Professional development

The training and development of junior researchers is one of our major strengths.

We have developed an extensive programme of training and mentorship with specific activities designed to meet the demands of each career stage.

By doing this, we ensure that researchers acquire the necessary scientific and methodological knowledge and research skills to become independent.

We deliver a range of activities for researchers to develop their skills, including:

• scientific exchange visits programme with leading institutions such as Harvard University, the Babraham Institute or the Centre of Experimental Rheumatology (Zurich), amongst others;
• weekly scientific seminars with presentations from experts in a broad range of fields;
• journal clubs;
• introduction courses in epidemiology, genetic epidemiology and biostatistics and STATA;
• analysis forum for specific research topics, including analysis of “omics” data and bioinformatics;
• career development skills training, including a CV clinic, promotions workshop, and lay summaries, amongst others;
• patient and public involvement and engagement training;
• Rheum 101 – rheumatology teaching for non-clinical researchers. This is a series of lectures, supported by the UK-RiME network, on clinical rheumatology topics for non-clinicians working in musculoskeletal research.