Chain Florey Predoctoral Fellowship

Chain Florey Predoctoral Fellowship

Department/Division/Faculty: Institute of Clinical Sciences/MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS), Faculty of Medicine

Campus/Location

Hammersmith Campus

Job Family/Level

Clinical Academic (Salary scales)

Responsible to

LMS Group Leader

Line management for

LMS Group Leader

Key working Relationships

LMS staff (Internal)

Key Working Relationships

External workers (External)

Contract type

Full time, fixed term for 12 months Purpose of the Post The Chain Florey Predoctoral Fellowship offers an exceptional opportunity for resident doctors to undertake 12 months of full-time, fully supported research training within a leading biomedical research environment at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS).

Aimed at doctors in core or specialty training who are considering a PhD, this fellowship provides protected time to focus on research. Fellows will gain valuable hands-on experience in the laboratory, develop key research skills, and generate preliminary data to support future applications for doctoral training programs.

This prestigious programme is particularly well-suited to those with a strong interest in mechanistic discovery science and/or early experimental medicine, and who aspire to a career in clinical academia. The fellowship serves as a strong foundation for progression along the clinical academic pathway.

We welcome applications from individuals who meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification below and can demonstrate a clear commitment to research and academic development.

Imperial College London

Application process

To apply for the Chain Florey Predoctoral Fellowship, applicants should initially submit the following:

• A CV detailing previous research experience.
• A 1-2 page cover letter outlining your motivation for applying and the LMS research groups you would be interested in exploring to develop a PhD project.

To help you identify suitable projects and Research Groups, we encourage you to explore the LMS website, where each Research Group includes a Clinical Impact section. This can guide you in aligning your clinical interests and research goals with the ongoing work at the institute. A PDF document containing the Clinical Impact information for each Group Head is also attached to this job advert for your convenience.

We encourage candidates to reach out to and speak directly with LMS Group Heads whose research interests align with their clinical and research interests before submitting their application. These conversations can provide valuable insight into potential projects, the research environment, and opportunities within the Group, and help candidates identify areas that may be suitable for their proposed research.

Successful candidates will subsequently be invited to meet with LMS Group Heads of interest to further explore potential research projects and develop a project proposal. They will then be invited to a panel interview, where they will present their project proposal and discuss their clinical and research background.

The final decision will be made by the interview panel shortly after the panel interviews, to enable successful candidates to apply for out-of-programme research later in the year. It is expected that candidates will need to return to clinical training immediately after the Chain Florey fellowship while their submitted PhD application is under review.

Purpose of role

To provide 12 months of protected research time for conducting mechanistic discovery science and/or experimental medicine, enabling the development of research skills and the generation of preliminary data to support an application for a Clinical Research Training Fellowship (PhD).

Key Responsibilities

Research Duties

• To take initiatives in planning and conducting research and ensuring the timely execution of such research
• To identify and develop suitable techniques and apparatus for the collection and analysis of data
• To ensure the validity and reliability of data at all times including maintaining accurate and complete records of all findings
• To present findings to colleagues at internal and external meetings (travelling within the UK and abroad when necessary)
• To develop and draft an application for an externally funded clinical research training fellowship supporting PhD studies
• To draft publications for submission to referenced journals
• To attend relevant meetings, workshops and conferences
• To develop research collaborations within the College, the LMS and the wider community Imperial College London

• To promote the reputation of the MRC LMS, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre and Imperial College London Management:
• The postholder will be responsible for accurate record keeping and documentation of results, and for preparing research reports and papers arising from their research.
• Contributing to the MRC's commitments: training young scientists, enhancing public awareness of science, interacting with the Imperial Academic Health Sciences Centre, and promoting appropriate translation of innovation with commercial exploitation of research findings.

Committees and Meetings

• To attend meetings and report progress on the project, (written and oral) both within the College, the LMS and externally Other Duties:
• Fellows can undertake clinical activity as required by their specialty (usually limited to 0.2 FTE)
• Clinical trainees to undertake clinical appraisals if needed.
• To undertake appropriate administrative tasks.
• To attend LMS research meetings and seminars including generic training courses and seminars for LMS PhD students.
• To undertake any other necessary training and/or development.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as directed by the supervisory team.
• The post-holder will be expected to contribute to the intellectual activities of the Department and to keep up to date with scientific advances in the field.
• To observe and comply with all College policies and regulations, including the key policies and procedures on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, Business Continuity, Data Protection, Equal

Opportunities, Ethics related, External Interests, Financial Regulations, Health and Safety, Imperial Expectations (for new leaders, managers, and supervisors), Information Technology, and Smoking.

• To undertake specific safety responsibilities relevant to individual roles, as set out on the College

Health and Safety Structure and Responsibilities web page: organisation and arrangements.

• To undertake Business Continuity responsibilities relevant to individual roles.

Person Specification

Requirements

Essential (E)/ Candidates/post-holders will be expected to demonstrate the following:

Desirable (D) Education

A doctor in training in the UK with GMC registration and a license to practice (E) Completed Foundation Year Training before starting the post (E) Hold a National Training Number and be eligible for ‘OOPE’ (D) Passed membership exam Part 1 by the start date of the position (D)

A commitment to conducting scientific research (E) Imperial College London

Experience

Would be eligible for a subsequent Clinical Research Training Fellowship (E) application Experience of conducting scientific research (D) Experience of dealing with patients and liaising with a variety of different people (D) Experience of writing concise reports (D)

Knowledge

Knowledge of basic research methods and statistical procedures (D)

Skills & Abilities

Skills in accuracy, dependability, and attention to detail (E) Working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) (E) Excellent communication skills (both written and oral) (E) Creative approach to problem-solving (E) Ability to organise and prioritise own work in order to meet deadlines (E) Ability to develop and apply new concepts (E) Ability to work closely with a range of different people (E) Proficiency in delegating tasks to others and ensuring team goals are met (E)

Other

Experience working as a part of a team and to be open-minded, friendly, and (E) cooperative Discipline and regard for confidentiality, data and health and safety all times (E) Willingness to work out of normal working hours (including weekends) if the (E) requirements of the project demand Willingness to undertake all necessary training for the role (E)

Further Information

Please note that job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, and the post-holder may be required to undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.

Our values are at the root of everything we do and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate

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• Respect
• Collaboration
• Excellence
• Integrity
• Innovation Imperial College London

Employees are also required to comply with all Imperial policies and regulations.

We are committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender reassignment, sex, or sexual orientation. You can read more about our commitment on our webpages.

Imperial is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/researchand-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/ Imperial believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes which are ultimately aimed towards finding new treatments and making scientific and medical advances, and where there are no satisfactory or reasonably practical alternatives to their use. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in our care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level.

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As this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a satisfactory Service (DBS) check, at the appropriate level, will be required for the successful candidate.

Find out more about animal research at Imperial Disclosure and Barring

[October 2026] Imperial College London