Meredith James awarded NIHR Fellowship

Over £2million has been granted to eight exceptional researchers in the North East to support their development as future clinical academic leaders.

The new Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award (SCPRA) from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is designed to support senior clinicians and practitioners from health and care professions who are at post-doctoral level.

One of the SCPRA awards has been given to a member of our centre, Meredith James, to provide two years of funding to engage in research activities to develop her research career. The award supports senior clinicians and practitioners who have previously obtained a PhD/MD and provides between 20 and 50 percent protected time within their current roles to engage in research activities, develop their collaborations and prepare for their next step as clinical and practitioner academic leaders.

Dr Meredith James is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer (Newcastle University) and Clinical Specialist Neuromuscular Physiotherapist at the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (JWMDRC), a partnership between Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle University. Meredith is involved in clinical and research activity for children and adults with Neuromuscular Disorders (NMD) and has developed a validated assessment tool for patients with limb girdle muscular dystrophy, which is now used in many international clinical trials. The SCPRA will help her to continue her work in driving improvements in the care of individuals with NMD.

The NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award is a funding scheme which is due to run annually over the next five years to support post-doctoral clinicians and practitioners especially from under-represented areas and/or disciplines. If you would like to discuss this or a similar career development opportunity, please contact [email protected]

You can also find out more about the next round of the NIHR SCPRA scheme at a special NHIP Academy Know Your Funder event on 10 October. Find out more here: https://www.newcastlehealthinnovation.org/events/nhip-academy-know-your-funder-nihr-scpra-round-2/