Clinical research delivers better health through the discovery of new ways of preventing and treating illness and delivering care. Clinical research also plays a vital role in driving innovation and economic growth. However, these benefits to society are under threat due to a decline in clinical academics - clinically qualified colleagues who engage in both delivery of clinical service and research – both in absolute numbers and as a proportion of the expanding NHS workforce.
Major recent reports commissioned by the Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research (OSCHR) have outlined the issues facing clinical academic research, such as the well-documented decline in permanent clinical academic posts. These reports identified a range of defined actions (‘deliverables’) to address these challenges, with clear timeframes and stakeholders. Considerable progress has been made on a number of these deliverables, with several funders offering Future Leader Fellowships, which support the creation of clinical academic posts.
To further support the deliverables of the OSCHR reports, the Academy of Medical Sciences convened a Clinical Academic Summit in July 2025, which brought together experts from across the UK to share national and regional examples of new models for creating clinical academic posts, and to consider how to do this more effectively at scale.
Key themes identified during the Summit have been used to produce a statement of ambition and intent for creating new UK clinical academic posts.
Read our news story about the statement
Statement of ambition and intent from participants of the Academy of Medical Sciences’ Clinical Academic Summit
As participants of the Summit, we agree that urgent action is needed to address falling numbers of clinical academics and increase the number of permanent clinical academic posts, year on year, to meet the needs of the nation’s health and economy. We recognise this is a shared, UK-wide endeavour and requires a co-design of schemes, as well as funding. We will tap into the research excellence that exists across the UK, through using a shared narrative and involving patients and the public.
We, the participants, agree that:
- Clinical academics support health, economic growth and opportunity. Clinical academics lead ground-breaking discoveries and innovations that save lives and improve health and wellbeing nationally, and they play a key role in driving the UK’s economic growth and prosperity.
- If we act now, the decline of clinical academic numbers can be reversed. To do this, we need to work collectively at a local, regional and national and UK level with academia, industry, the NHS and funders.
- Investment in new clinical academic posts is happening. Despite the financial challenges facing health research organisations, we can evidence many recent examples where partnerships have been successful, creative and maximised the potential for investment.
- This is the beginning of a journey. This is a critical first step in reversing the decline in clinical academic numbers to support the ambition and opportunities in the UK Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan.
We will take urgent action, which includes:
- Demonstrating the value of the clinical academic workforce and advocating for new posts. We will work with patients and the public to demonstrate the value of clinical academics in improving health and healthcare with the aim of retaining this important workforce. We will raise awareness of the opportunities and benefits of clinical research, which include developing collaborations and skills, attracting and developing talent, supporting interdisciplinary research and leveraging investment.
- Prioritising funding for new clinical academic posts of strategic importance to the local clinical academic partnership and the wider research community, with universities and NHS trusts using local strategies to prioritise funding bids.
- Adopting a bold, mission-mindset within our organisations. Senior leaders will champion clinical research and innovation as a multidisciplinary imperative – making it clear across professional, academic and community boundaries that research and innovation are not optional add-ons, but central to how we deliver care, train our workforce, and shape future health and care systems.
- Continuing to develop and showcase local investment and partnership opportunities in support of clinical academics, working across academia, industry, funders (including charities) and the NHS. We will share these examples to inspire further collaborations.
- Addressing specific challenges faced by underrepresented groups in clinical academia, including nurses, midwives, registered health and social care professionals (allied health professionals, healthcare scientists, pharmacists, psychologists and social workers), ethnic minorities and women in clinical academia.
