UCL has been awarded 51 clinical academic training fellowships for medics and dentists to train as the next generation of clinical academics.
Funding from the National Institute of Health & Care Research (NIHR) will support 49 posts, while the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Health Education England (HEE) will support an additional post each.
The £13million investment over the next two years (2024-2025) will enable UCL to continue delivering and developing its Integrated Academic Training (IAT) programme for clinical academic trainees.
UCL has one of the largest cohorts of NIHR clinical academic trainees in the UK. This award will strengthen UCL’s ability to address some of the world’s most pressing health challenges alongside our clinical partners including UCLH – enhancing the lives of people in the UK and around the world.
The award includes 33 Academic Clinical Fellowships (ACFs) and 18 Clinical Lectureships (CLs) for researchers across a number of clinical specialties. The posts provide a structured research route for pre-doctoral (ACFs) and postdoctoral (CLs) clinical academic trainees that enables them to combine research time with their clinical training.
UCL’s NHS partners who will continue deliver the IAT programme include: UCLH, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital Trust, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Camden and Islington NHS Trust.
The UCL IAT programme is managed by the UCLH BRC-supported Academic Careers Office and its Clinical Academic Training Office (CATO) team. Doctors and dentists can learn more about the IAT programme and other training and support programmes available on the dedicated ACO/CATO website.
UCL’s Integrated Academic Training Lead, Professor Robert Howard said: “Our success in winning so many new clinical academic training posts reflects the world-class opportunities for innovative medical research and excellent clinical training offered at UCL. UCL remains the best place in the UK to train as a clinical academic.”
The Head of the Academic Careers Office, Felipe Fouto said: “This is a fantastic result that continues to build on our efforts to support our clinical academic trainees. We have an amazing team that is dedicated to delivering the best possible experience for our academic trainees and this outcome reflects their commitment. We will continue to build on our work in the next couple of years and create more opportunities.”
