New Kennedy Trust MB PhD programme in inflammation research

by | Dec 10, 2020 | News, Uncategorised | 0 comments

The Faculty has secured support from the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research to establish an innovative new MB PhD programme in inflammation research.

The award is for four medical students per year, over the next five years, to undertake a PhD studying ‘inflammation in its broadest sense’. Each student will receive a stipend and research costs will be covered. It will provide an exciting opportunity for medical students to take time out of their medical training to focus on research and launch their clinical academic careers. A wide variety of potential projects are available to choose from ranging from understanding the basic science and immunology underpinning inflammation, through to new technologies that improve treatments and clinical trials.

Spearheaded by Professor Anne Barton and Dr John Grainger, the Centre for Musculoskeletal Research (CfMR) and the Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, the Kennedy Trust MB PhD programme is aimed at medical students between Years 3 and 4 of their MB ChB course. The programme will complement the existing CRUK MB PhD programme in cancer research, led by Professor Rob Bristow

Students will progress through the programme as a cohort so that they will be supported by their peers throughout the three years of their PhD. Comprehensive training programmes at the start of the PhD will provide rapid up-skilling in key scientific skills, including bioinformatics, so that the successful applicants will be able to hit the ground running with their PhD projects. At the end of the PhD, working closely with the medical school, a training programme has been developed to refresh clinical skills to enable seamless re-entry into the medical training course in year 4. The successful graduates will benefit from on-going mentoring and guidance beyond completion of the PhD to help develop careers in clinical academic research.

Professor Anne Barton, who led the application process said:

“John Grainger and I are delighted that the University has been awarded this prestigious and innovative programme, which will allow the training of the next generation of clinical academics in inflammation research.”

Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, Chair of the Kennedy Trust said:

“The MB PhD initiative combines two of the Kennedy Trust’s key aims: investment into translational research and the support of early career scientists. We are delighted to build upon the fantastic programme established by the University of Manchester and we are confident that the Trust’s MB PhD scheme will deliver the next generation of clinical academic leaders in musculoskeletal and inflammatory disease research.”

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