NIHR Fellowships

Round 6 of the NIHR Fellowships Programme closed on Wednesday 16th January 2013 (23:59)

It is anticipated that round 7 will open during October 2013.

NIHR Fellowships support outstanding individuals to become the health research leaders of the future by buying out their salary costs, meeting their training and development costs and by contributing to the research costs needed to complete an identified research project.

For this round, the NIHR Fellowships Programme is participating in the upcoming NIHR Primary Care Interventions Themed Call and would particularly welcome applications for research on the evaluation of health care interventions or services delivered in primary care settings. Further details about the NIHR Primary Care Themed Call will be available on the NIHR website in due course. The NIHR also particularly welcomes applications that focus on population-based research.

Applications are invited from individuals working in any sector or scientific discipline who propose to undertake people or patient-based clinical and applied health research at an institution based in England.

Applicants should use the scheme specific guidance notes available below because the guidance available within the online application system has yet to be verified.

Five levels of NIHR Fellowship award are available:

The Doctoral Research Fellowship - offers 3 years full-time funding (or 4 or 5 years part-time) to undertake a PhD and is aimed at individuals of outstanding potential early in their research careers. Applicants are expected to propose an individual PhD research project and a customised research training programme within an environment that reflects their individual talents and training needs. It is anticipated that successful applicants will become independent research leaders within 6 to 10 years of completing the fellowship.

DRF Guidance Notes

The Post-Doctoral Fellowship - offers 3 years full-time funding (or 4 or 5 years part-time) to individuals who are able to demonstrate their potential as researchers but do not, as yet, have sufficient experience to be fully independent. Applicants are expected to show evidence of a clear commitment to a research career and success in the form of outputs from doctoral and post-doctoral research, where applicable. Applicants will have obtained their research doctorate or submitted their PhD or MD thesis for examination, but must not have more than 3 years WTE post-doctoral experience at the time of applying.

PDF Guidance Notes

The Career Development Fellowship - offers 3 years full-time funding (or 4 or 5 years part-time) to individuals who have significant and successful post-doctoral experience. Applicants will be expected to provide evidence of a clear commitment to a research career and success in the form of significant outputs from doctoral and post-doctoral research. It is expected that successful applicants will have the potential to become fully independent researchers on completion of the fellowship. Applicants will not have more than 7 years WTE post-doctoral experience at the time of applying.

CDF Guidance Notes

The Senior Research Fellowship - offers 5 years funding to undertake a programme of research and is aimed at outstanding individuals who are currently independent researchers and can demonstrate the potential to become academic and research leaders within the duration of an award. A fellowship is expected to enhance existing career opportunities for successful applicants and others in health related research, and to support the development of collaborative partnerships within and between HEIs and the NHS in response to identified health needs.

SRF Guidance Notes

NEW - The Transitional Research Fellowship - offers between 18 and 24 months funding to undertake focussed training and development in order to develop specific skills that will enable a transition from basic research into clinical research or from clinical research into translational research. A Transitional Research Fellowship should enable successful applicants to better access wider NIHR funding opportunities in the future.

TRF Guidance Notes

Potential applicants from the devolved nations must consult with their national R&D office before applying:

Devolved Administration applications

All applicants must ensure that their proposed research project is compatible with the published NIHR remit: