1. Perspectives from a NIHR Senior Investigator & NIHR Panel Member
Keith R Abrams PhD
Department of Health Sciences
University of Leicester, UK
NIHR Leicester, Sept 2018

2. Background
Professor of Medical Statistics & Head of Biostatistics Research Group (12 Academic, 19 RAs, 13 PhD students + MSc in Medical Statistics, n=25, )
Research Interests: Statistical methods in HTA & large-scale linked data (‘BIG data’)
National Institute for health & Care Excellence (NICE):
Appraisal Committee member [2007 – 2016]
Member of Decision Support Unit (DSU)
NIHR:
Member, Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme Committee (East Midlands) [ ]
Member, HTA Clinical Evaluation &Trials Board [ ]
Senior Investigator Emeritus [ ]
Member, Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Committee [2015-]

3. Applying for Any [NIHR] Research Training Award
Key steps to success:
Identify the right scheme for you
Determine the right project and the right supervisors for you
Develop your proposal & training plan
Complete your application form
Submit your application
Prepare for your interview

4. Fellowships versus Project Grants
Key thing to consider when applying for a fellowship …
Both involve a well defined project with good research questions, outcomes and impact
A fellowship also considers the development and status of the individual
To some extent the funding is using the research as a vehicle to develop the researcher for early career fellowships

5. Apply to the right NIHR scheme & in right way!
Look at the website
Carefully read the guidance
Contact the NIHR TCC with any queries
Look up previous award holders
Look up panel members
Look up successful topics

6. Post-Doctoral Fellowships – Questions to Consider 1
Post-doctoral training involves further development of skills first explored at PhD level and greater maturity
Did you enjoy your PhD?
Did you complete your PhD reasonably on time? (< 4 years FT)
Have you presented your PhD findings at a conference?
Have you published your findings in a refereed journal?
Are you passionate about your area of research?

7. Post-Doctoral Fellowships – Questions to consider 2
Do you want to develop skills to become an independent researcher?
Do you imagine yourself being a future PhD supervisor?
Do you enjoy being involved in applying for competitive research grants?
Are you strongly committed to following a career as an academic or clinical academic?

8. Post-Doctoral Fellowships – Questions to consider 3
Are you involved within an established research group with a robust research culture?
Do you believe you have leadership potential?
Do you have support from your employer or future employer?
Are you determined – do not give up?

9. Identifying your Post-Doctoral Focus
Build on your PhD research or make clear connections to it
Be ambitious (but not over ambitious!) in your project development ideas
Focus on an area with real long term scope for research programme development
Choose the right HEI – it has to have an established track record in your broad area of interest
Think about whether staying at the same HEI where you did your PhD is the right thing – there is no right or wrong answer, but be ready to justify it
Take advice! Talk to NIHR Senior Investigators -

10. Identifying your Post-Doctoral Mentors
Choose successful, well connected mentors
Track record in research area
Ensure your mentors’ expertise covers the key areas of your research
Develop your own network of contacts
Identify potential future collaborators both national and international
Make the most of your mentors and collaborations
Make sure you can get on with them

11. Developing Your Proposal
Start early – allow enough time!
Talk to people like research design service – they are very experienced in advising such applications

12. Developing Your Proposal
Get advice from those who have done it before
Ideally identify someone who has gained the same award from your institution – or another one
Ask them to share their application and experiences with you
Ask them to be a mentor?

13. Developing Your Proposal
The research questions:
Get your research questions/hypotheses right
Make sure your questions address a clinically relevant and important topic
Make sure they are timely
For a good, robust research question, the relevant literature, theory, methodology and research design will quickly fall into place!

14. Developing Your Proposal
Make sure the project is the right scale for a post-doctoral project – you have 3 years and limited resources and so an RCT with 10K patients is not doable!
Write a first draft and get feedback before going too far (be prepared to change your mind!)
You will probably go through several iterations and your final ideas may be different to your initial ones – this is all part of good research proposal development

15. Developing Your Proposal – PPI
PPI = Public and Patient Involvement, NOT a type of mis-selling!
Not a last minutes add-on or ‘ticking the box’ – needs to run throughout
“It’s discipline x so PPI is not relevant”
“My work is very complex – they won’t understand it”
Plenty of help available – web-based, course, Research design service, own hospital PPI coordinator/group, INVOLVE
Start early and gain good will
Advantages – lay summaries, development of plans, practice of talks – build relationships

16. Developing Your Proposal
Research Design Service (RDS):
Great resource for discussing any project or fellowship relevant to NHS or patient care
They are experienced at reviewing fellowship applications and know what succeeds
Good to talk at early stage

17. NIHR Fellowships – Chairs’ Report
“Finally, an overall comment from all the Fellowships Panels this year is that there is no set formula for success. The methods and structure of a previously funded fellowship may not be the best approach for a different applicant and a different research topic. Each application and the various constituent parts need to be considered individually and as a whole. The approaches taken from the methods used to the involvement of patients and public to the courses attended in the training programme should all justified and not undertaken just because it is what has worked in the past. The Panels are looking for innovative, well thought through applications which are proposing to answer important health research questions and will enable the applicant to make a clear step change in their career. “

18. Developing Your Proposal
Finances
Make sure finances are sensible
Ask for enough money to do the project sensibly
Make sure you consider your training needs!
Get advice on NHS treatment and support costs
Talk to your finance team early and ask them to help explain things – direct costs, indirect costs etc.

