University partners awarded MRC fellowship scheme

08 Dec 2011

The Universities of Manchester and Liverpool have been awarded funding to support the North West MRC Fellowship scheme in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

The scheme provides research training leading to a PhD degree for up to 12 fellows. Research training is provided by both Universities and industrial partners in the scheme provide access to specialists and latest technologies.

Professor Munir Pirmohamed, Programme Leader at Liverpool, said: "The scheme has already attracted eight high-calibre applicants. The Fellows will cover many different clinical areas including Neurology, Dermatology, Immunology, Rheumatology, Hepatology and Critical Care, which makes it applicable to other specialties with all seeking to better understand and improve pharmacological treatments in these areas.”

The award recognises the Universities’ expertise in Infectious Disease, Inflammation and Repair and Paediatrics, is also supported by AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, the Medicines Evaluation Unit and ICON, both based in Manchester. The NIHR Biomedical Research Centres in Liverpool and Manchester and the NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Liverpool also support this fellowship scheme.

Co Programme Leader Professor Chris Griffiths, from The University of Manchester, said: “The scheme is an excellent example of collaborative working between academia and industry and plays to the synergistic strengths of the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool in biomedical research. We believe that the Fellows graduating from this Programme will be a new breed of academics who understand the importance and advantages of joint working with industry.”

Peter Dukes, head of research careers at the Medical Research Council, said: “Building and maintaining a cadre of highly-skilled researchers is essential for driving innovative research in the UK. Through the MRC Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Fellowship Programme we will be re-enforcing our commitment to improving treatments for patients and identifying areas where new technologies demand new skills and learning. With the emergence of stratified medicine into wider medical use, there has never been a more exciting time to work in this field. We look forward to collaborating with Liverpool and Manchester and industry partners.”