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.
“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.”