Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowship (DCAF)

Our remit

• Applications for a joint partnership fellowship must fall within both the charity’s and NIHR’s funding remits.
• Moorfields Eye Charity is interested in funding research in eye health, vision research, ophthalmic related service improvement, education or clinical practice.

About you

• Applicants will normally be hosted by either the Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust or its main academic partner University College London.
• If you are hosted by another eligible institution you must demonstrate a direct collaboration with and benefit to Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which will normally include spending a portion of your time at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust or the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
• Applicants must hold registration with one of the ICA programme approved regulatory bodies (see a list in the useful resources below)

Your research

• For personal doctoral-level awards, your proposal must be for clinical and applied health research, or social care research, and have clear potential for directly benefiting patients/​service users, carers and the public.
• Your proposal can involve: patients/​service users and/​or carers; samples or data from these groups; other people who are not patients/​service users and/​or carers; populations; health technology assessment; or health or care services research.
• NIHR does not support basic research or work involving animals or their tissue.
• If your work involves biomarkers, it must test whether application of new knowledge can improve treatment or patient outcomes (with obvious direct potential benefit to patients). This might include application of known biomarkers, or other prognostic factors, to refine and test novel therapeutic strategies. Research that aims only to elucidate mechanisms underpinning disease, or identify risk factors for disease or prognosis (including search for biomarkers) is out of remit.
• The NIHR also supports high quality research into​‘medical education’ (defined broadly as education for healthcare providers) and methodological research. It is expected that the research will have the potential to have practical application and the potential impact on patients/​service users, carers and the public must be made clear.

About you

• Applicants will normally be hosted by either the Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust or its main academic partner University College London.
• If you are hosted by another eligible institution (please refer to NIHR Academy guidance) a direct collaboration with and benefit to Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust must be demonstrated to be eligible for this funding programme. This will normally include the candidate spending a portion of their time at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust or UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.

You must also:

• be a graduate professional;
• hold registration with one of ICA programme approved regulatory bodies (see a list in the useful resources below) or have plans to hold the registration by the proposed start date;
• not hold a General Medical Council registration as a doctor or a General Dental Council registration as a dentist;
• have at least one year’s experience of professional, post-graduation practice at the point of application;
• have a First Class or Upper Second Class bachelor’s degree or equivalent. Applicants without this must normally have a Masters degree;
• have research experience or training that prepares you to undertake the PhD;
• register for a PhD at a recognised Higher Education Institution. Applicants who are already registered are eligible to apply if, by the proposed point of award take up, they have not been registered for longer than 12 months Whole Time Equivalent;
• not be undertaking a professional doctorate.

NIHR-MEC partnership fellowships are individual training awards which will offer funding to cover the salary costs, PhD tuition fees, the costs of an appropriate research project, and the costs of tailored clinical and academic training programmes.

The scope of funding on these fellowships follows NIHR rules and therefore applicants are advised to contact the NIHR Academy if they have any questions regarding what they can apply for.