Job Purpose

The Clinical PhD Research Fellowships are fixed term 3-year appointments offering training, mentoring and support to health professionals undertaking a PhD on the topic of multiple long-term conditions (MLTC), also known as multimorbidity.

The posts will be based in the University of Glasgow, University of Dundee, University of Edinburgh and University of St Andrews with potentially up to seven fellowships available across the 4 institutions this year. Our aim is to develop the next generation of leaders in MLTC discovery science research through identifying and developing highly skilled clinical practitioners into researchers who understand and use multiple methods to answer important clinical questions.

The start of the fellowship is 1st August 2027. Where possible a 6-month preparatory period should begin at the start of February where successful candidates will work closely with allocated supervisors to develop the selected PhD project. We will work with Fellows and their employers to try to organise release from their current clinical duties for an equivalent to one day a week. Alternatively, based on Fellow needs, a slightly early start may be available to enable structured research skills development.

Arrangements on the preparatory period will be discussed individually with recruited fellows and will be subject to their current employer s agreement.

The core post is a cohort-based 3-year PhD which funds a full-time salary (see details below), PhD fees and research costs. The successful candidate is expected to undertake a PhD during the term of the post, and to work clinically for up to one day per week or up to two days for craft specialities.

We include health care professionals from the following professions:

Medicine
Nursing/Midwifery
Allied Health Professions (e.g., Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry, Dietician)
Pharmacy
Dentistry
Clinical Psychology
Healthcare Scientists

Medical applicants are welcome from ALL medical and surgical specialties (including General Practice). Medical applicants must be doctors in training (holding a National Training Number and be eligible for higher clinical training where relevant for their specialty) or be General Practitioners who have completed their training (post-CCT) normally in the last 4 years (full-time equivalent ie. may be >4 calendar years accounting for part-time working). Dentists, either in a training programme or within 4 years full-time equivalent of completing their training programme are eligible to apply. Doctors and dentists who are still in training will need to gain permission for time out of training from their Postgraduate Dean and must still be in training at the time of starting their PhD.

Applicants from NMAHPS and all other clinical disciplines must have completed their professional training and at the point of application have a minimum of 2 years full-time equivalent clinical experience after full registration and normally not more than 15 years post qualification as we are looking to develop the next generation of research leaders.

The posts are not open to any clinician holding an NHS consultant post irrespective of clinical discipline. For all applicants, we will be looking for candidates with evidence of research or other relevant equivalent activity (for example, working in improvement/innovation, policy or management) before application. Research activity may include work undertaken as an undergraduate; holding an intercalated BSc; by completion of a relevant Master's degree or other post-graduate qualification in an area of clinical relevance; or by participating in research including writing papers.

All applicants must be registered with their appropriate discipline specific professional body within the UK (e.g. General Medical Council, Nursing & Midwifery Council, Health and Care Professions Council) and be licensed to practice in the UK.

How to apply

To apply, please download a copy of the application form at the bottom of this screen. Once you have completed the form, click the Apply Now button at the side of your screen and upload a copy of the completed form under the 'Upload Application Form' section of your application.

Important:

Candidates should select 2 projects in order of preference. You

MUST

discuss your first preference project with the supervisory team (and ideally your second preference project) prior to submitting a formal application. They are expecting you to contact them.

Details on the projects and supervisory teams are in the programme website :

https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/doctoraltraining/mltc-phd/researchprojects/

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Undertake PhD training, normally devoting at least 80% of working time to the research programme, subject to programme requirements and operational needs.
Where applicable, undertake clinical duties alongside the PhD, normally up to a maximum of one day per week or in accordance with the requirements of the relevant clinical specialty.
Participate fully in scheduled progress reviews organised by the Programme Coordinating Committee and comply with requirements appropriately aligned with each institution involving supervision and monitoring committee arrangements.
Work collaboratively with supervisors, Programme Directors, and relevant academic and clinical colleagues to ensure satisfactory progress against agreed PhD milestones and programme requirements (in addition to the standard requirements of each University).
Demonstrate satisfactory academic and research progress through the Fellowship and take appropriate action in response to feedback from supervisors, Programme Directors, and formal review processes.
In the final year of the PhD, actively engage in discussions and planning relating to post-doctoral career development and future employment opportunities.
Where undertaking medical or dental training, return to and complete the required clinical training following completion of the PhD, in accordance with the relevant training requirements. For all other applicants, engage with current employers at an early stage to discuss and agree future employment arrangements following completion of PhD. Where eligible, consider opportunities for post-doctoral support following successful completion of the PhD.
Comply with all relevant University, programme, research, clinical and professional requirements, policies, and procedures throughout the period of the Fellowship.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Medically qualified applicants can be from any speciality, including General Practice. They must be doctors in training (holding an NTN) and be eligible for higher clinical training where relevant for their specialty; GP applicants will either be doctors in training (holding an NTN) or have completed their training (post-CCT) and normally be within the first 4 years (FTE) post-CCT. Dentists should be either in a training programme or similarly within 4 years of completing their training programme. Doctors and dentists who are still in training must gain permission for time out of training from their Postgraduate Dean and must still be in training at the time of starting their PhD. NMAHPs and applicants from all other clinical disciplines must have completed their professional training and have at least two years full time (or equivalent) subsequent clinical experience.

