Promotion of clinical research careers

The Academy’s Research Council for Health supports researchers in clinical practice by means of funding for part-time research. The aim is to promote clinical research careers in close cooperation with, for example, university hospitals, and to encourage medical doctors working in clinical practice to engage in research so that they can continue to pursue their research career while in specialist training and, upon completion of that training, alongside with clinical practice. Support is not granted to applicants holding a university researcher post.

Support can be granted for a maximum of three years for part-time research to two separate categories of applicants:

1. to young researchers who have recently gained their doctorate and who are in clinical specialist training. This funding towards salary costs is intended to support part-time research by clinical researchers. (20% of working time).
2. to merited clinical researchers who have already completed their clinical specialist training. This funding towards salary costs is intended to support part-time research by clinical researchers. (50% of working time). In addition to funding for salary costs, the Academy may also allocate a research grant for research costs to this category of researcher. Applications for funding towards research costs are made with the same application as the funding for salary costs.

The Academy’s contribution to funding comes to no more than 80% of the estimated total costs of the clinical researcher’s project. The estimated total cost shall include the applicant’s salary and the research costs of the project. The applicant and the site of research shall agree on the salary to be applied for in accordance with the pay system of the site of research.

Appendices

• abstract, no more than one page
• research plan, no more than twelve pages
• curriculum vitae for the applicant, no more than four pages
• list of publications of the applicant, the length of which is not limited. The applicant is requested to clearly indicate the ten most important publications in terms of the research plan.
• statement by an ethics committee or the Committee on Animal Experimentation, if relevant. Ethical issues shall always be described in the research plan.
• invitation from a foreign university or research institute, if the applicant will work abroad
• progress report on Academy-funded research projects for which final reports have not been submitted
• statement by the executive director of a Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation, if relevant, confirming that the applicant’s project is affiliated with the Strategic Centre and justifying the significance of the project for the Strategic Centre’s operations.

Only the requested appendices are appended to the application. The appendices shall be drafted in accordance with the Academy’s guidelines, see www.aka.fi/eng > For researchers > How to apply > Appendices.

Application procedure

The applicant is a clinical researcher with a doctorate. Applicants shall state which category of researcher their applications concerns in the abstract enclosed with their application.

The applicant and the site of research shall agree on the salary to be applied for in accordance with the pay system of the site of research.

In this call, the full cost model applies to the calculation of the costs of a research project to promote clinical research careers. Applications shall be written so as to ensure that the Academy’s contribution to funding comes to no more than 80% of the estimated total costs of the project (salary and research costs). See guidelines on how to enter the costs on the application form at the Academy’s website at www.aka.fi/eng > For researchers > How to apply > Full cost model.

The clinical researcher’s monthly salary (excluding indirect employee costs) is given under item 5 (“Implementation”) of the research plan to be appended to the application, together with a justification of the total project costs.

The application deadline is 29 January 2010 at 16.15. The application deadline is non-negotiable. Applications are drafted at www.aka.fi/eng > For researchers > Log in to online services. Log in and select New application > Clinical research career.

Further information: Science Adviser Sara Illman, tel. (09) 7748 8294