List of signatories
- Professor Andrew Morris CBE FRSE PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor of Medicine and Vice Principal of Data Science, University of Edinburgh and Director, Health Data Research UK (HDR UK)
- Professor Rosalind Smyth CBE FMedSci, Vice President (Clinical) of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Vice Dean (Research), Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London and Honorary Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician, Great Ormond Street Hospital
- Professor Deborah Ashby FRS FMedSci, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London
- Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, British Heart Foundation Clinical Director, British Heart Foundation
- Professor Meena Balasubramanian, Clinical Director for Research, Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Professor of Medical Genetics, University of Sheffield
- Professor Monica Busse-Morris, Faculty Director, Health and Care Research Wales
- Professor Lucy Chappell FMedSci, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health and Social Care and Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Professor Patrick Chinnery FMedSci, Executive Chair, Medical Research Council
- Professor Jane Coad, Professor in Children and Family Nursing at University of Nottingham and Coventry University
- Professor Dame Jessica Corner DBE FMedSci, Executive Chair, Research England
- Dr Lisa Cotterill MBE, Executive Director at National Institute for Health and Care Research Coordinating Centre, NIHR Academy
- Professor Dame Nicky Cullum DBE FMedSci, Professor of Nursing and Director, NIHR ARC for Greater Manchester, University of Manchester
- Professor Chris Day CBE FMedSci, Vice-Chancellor and President, Newcastle University, Chair, Russell Group
- Professor Christian Delles, Professor, Head of School, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow
- Dr Jennifer Dickens, Senior Research Associate, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University of Cambridge
- Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak DBE FRSE FMedSci, Regius Chair of Medicine, University of Glasgow
- Professor Louise Dubras, Foundation Dean, School of Medicine, Ulster University
- Professor Waljit Dhillo FMedSci, Dean of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Academy
- Professor Diana Eccles, Dean of Medicine, University of Southampton
- David Furness, Managing Director of the Shelford Group
- Professor Muzlifah Haniffa FMedSci, Head of Cellular Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute
- Professor Irene Higginson OBE FMedSci, Professor of Palliative Care, and Director of Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London
- Professor Simon Hollingsworth FMedSci, Vice President and Global Franchise Head AstraZeneca
- Ed Hughes, Chief Executive, Council of Deans of Health
- Professor Brian Huntly, Professor of Leukaemia Stem Cell Biology, University of Cambridge
- Professor Sir John Iredale FRSE FMedSci, Professor of Experimental Medicine, University of Bristol and Chair of the Lister Institute
- Dr Judith Johnson, Reader, Nursing & Midwifery and Director of Catalys, University of Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
- Professor Patrick Maxwell CBE FMedSci, Regius Professor of Physic, University of Cambridge
- Professor Rory McCrimmon, Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Dundee
- Dr Gargi Patel, VP Oncology Clinical Development, GSK
- Dr Kathryn Peall, Wales Clinical Academic Track (WCAT) Training Programme Director
- Nicola Perrin, Chief Executive, Association of Medical Research Charities
- Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed FMedSci, David Weatherall Chair of Medicine, University of Liverpool
- Professor Jugnoo Rahi FMedSci, Professor of Ophthalmic Epidemiology and Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist, UCL GOS Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street NHS FoundaTrust
- Dr Usama Rahman, NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Barts Bone and Joint Health
- Professor Sheena Ramsay, Professor of Public Health & Epidemiology, Newcastle University
- Dr Jenny Rivers, Director of Research & Development, Barts Health NHS Trust
- Dr Joanna Robinson, Deputy Director, Research Talent, Skills and Careers, Medical Research Council
- Dr Steven Rogers, Consultant Vascular Scientist and Scientific Director, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of Catalys, University of Manchester
- Dr John-Arne Røttingen, Chief Executive of the Wellcome Trust
- Roland Sinker, Chief Executive, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Professor Charlotte Summers, Director VPD-Heart & Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge
- James Sumner, Group Chief Executive, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group
- Professor Charles Swanton FMedSci FRS, Senior Group Leader, Medical Oncologist, Cancer Research UK Chief Clinician
- Professor Sarah Walmsley, Chair of Respiratory Medicine, University of Edinburgh
- Dr Louise Wood CBE FMedSci, Chair of Trustees, Association of Medical Research Charities
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Dr Shewly Choudhury, Head of Research Careers & Culture, Cancer Research UK