A2 Candidates for all posts must be fully registered with their appropriate UK professional regulatory body (e.g., GMC for doctors; Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) for nurses, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for allied health professionals, clinical psychologists, healthcare scientist, pharmacists with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Dentists with the General Dental Council (GDC)).

A3 Candidates must not have applied for this PhD Programme more than twice before (the maximum number of applications in total is three).

Desirable:

B1 Evidence of distinction in career to date, e.g. prizes, awards, bursaries. B2 Introductory research experience at BSc or MSc undergraduate research project and/or postgraduate research or equivalent postgraduate research-oriented qualification with high attainment

Skills

Essential:

C1 Aspiring to have a clinical academic career of a standard likely to be successful in obtaining a Post-doctoral Research Fellowship in future national open competition. C2 Understanding of the research process through formal learning or involvement in delivering clinical research C3 Good communication skills and the capacity for innovative and original thinking. C4 Able to work in multidisciplinary teams

Experience

Desirable

D1 Successful record of conference presentations D2 Experience in undergraduate teaching or postgraduate teaching D3 Evidence of research publications or other relevant experience of writing (eg policy and other reports) D4 Previous training or experience of designing or conducting research and research methods. D5 Other quality improvement/innovation, policy or management leadership experience

Dimensions

The MLTC PhD Programme for Health Professionals is designed to:

Recruit and retain the best aspiring clinical academics
To provide rigorous academic training whilst allowing Fellows to continue with their clinical development.
Equip trainees with the range of knowledge and skills required to compete as independent investigators in the modern area of discovery research in the sphere of MLTC.

Additional Information

The Directors of the MLTC PhD Programme for Health Professionals are Professor Frances Mair (University of Glasgow), Professor Bruce Guthrie (University of Edinburgh), Professor Ewan Pearson (University of Dundee) and Professor Colin McCowan (University of St Andrews). The Deputy Directors are Professor Barbara Nicholl (University of Glasgow), Professor Nazir Lone (University of Edinburgh), Professor Janet Clarkson (University of Dundee) and Dr Derek Sloan (University of St Andrews). All have extensive experience in mentoring clinical academic trainees from multiple disciplines and we will organise clinical mentorship appropriate to your needs and discipline.

Health & Safety Requirements for the role

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG)

The University of Glasgow is committed to safeguarding children and protected adults by ensuring that individuals in regulated roles are appropriately vetted and monitored.

The University of Glasgow s PVG policy aligns with the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 and reflects the legal requirements effective from 1 April 2025, including the mandatory PVG Scheme membership for regulated roles.

The post for which you are applying is considered to be a regulated role under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. Under the Act, individuals working in a regulated role must be a PVG Scheme member before employment. If you are successful in your application, the offer of employment will be conditional subject to a satisfactory PVG Scheme record check. We will be in touch regarding requirements related to this.

Further information is available at : https://www.mygov.scot/pvg-scheme

NHS Honorary Contract

If appropriate, an Honorary NHS contract will be sought for the successful post-holder at their current grade within the NHS. All applicants must be eligible to hold an honorary contract in Scotland and must also be registered with an appropriate regulatory body.

It should be noted that the offer of appointment is subject to Occupational Health clearance and satisfactory references prior to commencement of duty.

Informal enquiries about this role may be directed to multimorbidityphd@glasgow.ac.uk

Link to website and further details : https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/doctoraltraining/mltc-phd/researchprojects/

Applicant Webinar : 24 September 2026 2pm - 3pm

Proposed online interview dates : 9 and 10 December 2026

All applicants will be appointed to a clinical salary, which will be negotiated after appointment in line with the UK clinical academic training in medicine and dentistry: principles and obligations' document. The core principle is that academic salary will be commensurate with your existing NHS salary within the limits of the funding available to the programme.

For pre-CCT medical and dental trainees, salary will be at an appropriate point on the CAT-I Clinical Lectureships/PhD Fellowships ACN2 scale. For post-CCT GPs and dentists, starting salaries will be dependent upon career stage but will not exceed point 9 of the ACN2 Clinical Scale ( 77,389 per annum). For NMAHPs, Healthcare scientists, and professionals from other clinical disciplines, starting salaries will be dependent on career stage and the expected maximum salary offered for NMAHPs, Healthcare scientists, and professionals from other clinical disciplines is Band 7, Point 34 of the Agenda for Change.

All applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK or be eligible to obtain permission to work in the UK.

This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route, subject to meeting the relevant Home Office requirements, including any applicable tradeable points criteria.

Further information can be found on the University of Glasgow s UKVI Website.

https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/pod/visasimmigration/

For research and academic roles, we will also consider whether the Global Talent visa route may be available, subject to individual eligibility.

Successful applicants will have the employment contract with the university hosting their allocated project and their individual HR policies will apply. The below listed policies apply to those contracted by the University of Glasgow.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared. 3 A flexible approach to working. 4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.

Closing date : 22 October 2026 @23:45