CAHPR (the Community for Allied Health Professions Research) Scotland is delighted to partner with the Research Centre for Health (ReaCH) at Glasgow Caledonian University to deliver the CAHPR Scotland-GCU ReaCH Fellowships 2024.

CAHPR Scotland supports the development of AHP research capacity and quality within Scotland. GCU ReaCH represents the largest concentration of AHP research activity in the country with a focus on enhancing the lives of people with long-term health conditions as well as developing and evaluating public health and lifestyle interventions. The centre brings together research expertise from the allied health sciences alongside other relevant sciences and profession (including bio- and life sciences, social sciences, nursing, epidemiology and population health, bio-engineering and sport/ movement sciences), clustering in research groups that focus on specific themes/areas. These groups are homes for a breadth of active research programmes and will provide a nurturing and collaborative environment, offering our fellows an academic home for a year in which to develop their research ideas. We hope this will facilitate in-depth engagement with the wider research environment and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. The research groups available are:

-      Ageing Well

-      Musculoskeletal Health

-      Stroke and Neurological Rehabilitation

-      Child and Adolescent Health

-      Data Science for Common Good

-      Molecular mechanisms of long-term conditions

-      Safeguarding Health through Infection Prevention

-      Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses

-      Substance Use

-      Vision Research

Who we are looking for:

We are looking for practising AHPs in Scotland with the potential to be future clinical researchers in the broad fields listed above. This fellowship is an opportunity to work within a professional research group environment as you develop your own project alongside your existing clinical role.

Up to four fellowships are available for 2024 and we hope to support a range of professions undertaking a variety of projects.

For this fellowship, you are encouraged to think about how you might work out with your typical professional boundaries and/or specific clinical practice area to engage with researchers from other fields to address a question of larger scope. It is envisaged that being supported as a CAHPR Scotland - GCU ReaCH Fellow will enhance your clinical research career and lead to future applications for funding e.g. the Chief Scientists Office (CSO) Researcher Development Fellowships or Clinical Academic Fellowships.

What you will benefit from:

Fellows will benefitfrom membership of one or more ReaCH Groups with the opportunity to attend theirresearch group meetings and access to feedback from research leaders to supportyour project development, peer support and mentorship through the CAHPRScotland fellowship program, access to wider networks and resources through GCUReaCH and the national CAHPR infastructure, and up to £1,000 to support anyaspect of their work (e.g. for small consumables or towards presenting yourresearch at a professional conference).

Submission details:

• Call released – 24th January 2024

• Submission deadline– 15th April 2024

• Fellowship begins –1st June 2024

Assessment criteria:

Normally, profession-specific research is well supported by the professional bodies; this call aims to highlight and support work outwith the usual professional research streams and topics and those working indifferent fields. Preference will therefore be given to applicants moving outwith typical professional boundaries and to non-traditional research areas in their profession.

We advise that you discuss your application with the lead(s) of the research group(s) you would be interested in working with to gain a full understanding of how you might align with their programmes of work, ensure that a senior academic has capacity to support your application and get support to develop your application.

Expectation of scope of projects:

The aim of this call is to facilitate development of research experience, research applications or evidence to support applications for future research funding to deliver a significant research project.

Please discuss your ideas with your proposed group lead(s) and provide a realistic plan for what you might achieve in a year by applying your clinical expertise and perspective aligned to the ongoing research activities.

Priority will be given to applications that:

• Articulate how working with a research group will kick-start/ transform your research career and support future applications for funding.  

• Represent novel research from normally under-represented professions and/or in areas not traditionally represented by profession-specific research (e.g. in inter-disciplinary topic areas).  

• Align to the wider CAHPR mission.

• Align with the ReaCH focus of enhancing the lives of people with long-term health conditions as well as developing and evaluating public health and lifestyle interventions.

Requirements of Fellows:

At an appropriate point in time, CAHPR Fellows will be expected to present their work in the ReaCH group(s) they are affiliated with. Additionally, at the end of the fellowship, recipients will be expected to present at the CAHPR Fellows conference and write a blog about their experience that will be published via the CAHPR and GCU ReaCH websites.  Fellows will be supported in preparing their presentations.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact your cahprscotland@gmail.com or Chris Seenan Chris.Seenan@gcu.ac.uk (CAHPR Scotland Consortium Lead).

How to apply

Please download and follow the guidance in the application form below