Plenty of clinicians complete a PhD, return to full-time clinical training and find the years slip by without any research. The Medical Research Council’s capacity building clinical research training fellowship is designed for exactly that situation. It funds registered healthcare professionals with a PhD, usually awarded five or more years ago, to spend around three years refreshing their research skills and getting a clinical academic career back on track.
Applications opened at 9am on 21 October 2026 and close at 4pm UK time on 13 January 2027. Shortlisting takes place in May 2027 and the funding decision meeting is on 30 June and 1 July 2027, with fellowships starting between October 2027 and January 2028. This is an ongoing scheme with rounds closing every January, April and September, so if January comes too soon, the next round opens on 14 January 2027.
Who can apply
- You must be a registered healthcare professional. That includes doctors, dentists and GPs, and also nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, healthcare scientists, pharmacists, clinical psychologists and vets.
- You need a PhD or equivalent, usually awarded five or more years ago, and you should not have done substantial academic research since. Time on an NIHR academic clinical fellowship or similar does not necessarily rule you out.
- You should be at an appropriate point in your clinical training, with a plan for completing specialty training. Doctors and dentists are expected to be in specialty training and to have completed MRCP or an equivalent.
- You must intend to be clinically active in the UK during or after the award, and have the support of an eligible UK research organisation.
If you do not yet have a PhD, the MRC’s professional doctorate clinical research training fellowship is the route instead, and the two schemes are assessed in open competition with each other. You can only apply for an MRC fellowship twice, and you need permission from the programme manager to reapply within a year of a previous application.
What the fellowship covers
The MRC pays 80% of the full economic cost, covering your full salary plus consumables, equipment, travel, training, public involvement and NHS research costs. Fellowships usually last three years and never less than two, with up to four years possible for patient-oriented projects that need longer to collect samples and complete follow-up. You can spend up to 12 months at a second organisation in the UK, overseas or in industry. Additional staff costs are only funded in exceptional cases, and you must contact the MRC before including them.
Your time is protected for research: up to two clinical sessions a week (up to four for craft specialties, or where the clinical work feeds directly into the research) and up to six hours a week on other commitments such as teaching.
Does it fit dementia research?
Any area of MRC remit is eligible, including neurosciences and mental health, and the MRC expects your clinical work to strengthen your research. Joint fellowships are available with 17 charities and other funders, among them the Stroke Association, the MS Society, the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Vivensa Foundation, which funds research on ageing, so check whether one of them lines up with your project. For background on why schemes like this matter, see our coverage of the decline in clinical researchers and the call to boost clinical academic roles.
How applications are assessed
Applications go to expert review and then a shortlisting panel. Shortlisted applicants receive the reviewers’ comments and respond to them at an interview lasting around 20 to 25 minutes. You need at least one sponsor from your host department, a host organisation support statement, details of your mentoring arrangements, your career history since the PhD and a section on your clinical activities and training. For interview preparation, read our blog on fellowship writing and interview tips.
How to apply
Applications are made through the UKRI Funding Service and submitted by your research office. Questions go to fellows@mrc.ukri.org, and you should contact them before applying if you plan to do more than two clinical sessions a week or want more than three years of funding.
Read the full details and apply
Visit funding web page
(https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/capacity-building-clinical-research-training-fellowship/)