19. Completing the Application Form
Find the right scheme for YOU
Read the guidelines and go through them with a fine toothcomb
Ensure sign-up of your application is in place from institutions, line managers, mentors and supervisors
Use a successful proposal as a rough guideline
Do a rough draft and get feedback from supervisors and others with experience of the scheme before going too far
Work closely with supervisors to provide wording for statements of support
Use a spell-checker!
Think about layout/presentation (see later!!)

20. Completing the Application Form
Allow sufficient time!!
Allow for supervisors and mentors to read your application and see revised versions
Costings and sign-off of costings
Sign-off of statement of support
They can all take time! Much much more than you think!

21. Getting Shortlisted
Once you have submitted you application at least 2 experienced panel members will review your application independently of each other
From their reviews we will decide if we should shortlist your application for peer-review (& possible interview)
We consider the application in four broad areas:
Applicant, Project, Training plan & Environment

22. Getting Shortlisted – What we look for:
A sound project
A clinically focused project – important question!
Potential to make a difference – change practice & improve health outcomes for patients
Robust research questions – probably linked to an existing research programme
Good understanding of the relevant literature
Good understanding of the theory underpinning the research
A feasible project – it is 3 years!

23. Getting Shortlisted – What we look for:
Evidence of genuine ambition to pursue a career in clinically relevant research
A strong and challenging academic and clinical training programme which addresses the skills and background knowledge needed to carry out the project successfully
An HEI with a strong research track record – we will see REF results
An experienced mentor with good research and publication profile
Appropriate mentors addressing the breadth of the programme

24. Preparing for the Interview
Revise!
Read up on your background literature including any new research in the area
Read up on your chosen methods and research design – e.g. intervention guidelines, psychometric tools, scales etc.
Read up on the data analysis approaches you propose to use

25. Preparing for the Interview
Practice, practice & practice!
Mock interview – usually much harder than the real thing!
Ideally with several people with very different backgrounds
Make it realistic – get some good questions
Ask patient groups and lay people
Ask RDS
Practice your presentation in a realistic setting
Learn from your mock interview

26. The Interview - Presentation
Do not have too many slides
Do not go over time
Make sure your presentation is vibrant
Make sure your presentation is punchy
Get across the need for the study
Get across the potential implications for practice and health, impact on NHS
Avoid jargon – this is a multi-disciplinary panel evaluating a multi-disciplinary field

27. The Interview Be passionate about your subject
Prepare for questions about your proposal
Prepare for questions about your training plans & environment
Admit areas of lack of knowledge if they are discussed and link to training plans and expertise of mentors
Be responsive to panel suggestions, e.g. methods, approaches and ask their advice as appropriate
Do not get upset or defensive if challenged!
It is okay to be nervous
Confident but not overconfident
Try to relax and be yourself

28. The Panel’s Perspective – What we look for
The person
Achievements and outputs
Career trajectory – we are investing for the future!
The project
Scientific quality
Appropriate scale and scope
The training
Does it meet the needs of candidate and project? (and NOT an add-on)
Host environment (institution, mentors/supervisors)
REF, track record, time, commitment

29. NIHR Success Rates Year TRF DRF PDF CDF SRF Total 2015 Applied 5 162
TRF
DRF
PDF
CDF
SRF
Total
2015
Applied 5
162 96 61 11
335
Funded 33 8 2 54
Success rate 0%
20%
11%
13%
18%
16%
2014 18
185 99 55 10
367 3 34 58
17%
2013 86 44 19
337 1 30 15
33%

30. Final Thoughts … Remember it is your fellowship!
Talk to as many people as possible … including Senior Investigators (see
Make it as easy as possible for reviewers to understand what you intend to do! Think about presentation/layout – use bolding in text & less really can be more, & don’t blind them with science!

31. So …
Aims and objectives. Clearly state what the aims and objectives of your research are. Methods. This is the methods section of your fellowship, it is where you can explain clearly what methods you are planning to use. Preliminary results. You should explain what work you can already done in the area, how this builds upon, but expands, that done as part of your PhD. PPI. Explain how you have already involved patients and public in developing your proposal, and how the interaction with them has led to beneficial changes. Impact on patients & the NHS. Explain how the research that you are proposing will benefit patients in the NHS over the coming years and not just your career.

32. or … Aims and objectives
Clearly state what the aims and objectives of your research are.
Methods
This is the methods section of your fellowship, it is where you can explain clearly what methods you are planning to use.
Preliminary results
You should explain what work you can already done in the area, how this builds upon, but expands, that done as part of your PhD.
PPI
Explain how you have already involved patients and public in developing your proposal, and how the interaction with them has led to beneficial changes.
Impact on patients & the NHS
Explain how the research that you are proposing will benefit patients in the NHS over the coming years and not just your career.

33. Thank You & What questions have you got?