How to Win Funding in Medical Research Cecilia Lindgren Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellow

The three P’s Person=you – CV Publications Awards Grants – National/international collaborations/net-works (reputation) Place – Is the centre known for the type of work you propose – Will the applicant have the necessary support (practical and intellectual) Project – Novelty – Will the project generate results – Is it a suitable framework for a career – Value for money for the funders – Appropriate for the funding body (i.e. fits with their goals)

Where was I when I decided to apply? Throne-Holst Visiting Fellowship from Sweden 2006 DUK project grant 2006 NDM Scientific Leadership Fellow – 3 year Career Development Award – “a bridge between being a post-doctoral fellow and being eligible for a Career Development Award from one of the larger funding bodies”

Work towards the goal Identify a topic that you feel strongly about and believe in, it will shine through Be active in publishing Network and find independent collaborators Be active in applying for prices and awards Find an area of research and become an expert (generalists?) Develop independence from your supervisor Collect preliminary data to build your application

What is a competitive research project? Good preliminary data to show that you are on track already Focus on a research area where you have a track-record Facilities and collaborations to ensure success Originality Will this ensure publications and frameworks for achieving your goals and the next round of funding

Things to consider & Funding options The first thing that I did was that I decided to stay in the UK Grant/Award that covers the salary – Often shorter time-spans – Less money Leave Oxford and take a tenured position at another University – Research environment – Teaching – Scientific freedom Career Development Fellowship (WT/MRC) – 3-6 years post PhD experience (exceptions can be considered) Senior (WT) or Intermediate (MRC) fellowships level of CV required for this? contact the funding body to check that you are eligible

Why Oxford? Tradition Excellence Reputation Possibilities Resources Location

Why WTCHG & OCDEM ‘Hot-houses’ for science – Multi-disciplinary research teams in human genetics, functional genomics, bioinformatics, statistical genetics and structural biology Excellence – Ranked high in the RAE – A number of the leading authorities in the world on relevant topics to my area of interest Opportunity – Several relevant collaborators, clinically and statistically but no direct overlap with existing efforts

Why Wellcome Trust? A Career development fellowship constitutes a framework for developing my own independent research program and team to build up my ‘portfolio’ to be eligible for a senior fellowship 5 years of funding, fits in my 5 year plan personally First step on WT funding track, which is an attractive option: – Generous fellowships – Wonderful support team at the WT, their aim is to make everything for you to succeed and reach your goal

Having decided to apply for WT-RCDF-what next? Select which funding stream to chose Make a time planning scheme to ensure that you have planned out all deadlines Inform your admin team Check deadlines and requirements from research services Select and invite collaborators, collect letters of support and inform them about what they need to do Letter of support from head of department Choose sponsors and collect letters of support and inform them about what they need to do Check guidelines and instructions for how to submit and what to submit

My timeline for application Decided to apply for a WT- RCDF Submitted a pre- submission inquiry Submitted the full application Got invited for an interview interview Got the news that I got the fellowship and reviewers comments March 2008 December 2007 June 2008 November 2008 December 2008 Please notice that from start to end it is 1 year

Prepare for the interview Read up on every aspect of your application Have mock interviews, many (!!) Discuss your project with your peers and ask for comments, questions that they would ask Think through what will happen if you do not know the answer of a question, prepare for that Dress nicely Once there, enjoy

What does the Wellcome Trust reviewers look for… The caliber of the candidate The scientific merit of the proposed project The significance of the research The suitability of the sponsor and host environment for the candidate's development as an independent researcher the three P’s

Final thoughts Discuss through carefully with peers and mentors about the appropriate funding options Work towards/start putting together a competitive CV Follow the instructions carefully and check, check again and re-check everything carefully Do not leave things till last minute Keep the effort going till you get funded Discuss through carefully with peers and mentors about the appropriate funding options Work towards/start putting together a competitive CV Follow the instructions carefully and check, check again and re-check everything carefully Do not leave things till last minute Keep the effort going till you get funded

Acknowledgements Mark McCarthy -for sponsoring me and supporting my application Chris Holmes -for sponsoring me and supporting my application Peter Donnelly -for mock interview and being a great mentor Fredrik Karpe -for mock interview and valuable clinical input Krina Zondervan & Andrew Morris -for support & mock interviews Anna Gloyn -for mock interview and support Peter Ratcliffe -for mock interview and support Liesel Osman – (The NDM Research Facilitation Team)- for mock interview and support And of course to the Wellcome Trust for funding me Mark McCarthy -for sponsoring me and supporting my application Chris Holmes -for sponsoring me and supporting my application Peter Donnelly -for mock interview and being a great mentor Fredrik Karpe -for mock interview and valuable clinical input Krina Zondervan & Andrew Morris -for support & mock interviews Anna Gloyn -for mock interview and support Peter Ratcliffe -for mock interview and support Liesel Osman – (The NDM Research Facilitation Team)- for mock interview and support And of course to the Wellcome Trust for funding me

I wish YOU the best of luck!!

Wellcome Trust ( The Wellcome Trust is an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. Established in 1936 by Henry Wellcome An endowment of around £13 billion It is the UK's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research

Mentors, Sponsors and advisors WTCHG & OCDEM & NDM mentors with experience of different funding streams and application processes External mentors for advice about application, funding agencies and research panels