Career progression in clinical trials

This process is flexible because there is no set duration for each stage. The last application deadline for stage 2 funding is 6 July see the 'key dates' section on this page. Candidates who are ready to lead an independent research programme can apply for stage 2 without doing stage 1 first. You can submit two applications to each stage.

You can't apply to carry out activities that involve the transfer of grant funds into mainland China. If you are still in clinical training, it's important that the dean of your medical school, postgraduate medical dean and clinical academic training lead are all in agreement with your proposed fellowship plan, particularly the integration of the clinical training and research elements.

You should also identify an additional sponsor at every other research organisation you propose to work in. They must be able to provide relevant research guidance during the award relevant to your career stage.

Your sponsor s and host organisation must guarantee that you'll get the space and resources you need. This must be agreed at the application stage and made available from the start date through to the end date of your award.

Find out about how we've worked with the funding community to develop principles and obligations setting out what we expect from those responsible for clinical training, trainees and funders across the UK.

New applicants, including those who have already applied but not yet been notified of a decision, who are awarded a stage 1 fellowship, will no longer be able to apply for stage 2 at the end of their award.

They may be eligible to apply for one of our new schemes. Current stage 1 Fellows, who will not be ready to apply for stage 2 funding in , will no longer be able to apply for this funding at the end of their award. You should ask your host organisation to calculate this. It should reflect the skills, responsibilities and expertise needed to carry out the role, and include:. You should allow for salary pay awards during Year 1. For Year 1 include any known pay awards for this period or an assumed percentage equivalent to our current inflation rate of 2.

The relevant training authority will be expected to fund your salary during any formal clinical training you do. If you hold - or are awarded - an Honorary Clinical Contract, we'll consider a salary at consultant level.

From Year 2 onwards, we will automatically increase your salary, based on our current inflation allowance rates. Find out more about fellows working on a Wellcome grant. If Wellcome is going to pay your salary on the grant, you can ask for visa costs to help you take up the post at your host organisation.

You can also ask for:. You'll need to justify this. We don't provide funding for a full-time research post at stage 1, but we can consider requests to buy out the time of staff needed to deliver the proposed research project, on a case-by-case basis. We will only pay for the time they will spend on your project. You must provide a very strong justification. You can ask for funding for one research post postdoc RA, graduate RA, research nurse or technician at stage 2.

Staff salaries should be appropriate to skills, responsibilities and expertise. You should ask your host organisation to use their salary scales to calculate these costs, which should include:.

Find out more about people working on a Wellcome grant. We may make a contribution towards the salary of departmental technicians funded by Research England and its equivalents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You will need to provide a full audit record of their time on your project. If you have named people on your grant whose salaries will be funded by Wellcome, you can ask for visa or work permit costs to help them take up their posts at the host organisation. We will pay for the materials and consumables you need to carry out your proposed research, including:.

The costs you need will depend on the nature of your research. You can ask for funds to buy animals if they are essential to your project. We will also fund the charge-out rates for animal house facilities if your organisation uses full economic costing methodology. These costs include:. You can ask for items of equipment that are essential to your proposed research project.

Costs may include purchase, delivery, installation, maintenance and training, where necessary. In some cases we may expect a larger contribution. Contributions can include benefits in kind, such as refurbishment or the underwriting of a key support post. These may include materials and consumables, plus a proportion of:. If the facilities or equipment were paid for by a Wellcome grant, you can only ask for access charges if:. You can ask for a contribution towards the costs of attending scientific and academic meetings and conferences, including registration fees and the costs to offset the carbon emissions of your travel.

The limits are:. You can also ask for costs to cover caring responsibilities if you or any staff employed on your grant attend a conference. This includes childcare and any other caring responsibility you have, provided:.

We provide travel and subsistence costs for you and any research staff employed on your grant for UK and overseas visits to collaborators, and for collaborators to visit your laboratory. We will pay for other essential visits, for example to facilities, for sample collection and for fieldwork.

You can include subsistence costs. We won't pay for the core infrastructure that your host organisation should provide, unless you're eligible to ask for these costs under our overheads policy. Examples of these costs include:. See our carbon offset policy for travel for information on what you and your organisation need to do. These include accommodation, meals and incidentals eg refreshments or newspapers.

You should discuss appropriate rates with your administering and host organisations, or Wellcome, as appropriate. All Rights Reserved. We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience.

Here are 10 career paths in the field. Also called research nurses, site managers and clinical study coordinators , clinical research coordinators CRCs are responsible for the daily operations of clinical research studies at sites like hospitals, independent medical practices, universities, medical schools and other research companies and institutions.

The background of most CRCs is in nursing and other healthcare professions. The clinical research associate or CRA, also called a clinical monitor or trial monitor , works with clinical trial sites to monitor studies and ensure that standard regulatory, operations and ethical standards are being followed.

CRAs may be employed by pharmaceutical companies, government research agencies or medical research institutes, and often travel between study sites for monitoring visits, as well as conducting virtual visits. The importance of data management and analysis in clinical research cannot be overstated.

This includes data from research studies and electronic medical records, as well as other data from disparate systems and sources. Opportunities around clinical research data include data analyst, data manager, data coordinator, data associate and more. Clinical investigator or clinical researcher 5. What is done in clinical research? Clinical research involves human participants and helps to translate the findings of basic research into new treatments and medications that benefit patients.

The most common type of clinical research study is a controlled clinical trial. Interventions include but are not restricted to drugs, cells and other biological products, surgical procedures, radiological procedures, devices, behavioural treatments, process-of-care changes, preventive care, etc. These increase in size and scope as the study progresses. A Phase I trial, for example, may examine the side effects of a new medication and only involve a dozen people.

A Phase IV trial, on the other hand, may involve thousands of participants and test whether a new medication is better than existing treatments. All clinical operations are subject to international ethical, scientific and practical standards. Other therapeutic areas that can fall under clinical research include epidemiology, physiology and pathophysiology, health services, education, and mental health. Is clinical research a good career?