Introduction to Career support

We are dedicated to building a world-class workforce to fight arthritis. Through supporting research careers, and ensuring the UK has the capacity to translate ideas into benefits for people with arthritis. 

Our goal is to nurture the future leaders of musculoskeletal research. We support musculoskeletal research careers by: 

• Providing dedicated fellowship support for outstanding researchers. 
• Funding researchers through additional schemes. 

We also offer training and skills development through our own programmes and partnerships, maximising the impact of our research funding. 

The annual Versus Arthritis Fellows Meeting is a prestigious event that brings together Versus Arthritis-funded fellows and students. It provides an opportunity to celebrate and showcase their work. 

The meeting allows participants to present their research and network with peers and leaders in the field. It also allows us to engage with our research community and support their career development. 

Fellowship alumni are invited to share their career journeys, providing invaluable advice on the current research funding landscape for our PhD students and fellows. 

Each year we invite a prominent figure from the UK medical research community to deliver an inspirational talk. Previous keynote speakers include: 

• Professor Dame Carol Black - University of Cambridge 
• Professor Matt Brown - Genomics England 
• Professor Anne Cooke - University of Cambridge 
• Professor Adrian Hayday - King’s College London 
• Professor Christian Mallen - Keele University 
• Professor Maria Stokes - University of Southampton 
• Professor Irene Tracey - University of Oxford 
• Professor John Todd - University of Oxford

We offer interactive sessions focused on career development, including CV and grant writing workshops and networking opportunities. 

The Fellows Meeting showcases the breadth and quality of the research we fund, emphasising our commitment to capacity building and career support. It highlights our dedication to nurturing the musculoskeletal research leaders of tomorrow. 

Established in 2017, the Versus Arthritis Fellows Network connects our current fellows. It’s a platform for mutual support and strengthening connections.  

The Fellows Network organises training days and events tailored to the specific needs identified by our fellows at this critical stage of their academic careers. 

Through this network, fellows receive the support, training, and resources necessary to be competitive for further funding applications and tenured positions.  

Ultimately, this helps to maximise the impact of their research on people with arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders.

Versus Arthritis Fellows Network Committee

The Fellows Network is led by a committee of seven of our fellows:

• Dr Lucy Norling, Senior Research Fellow, QMUL (co-chair) 
• Dr David Wilkinson, Career Development Fellow, University of Liverpool (co-chair) 
• Dr Ghada Alsaleh, Career Development Fellow, University of Oxford 
• Dr Rebecca Lee, Foundation Fellow, University of Manchester 
• Dr Charis Pericleous, Career Development Fellow, Imperial College London 
• Dr Anne Pesenacker, Career Development Fellow, UCL 
• Dr Claudia Worth, Clinical Research Fellow, University of Oxford

For more information or to join the network, please contact: awards@versusarthritis.org.  

Mentoring is an invaluable opportunity for early career researchers to seek advice and support from experienced researchers, aiding in their career development and personal growth. 

The benefits of mentoring include: 

• Advice and support on career development. 
• Opportunity to gain specific skills and knowledge relevant to the mentee's personal goals and ambitions. 
• Expanding the fellow’s professional network. 
• Guidance on overcoming challenges and navigating the research environment. 
• Feedback on research ideas, proposals, and publications. 
• Enhanced confidence and motivation through encouragement and positive reinforcement. 
• An impartial perspective to discuss and resolve concerns. 

To help our fellows find a mentor, we have partnered with several organisations offering relevant mentoring schemes. Details of these schemes are outlined below. 

British Society for Rheumatology researchers mentoring scheme

The British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) offers a mentoring scheme for rheumatology researchers across all professions, aiming to support diverse individuals in advancing their academic careers. Whether experienced consultants transitioning into academia, early career researchers, or those new to research with an interest to develop, all are welcome to apply.

Mentees are paired with experienced mentors to guide their career development, fostering meaningful relationships and expanding their rheumatology network.

How it works:

• Easy sign-up through an online platform for both mentees and mentors. 
• Matches made based on skills and knowledge. 
• Flexibility to set goals and learning plans. 
• Face-to-face or virtual sessions available. 
• Training provided for both mentees and mentors. 

For further details contact BSR: Mentoring | British Society for Rheumatology 

British Society for Immunology mentoring scheme

The British Society for Immunology (BSI) offers an annual Mentoring Programme for early career scientists to learn from senior scientists across different institutions.

Mentors and mentees are paired up, fostering unbiased relationships free from internal politics. These meetings are primarily virtual, occurring over Skype, email, or telephone.

First-time participants are required to attend a training session to understand the scheme's nature and expectations. For details, please visit: BSI mentoring scheme | British Society for Immunology. 

The Health Education England / National Institute for Health Research Integrated Clinical Academic Mentorship Scheme

The Health Education England / National Institute for Health Research (HEE / NIHR) Integrated Clinical and Practitioner Academic (ICA) Mentorship Scheme provides doctoral or post-doctoral ICA awardees with free one-to-one mentorship for their clinical academic careers. 

Recognised for its crucial support, the scheme now extends to approved NIHR Fellowship awardees and nominated Nurse and Allied Health Professional Versus Arthritis fellows, following agreements between HEE, NIHR, and Versus Arthritis. 

Administered by Birmingham Health Partners, the scheme operates within a collaborative network of healthcare and education providers to foster research-active clinicians. 

For more information, visit the NIHR's ICA Mentorship webpage. Versus Arthritis nurse and allied health professional fellows can enquire about joining the scheme via awards@versusarthritis.org.  

Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) Mentorship Program

The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) Website-Mentorship Program supports early career investigators in the field of osteoarthritis research.  

Mentorship is conducted via email and/or telephone, requiring minimal time commitment. For details, please visit: www.oarsi.org. 

The Academy of Medical Sciences Mentoring programme

The Academy of Medical Sciences Mentoring programme pairs early and intermediate career researchers with an Academy Fellow as a mentor.  

This programme promotes an enabling, non-directive approach to help mentees make critical career decisions and is available to current Versus Arthritis Career Development fellows.  

For further information, please contact the Academy via: mentoring@acmedsci.ac.uk. 

You may also reach out to the Versus Arthritis team at awards@versusarthritis.org.  

Supporting fellows to involve people with arthritis in your work

We aim to put people with arthritis at the centre of everything we do. We strive to embed meaningful patient and public involvement (PPI) across the research we fund. 

The research involvement team and our research partners, who have lived experience of arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders, have co-delivered training sessions to approximately 300 researchers.  

These sessions help researchers understand the importance of patient and public input and how to improve its use in their own work. 

More information and resources on PPI can be found on our Involvement Resources for Researchers page. 

Assessing patient and public involvement in our applications

Patient and public involvement is a crucial aspect of the research we fund, which is reflected in our fellowship application forms. We ask applicants to explain how they have incorporated input from people with arthritis in developing their applications. 

Our fellowship funding panels include both scientific/clinical experts and experts through lived experience. Research partners assess the quality of patient involvement in your project, its relevance to Versus Arthritis, and its potential impact on people with arthritis. 

Find out more about our approach to involving people with arthritis and access our resources and support.