Associated organisationsNewcastle University · University of Leeds · University of Manchester · University of SheffieldEurope PMC affiliations are not treated as award recipients or mapped locations.
Funding£7.5M
PeriodAug 2022 — Jul 2029
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
Four universities in northern England are training healthcare professionals—nurses, radiographers, paramedics, and others—to become PhD-level researchers, not just doctors. This matters because the region’s population has some of the UK’s worst health outcomes and shortest life expectancies. Most doctoral training programmes focus on medical doctors, leaving other healthcare professions under-represented in research. Without a diverse research workforce, the health problems that most affect these communities may not get the attention they need. If the programme succeeds, it will produce a generation of research-active clinicians who can design and test treatments, devices, or care pathways that directly address the region’s specific health needs. It also aims to set a new standard for inclusive, interdisciplinary training that other institutions could adopt. A separate initiative will host 16- to 19-year-olds from under-represented backgrounds, widening the pipeline into scientific research. The programme is not about a single discovery. It is about building the skilled people who will make future discoveries possible.
View original technical description
Our programme will deliver excellent doctoral training for all healthcare professions. We are building a comprehensive inter-disciplinary programme across biomedical discovery and experimental medicine, reaching into our leading skills in physical sciences, engineering and computational/data science. We have fully refreshed our partnership across the Universities of Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield; seven out of eight new directors are new. We have forged fresh partnership with the Alan Turing Institute, integrated our comprehensive ties with industry, and deepened our links to the Francis Crick Institute. We have coalesced features that define our best research culture and developed a thoughtful approach to equality, diversity and inclusion to ensure we capture talent, regardless of background or profession. The training will be valuable to fellows, supervisors and directors alike and set best-practice that will permeate our partner organisations. We are particularly proud of a new initiative with the Nuffield Foundation/STEM Learning to host 16-19 year olds as part of widening participation in higher education and scientific research. This programme is important to us. We need a research-intensive workforce trained to the highest standards equipped to innovate for a surrounding population with some of the greatest health needs and reduced life expectancy in the UK.
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