Ever since joining CRUK, I’ve been amazed by the incredible researchers we fund. But I must admit, clinical academics hold a special place in my heart. These very special clinicians – bridging the gap between fundamental discovery science and clinical application are a rare breed – juggle two highly demanding careers with incredible devotion.

However, the road to becoming a clinical academic is far from easy. During a recent consultation, I spoke with clinical academics across various career stages. Their passion was undeniable, but so were the hurdles. Many face significant challenges, such as limited protected research time, insufficient funding opportunities and a lack of a clear structured career path. One thing is crystal clear – we must do everything we can to support them so they can continue making a difference.

Some start their clinical academic careers with just one day a week dedicated to research, making it hard to build momentum. Others take pay cuts – qualified consultants paid as registrars – just to access research opportunities. It’s easy to overlook the personal sacrifices they make to improve patient outcomes. These are real people with real lives, and they need protected research time and flexibility to do their most impactful work.

A path to improvement?

One recurring theme in these conversations was the importance of role models to champion this profession. I’ve had the privilege of working with individuals like Professor Iain McNeish, vice-chair of the CRUK Research Careers Committee, responsible for issuing fellowship funding. His passion for supporting clinical academics shines through in every meeting. He often says, ‘My mantra is, we support people first and foremost’ and I couldn’t agree more.

Many of the challenges clinical academics face are fundamental structural issues and require collective action from all stakeholders, including the NHS, medical schools, universities and funders. So, when the Office for the Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR) published a report looking into this, I was initially a bit sceptical. While such reports often do a good job of identifying challenges and proposing potential solutions, they haven’t always led to meaningful change. But this particular report felt different. It focussed on tangible actions to reverse the decline in the clinical academic workforce, including clear steps funders like us could take.

Being part of a cross-funder group working to implement these actions was refreshing and energising. One major outcome was the creation of a national funders map – a visible, coordinated effort to support the community. It’s so important that funders align their efforts to create new opportunities and implement them quickly to address key career pinch points.

I’m proud that for us, at CRUK, this means we can focus our efforts where we can make the most impact. We know we can’t do everything – and certainly not alone – but we’re committed to doing our part.

We’re strengthening early postdoctoral support for clinical trainees that are part of our Clinical Academic Training Programmes (CATP), helping them benefit from excellent regional training environments. This is important because we know this is a critical career stage where many trainees opt for the stability of an NHS job over a clinical academic career. We’re also encouraging the CAT programmes to tap into other opportunities to strengthen their regional postdoctoral training support.

Another initiative I’m really excited about is our new Clinical Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) , which aligns with the clinical FLF scheme that the MRC, NIHR and BHF have launched. It’s a real step-change in our funding offer, providing longer term career support for clinical academics as they transition to independence.

All of this is a great example of the change that can come when funders work together to support the creation of clinical academic posts. And in a world full of uncertainty, it is exactly this kind of joined-up thinking we need to support the research community.