Dr Menna Clatworthy
The NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre recognises the importance of training the next generation of academic clinicians and over the last 5 years has had considerable success in developing clinical research training fellowships, attracting the most able clinicians and scientists to pursue PhDs in biomedical research.
In partnership with the Wellcome Trust and the Sanger Institute the NIHR BRC training programme has provided funding for over 29 clinical fellows, 50% of whom are female. The fellows cover all medical disciplines and support is provided through mentoring, social events and a summer symposium at which the fellows present their work.
Our objective over the next five years is to develop that programme to provide support for basic scientists as well as clinicians, as they embark on their first biomedical research study. To do this, we are developing a PhD programme in biomedicine aimed at basic scientists who may have a first degree in physics, biology, engineering, biochemistry or mathematics, to bring them into a biomedical environment for their graduate studies. We will also continue to identify the most talented clinicians who can be mentored to pursue a career in academic medicine.
In addition, this theme will provide training and career development activity particularly designed to improve the chances of excellent women translational scientists staying in clinical academia.
