Case Studies

Professor Rebecca Drummond received a Career Development Award in 2018. The five-year award from the Medical Research Council (MRC) was to further her research into fungal immunology.  

The Career Development Award supports talented post-doctoral researchers to lead their own research plans and establish their own research team to make the transition to independent investigator. This helped Rebecca to kick-start research into how brain immune cells deal with fungal invaders, an area that had limited study at the time.

She was then subsequently awarded the MRC Transition Fellowship 2024, an extension to the Career Development Award. Her lab aims to determine the mechanisms underlying protective immunity during fungal brain infections, focusing on cryptococcal meningitis which kills approximately 100,000 people every year.

Rebecca’s fellowship gave her protected time to set up an ambitious research programme, over a period of 5 years, “This meant I had more time to trial out risky models and approaches which I couldn’t have done in a more standard 3-year grant”.

“My fellowship was a hugely important stepping stone in achieving the type of research group I envisioned having. It’s giving me the breathing space I needed to focus on my work, but also to network and make connections which are really important in an academic career.”

Rebecca received important local support from College colleagues while preparing for her fellowship application, “Colleagues peer-reviewed my proposals for me and gave me a lot of suggestions for how to improve, particularly in taking advantage of the facilities and collaborations available to me in Birmingham.”

In addition, Rebecca attended grant clinic and mock interviews to help her prepare for her interview and received an award from RSSD which funded an important data set for the lab and formed the basis of several grants as preliminary data.

For colleagues who are considering applying for a fellowship, Rebecca has the following advice: “Don’t keep putting it off – if you have an idea start drafting and speak to your colleagues to get feedback nice and early and do consider the feedback given to you. Never underestimate the time it takes to get a really good proposal drafted and written.

“Always ask for advice and support, mentors are especially important at this critical stage.”

Dr Joseph Sturman was awarded the Kidney Research UK (KRUK) Clinical Training Fellowship in 2024. A clinical doctor training in renal medicine, Joe’s research is focused on understanding why patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are so susceptible to infection.  

Speaking about his Fellowship, Joe said: “My interest in this area began during my Birmingham Health Partners Starter Fellowship, which gave me the time and consumables budget I needed to develop preliminary data to successfully apply for the KRUK Clinical Training Fellowship.”

In addition to protected research time and a consumables budget, the fellowship has also given Joe access to a rich network of researchers passionate about supporting patients with kidney disease, and the opportunity to attend events such as KRUK’s Crick Research Symposium and Driving Discoveries conference. “This has given me the opportunity to not only be inspired by those at the cutting edge of the field, but also to build important collaborations and share knowledge of techniques and biobanks that may be useful to my work.”

Preparation for applying for the KRUK Fellowship started six months before the deadline. After drafting the application, Joe then received several iterations of helpful feedback from supervisors and fellow PIs in the School of Immunology and Immunotherapy. “The Research Strategy and Services office staff were also fantastic, they helped me with planning the application, developing the budget, organising a mock interview and contacting other university departments required for the application. They were also extremely helpful during the stressful submission period and post-award set-up of the financial arrangements.”

For Joe, The KRUK Fellowship represents validation of his work by independent scientists and members of the public external to the University of Birmingham, “This has given me a boost in confidence and enthusiasm that my research area has been recognised as important. It also means I am recognised as part of the kidney research community, and I would pursue further competitive funding opportunities in the future.”

For colleagues considering applying for a fellowship, Joe has the following guidance: “Applying for a fellowship can be stressful and involves a lot of work with no guarantee of a return on the time investment. However, the practice of applying for Fellowships is excellent experience for your future academic career, so don’t take rejections as failure, but rather a learning opportunity.

As Fellowships are so competitive, I would advise applying to multiple opportunities to increase your chances of success, but to also give you useful feedback so you can write an even better application next time.”

Dr Stephanie Hanley was awarded the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Three Schools' Mental Health Programme Postdoctoral Launching Fellowship in 2024. She is committed to delivering research that drives meaningful impact in addressing maternal health inequalities.

The fellowship has allowed Stephanie to take ownership over all aspects related to the delivery of a research project, “As examples, I have set up a patient and public involvement and engagement group and a project advisory group to advise on project activities and I have led on the development and strengthening of relationships with individuals and groups in the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector to support with advertising, identification and recruitment.”

Stephanie’s research supported by the Fellowship is entitled 'Understanding the mental health care needs of pregnant women and new mothers with language barriers (MOTHER)'. “I feel privileged to have been awarded the 18-month fellowship, which provides a valuable opportunity to conduct early exploratory work.

I am passionate about advancing this in the future to implement co-developed recommendations to improve mental health care and support for pregnant women and new mothers experiencing English language barriers.”

In preparation for her fellowship application, Stephanie received invaluable support from colleagues at the University of Birmingham, as well as further afield. “I sought support from peers and current fellows both internally at Birmingham and externally which was instrumental in helping me to develop my fellowship application.

It was very helpful to have sight of previously funded fellowship applications to help guide my thinking and plans.”

Stephanie is available for any colleagues considering applying for a fellowship who wish to seek guidance and has some helpful advice to share: “Start early, seek out a supportive advisory team, make use of the resources and support available at Birmingham.

Develop and clearly articulate your research and career vision, engage meaningfully with patient and public partners and be prepared to go through multiple drafts of the application!”