Grantholders e-newsletter

Issue 15: October 2008

1. New call for clinical veterinary fellowships

The Wellcome Trust’s clinical veterinary f ello w ship schemes, which help vets develop research careers, are now open for applications.

Visit the veterinary research page.

2. New clinical funding opportunities

MB/PhD graduates: New funding opportunities to help MB/PhD graduates develop research careers are now available.

Visit the MB/PhD graduates postdoctoral training fellowships page.

Starter grants for clinical lecturers: A new funding scheme run by the Academy of Medical Sciences in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust to provide clinical lecturers, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, a grant towards research costs.

Visit the Academy of Medical Sciences website.

3. Call for Strategic Award proposals: Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases

A major new initiative to stimulate high-quality, collaborative research that will advance knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases through interdisciplinary approaches has been announced by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council.

Visit the Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases scheme page.

4. Clinical psychologists are now eligible for the Trust’s Clinical Fellowship schemes

In recognition of the fact that their professional training aligns with other medical disciplines, the Trust is opening its clinical fellowship schemes to qualified clinical psychologists.

Candidates who have obtained a professional doctorate-level qualification in Clinical Psychology accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) will be able to apply for the Research Training Fellowship in order to gain a PhD. Please note candidates who have not started their clinical training programme will not be eligible for this scheme.

In addition, those candidates with a professional doctorate-level qualification in Clinical Psychology accredited by the BPS who have completed a PhD will be eligible for the Intermediate Clinical and Senior Clinical Fellowship schemes according to their level of post-doctoral experience. Further information will be available on the web shortly.

5. Supporting career development of researchers

A revised Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers was agreed in June 2008.

This replaces the "Concordat to provide a framework for the career management of contract research staff in universities and colleges" that was previously announced in March 1996 and builds on this to reflect developments in the last decade in higher education and other sectors.

The Wellcome Trust expects organisations that hold Wellcome Trust grants to adopt the principles of the revised Concordat for the management of their researchers.

6. Technology Transfer update

Technology Transfer have been delighted with the response to its call for Medical Engineering applications. The 45 preliminaries received resulted in a short list of nine who have been invited to submit a full application.

We continue to encourage applications from researchers from physical sciences, medical engineering and digital health via the Translation Awards scheme.

These awards are open to researchers from both academic institutions and early-stage companies. Upcoming deadlines for preliminary applications: 17 November 2008 and 6 February 2009.

7. Call for abstracts: Wiring the Brain - From genetic to neuronal networks

An international conference sponsored by the Wellcome Trust, April 21-24 2009 in Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland. Deadline for abstracts: 17 October 2008.

Visit the Wiring the Brain conference website.

8. Public engagement opportunities update

Narrative Workshops: The Wellcome Trust provides grantholders and their teams exceptional opportunities to become involved in all kinds of engagement activities. We offer support and advice to help you communicate your work in the most effective and rewarding way possible.

Throughout 2008 and 2009, ex-BBC producer Caroline van den Brul will be leading our narrative skills workshops. These sessions address the fundamentals of engaging and influencing people through narratives. The skills and theory covered ensure that people will want to listen to you and your science.

Darwin

In 2009 the life and legacy of Charles Darwin will be celebrated with a range of exciting activities. We are keen for these activities to feature contemporary research as well as biographical and historical perspectives. If your research has been inspired by Darwin, let us know and we will do our best to find you a project to match your interests.

Next year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition will also have a Darwin-related theme. The exhibition, which was visited by 4000 people in 2008, is a great way to engage with a wide variety of people. If you are interested in taking part, the deadline for applications is Monday 20 October. Anybody who is thinking about applying to exhibit should get in touch as we are happy to offer advice. More information can be found at the Exhibition web pages.

Documentary Film Festival

Do you enjoy TV? Do you have an idea for a new science documentary? We are offering 15 places to our researchers to attend this year’s Sheffield International Documentary film festival; an annual conference bringing together the broadcast, film and arts industries.

The festival offers a fantastic opportunity to learn about the latest trends in production, discover new innovations and emerging talent and share your ideas at a number of Wellcome Trust-sponsored events. If selected, your place will include a delegate pass for the 7-9 November 2008, travel and two nights’ accommodation. The deadline for applications is Friday 17 October. Please get in touch for more details.

To register your interest in any of the activities below, or for more information about public engagement, contact us at researchers.pe@wellcome.ac.uk or +44 (0) 20 7611 8645.

9. Getting media coverage of your research

Are you about to publish a paper that you think may be of interest to the public? Have you reached a significant milestone in your research? Could you act as an expert, commenting on the science behind the headlines?

If so, please let our Media Office know. We can help you to:

identify the key story
prepare a media strategy
write a press release
coordinate interviews.

We have produced a ‘Guide to Working with the Media’, with helpful advice and tips. To obtain your free copy or to notify us about a forthcoming research paper, please contact Craig Brierley at c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk or +44 (0)20 7611 7329.

View recent Trust press releases.