Wellcome awards £11.4m to continue clinical academic training across the region

The University of Exeter has helped secure a multimillion-pound award supporting a programme for doctoral fellows to undertake world-class research training across the South West of England and South Wales.

A regional consortium led by Cardiff University and comprising fellow GW4 universities Bath, Bristol and Exeter, plus new programme partner, Swansea University, has secured an £11.4 million award from Wellcome, to deliver the next phase of the GW4 Doctoral Programme for Healthcare Professionals (GW4-HP2).

The GW4-HP2 Programme offers exceptional early-career healthcare professionals, dentists and veterinary graduates the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary PhD training across. The new funding forms part of Wellcome’s £155 million investment in the next generation of healthcare professional researchers.

Building on the success of the current programme, the nine-year award will create a sustained clinical academic pathway for healthcare professionals. Through an integrated package of pre-doctoral, doctoral and postdoctoral support, it will enable participants to develop their research expertise while progressing their clinical careers, providing an integrated route into clinical academia.

Open to healthcare professionals, physicians, dentists and veterinarians, the programme will support 25 doctoral fellows to undertake world-class research training across a broad range of biomedical discovery science disciplines, including infection and immunity, genetics and genomics, population health, artificial intelligence, big data and quantum technologies.

The award includes a significant investment in career development, with £1.2 million ringfenced to support fellows as they progress to the next stage of their academic careers. This will include dedicated support to help fellows develop competitive postdoctoral fellowship applications and secure external funding, alongside NHS-funded Accelerator Fellowships designed to strengthen, retain and nurture clinical research talent across the region.

Astrid Wissenburg, Divisional Director of Research at the University of Exeter, said: “I’m delighted to see this investment in training the next generation of clinical academics through GW4. This is testament to the outstanding partnership we are strengthening across our regions, and the high level of skill and support on offer at our GW4 universities. Ultimately, it will mean better translation and application of clinical research, which benefits patients in our areas.”

Professor Kathryn Peall from Cardiff University, who leads this phase of the GW4-HP2 programme, said: “We are delighted to receive the continued support from Wellcome as we innovate and develop our training offer. This iteration of the programme will also introduce ten institution-funded Pre-Doctoral Gateway Fellowships, designed to widen participation in clinical academic careers by supporting individuals from groups currently underrepresented in research. In addition, Wellcome-funded career progression ‘primers’ will provide support at the doctoral research development stage. Annual summer schools will raise awareness of clinical academic career pathways and encourage more healthcare professionals to explore research and doctoral training opportunities.”

Melanie Knetsch, Director of GW4, said: “We are proud to see the sustained investment in GW4-HP2 reflecting the strength of the collaborative and innovative approach to the doctoral training of our talented clinical academics across the South West of England and South Wales region. Building research capacity, accelerating the innovation and translation of research discoveries to improve health outcomes will enable us to address some of the most pressing health challenges and to help improve health and wellbeing for all.”