NCRI has created an Early Career Researcher Forum, which will enable early career researchers to build collaborative networks in their field of interest whilst enhancing their skills and supporting career development through training, mentoring, networking and research involvement opportunities.
A healthy research community is critical to ensuring that we continue to make progress in the detection, treatment and care of people with cancer. Early career researchers embody the future health and prosperity of our research community.
Now more than ever, we must ensure that we support our early career researchers and support them to make ground-breaking discoveries, enhance our biological understanding of cancer and lead both academic and commercial research for years to come."
Dr Iain Frame, NCRI CEO
It is one of NCRI's strategic priorities to create a research-ready workforce, strengthening the retention of clinical academics and facilitating the early interaction of clinical and preclinical researchers.
The Early Career Researcher Forum is aimed at cancer researchers in the early stages of their research careers who are interested in becoming independent investigators. This includes both clinical and non-clinical researchers looking to pursue a career in cancer-related research.
Forum members will have opportunities to join NCRI Groups and actively contribute to the acceleration of cancer research within their areas of expertise, as well as accessing peer support, mutual learning and collaboration opportunities.
Dr Iain Frame, NCRI CEO, said, commenting on the NCRI Early Career Researcher Forum, "NCRI can offer the unique opportunity to meet funders, researchers and those with recent lived experience of cancer all together at the same time. Allowing early career researchers to share their ideas, learn from each other and set themselves up for bright and successful research careers."
NCRI's focus in this area to date has been on the training and retention of clinical trainees. The NCRI Trainee Scheme has successfully enabled research participation for clinical trainees, with 74 trainee members currently appointed across NCRI Groups and actively contributing to the development of trials within their areas of expertise.
We are looking to build on the past success of our trainee programme, expanding this to include basic and translational researchers and allied health professionals in the creation of a virtual forum for early career researchers.
This scheme has been partially funded by a grant by the Wates Family Enterprise Trust and Wates Foundation.
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