Associated organisationsKeele University · Queen Mary University of London · University College London · University of Bristol · University of Cambridge · University of Exeter Medical School · University of Manchester · University of Nottingham · University of Oxford · University of SouthamptonEurope PMC affiliations are not treated as award recipients or mapped locations.
Funding£8.7M
PeriodOct 2022 — Sept 2029
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
A new doctoral programme will train primary care clinicians—GPs and other health professionals—to become research leaders who can improve population health and support the NHS. This matters because primary care is the frontline of the NHS, yet it often lacks the dedicated research capacity needed to develop evidence-based policies and practices. Without a steady pipeline of clinical academics, innovations in how care is delivered—from managing chronic disease to preventing illness—can stall. The programme addresses this gap by embedding research training directly into the careers of practising clinicians. If successful, the programme will produce a cohort of clinical academics who can translate real-world GP surgery problems into rigorous studies, then feed findings back into policy and practice. This could quietly reshape how the NHS operates: better preventive care, more efficient use of resources, and treatments that reflect the diverse populations primary care serves. The impact is not a single breakthrough but a sustained improvement in the infrastructure that keeps the health system running. The programme is fundamentally about building human capacity—training people who will, over decades, change how primary care is delivered and studied.
View original technical description
This doctoral programme for Primary Care Clinicians aims to increase research capacity across contemporary primary care to create future research leaders who will develop innovative and evidence based practice and policy to improve population health and support the NHS. Five clinical PhDs per year for five years (in total approximately 18 GPs and 7 other primary health care clinicians) will be hosted across 10 NIHR School for Primary Care (SPCR) members, building on our successful previous Wellcome PhD programme. The NIHR SPCR represents the leading departments of academic primary care in England and provides extraordinary critical mass enabling a broad and inclusive supervisory pool, access to databases, international expertise and bespoke training. Doctoral students will have supervisors across two consortium members and will join 45 NIHR SPCR doctoral students appointed from 2021-2026 to form a supportive cohort of peers who have the opportunity for regular contact at training meetings and our very successful Annual Trainees Event. Equality and diversity are core values underpinning the Programme which promotes the development of networking and collaboration, builds strong and experienced research groups and provides a rich, supportive research environment for doctoral students to develop into successful clinical academics and future research leaders.
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