University led programme wins major funding to support next generation of researchers tackling health inequalities

The University of Leicester in partnership with Loughborough University has secured a £10 million award for a PhD programme that supports healthcare professionals to become the next generation of researchers tackling health inequalities.

The funding, from Wellcome, will support 25 healthcare professionals to undertake PhD research focussed on Multiple long-term conditions (MLTC), one of the most pressing challenges facing health and care systems today. 

MLTCs affect millions of people across the UK and are strongly associated with health inequalities, with some communities facing a greater risk of developing multiple conditions and experiencing poorer health outcomes.

The expanded Leicestershire Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Doctoral Training Programme (LHIIP-E) will investigate how multiple long-term conditions develop, interact and affect people's lives. Researchers will use a mix of medical, behavioural, social and data-based approaches, working closely with local communities to ensure research focuses on real needs and leads to practical benefits.

Professor Sally Singh, Programme Director for the Leicestershire Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Doctoral Training Programme who is also Head of Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “We’re excited to be able to build on the strong platform we developed with our first Wellcome doctoral training programme. We’re very much looking forward to offering research opportunities to a broader range of healthcare professionals to address important questions in MLTC research, as well as growing the next generation of clinical researchers in Leicestershire.”

The programme aims to widen research career opportunities for healthcare professionals outside medicine, including nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and social workers, who have had fewer opportunities to get involved in research. 

Professor Singh added: “The scheme aims to level the playing field by supporting healthcare staff outside medicine to develop research careers.

"The new programme builds on the success of the existing LHIIP doctoral training partnership through which more than 20 health professionals have been supported to develop research careers over the past five years. The expanded programme will widen access further, creating opportunities for healthcare professionals currently underrepresented in clinical and applied health research.”

Recruitment will take place over five years, with applications for the first Leicester-Loughborough fellowships opening in 2027 and the first cohort beginning their programmes in the 2027/28 academic year. 

Ben Murton, Head of Early Career and Career Development Researchers for Wellcome, said: “Healthcare Professional researchers are essential for the research sector. Working on the frontlines of healthcare – from doctors and nurses to physios and pharmacists – they gather a wealth of crucial insights that sustains excellent discovery research. However, we know that getting onto and progressing through the dual career pathway with the need to balance research alongside intensive clinical practice is often incredibly challenging. 

“The doctoral programmes we are supporting address those barriers, particularly through the innovative use of the funding to support career transitions and progression.  As well as building positive research and training environments, as a cohort of programmes they bring together a diverse mix of specialists, encouraging collaboration on a whole new scale. These programmes won’t just provide essential research qualifications, but a platform to conduct world-class research and make discoveries that transform our health for generations to come.”