor within one of the partner universities.

If you are nearing completion of your PhD, you may apply if you are within six months of thesis submission, although funding cannot commence until the PhD has been awarded. Career breaks and less-than-full-time working will be taken into account.

What if I don’t meet the current application criteria?

If you do not meet the current criteria but would like to discuss whether an application may be appropriate, please get in touch with the team and we would be happy to advise.

What support is available?

Successful applicants will receive:

• Up to 50% protected research time for up to 12 months – although if you wish to have a reduced time commitment to the scheme a longer duration may be possible.
• Continued employment through their NHS organisation via a secondment arrangement.
• An honorary academic appointment with a partner university.
• Access to university and regional research training programmes.
• A dedicated supervisor and, where appropriate, an independent mentor.
• Up to £5,000 research development funding for activities such as:
  • stakeholder engagement
  • pilot data generation
  • preparatory work for external funding applications. 

What is EM-RACR looking for?

EM-RACR is intended to support clinicians who have recently completed a PhD and now need dedicated time to:

• consolidate their research expertise.
• develop their own programme of research.
• build collaborations.
• generate preliminary data.
• prepare a competitive fellowship or grant application. 

Applications should demonstrate a clear future funding goal. You must identify a specific future funding opportunity that the EM-RACR award will help you prepare for, such as:

• MRC Fellowship
• UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
• Other major fellowship or grant schemes with funded researcher time. 

Your application should include:

• clear objectives for the protected time.
• a timeline linked to a future funding submission.
• specific activities that will strengthen your competitiveness for future funding.
• evidence that the proposed work is achievable within the fellowship period. 

Alignment with MRC remit

EM-RACR is funded through an MRC-focused programme. Applications should therefore demonstrate links to:

• discovery science
• experimental medicine
• early translational research
• research that advances understanding of human health and disease

Applicants with predominantly applied health research backgrounds are encouraged to consider how their research could connect with more fundamental or translational research opportunities across the regional partnership. 

What will make a strong application?

Successful applicants are likely to demonstrate:

• a strong academic track record relative to career stage.
• clear commitment to a clinical academic career.
• a well-defined research niche or emerging programme.
• a strong supervisory team.
• a credible plan for securing external funding.
• enthusiasm for engaging with regional networking and peer-support activities. 

Expected outcomes

By the end of the award, fellows should ideally have:

• written a major fellowship or grant application or be on track to do so within 6-12 months of completion.
• developed new collaborations.
• produced outputs such as conference presentations or publications.
• established a clear next step in their academic career pathway.