Today, the Academy has published a paper looking at how the UK supports biomedical and health researchers.
‘Developing the next generation of biomedical talent: a snapshot of UK support for early career researchers’ was produced in response to a request from the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), which on behalf of the US Congress carried out a review of how this support could be developed for US researchers.
As part of the review’s evidence-gathering process, NASEM sought evidence on how this was approached in a number of other countries. The Academy submitted this paper to NASEM in response, after consulting a number of other UK funders.
The UK’s successful history of transformative medical research owes much to its long-term investment in research, talented research base and unique research culture. Research funders in the UK recognise the need to support and nurture early career researchers to maintain and grow the UK’s talented research base, with the transition to independence seen as a key pinch point in the research career pathway.
Professor Paul Stewart FMedSci, Vice President: “The transition to independence is seen as a key pinch point in the research career pathway. In this paper, we highlight how funders in the UK are providing complementary schemes to enable outstanding young investigators to transition to independence. Funders have a shared interest in ensuring research talent is nurtured, and over the years their willingness to address barriers to career progression collectively has helped to reshape the career pathway.”
The Academy highlighted to NASEM work by a number of research funders aimed at identifying gaps in the career pathway and highlights initiatives that help to ensure that these gaps are addressed. We also emphasise the role that the Academy is playing alongside other funders – for example, through the Springboard grant scheme, which provides support to biomedical researchers at the start of their first independent post to help launch their research careers, and recently opened for its fourth round of grant applications.
On 12 April 2018, the NASEM published a final report from a review considering how to best develop the US research base so that it supports the move to independent research careers. The report from their Next Generation Researchers Initiative is the culmination of an 18-month study examining evidence-based programmes and policies that can reduce barriers to, and create more opportunities for, successful transitions to independent research careers.
Dr Suzanne Candy, Director of Biomedical Grants and Policy at the Academy of Medical Sciences said: “The Academy is actively playing a role in helping to identify and tackle barriers that researchers can face early into their career that stifle their progression. Our Springboard scheme is one example where working together with other funders we are aiming to fill a gap in support at the start of researchers’ first independent post. This culture of collaboration between funders on initiatives such as this is one of the key strengths of a supportive UK environment.”
The paper provides a snapshot of the support provided within the UK. Find out more by reading the full paper.
For more information about our work supporting early careers researchers, please visit our dedicated grants and programmes page.
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Developing the next generation of biomedical talent - May 2018