Kennedy Trust IMPACT Inflam­mation MB-PhD

The Kennedy Trust IMPACT Inflammation MB-PhD is a fully funded three-year programme aimed at MBChB students who wish to intercalate to train as clinician-scientists.

This training route will see you work towards both your MBChB and PhD awards over the course of the programme, combining your medical training with research training in the area of inflammation sciences.

Each year, we aim to recruit the best candidates who are seeking to drive new innovations in clinical care and research. Our first cohort of students started their studies in September 2021.

Why inflammation?

Inflammation is such a broad area that it can be applied in all aspects of medicine/surgery/GP. You will develop invaluable transferable skills and be fully equipped to start a career in clinical research.

Inflammation is linked to areas of medicine such as:

• immunology
• dermatology
• gastroenterology
• infection
• cardiovascular disease
• arthritis and rheumatic diseases
• orthopaedics
• respiratory disease.

The University of Manchester

University of Manchester MBChB students must be either:

• currently studying in Year 3; or
• currently studying in Year 2 and already holding a BA/BSc (Hons) degree classification of an Upper Second or above in a relevant subject; or
• intercalating after either Year 2 or Year 3 of the MBChB.

University of St Andrews

University of St Andrews Medicine BSc (Hons) students on the Manchester course pathway must be:

• currently studying on Year 3 of the Manchester MBChB, having already obtained a BSc classification of an Upper Second (2:1) or above from the University of St Andrews;
• predicted to obtain a BSc classification of an Upper Second (2:1) or above from the University of St Andrews.

Elan Shellard – Newcastle University medical student

Supervisor: Professor Richard Warren

I applied to this course in my third year because it was one of only two courses I’d seen that focused on inflammation, an area highly applicable to many areas of medicine.

The course offers the opportunity to tailor your project to what you are most interested in, for me that was inflammatory skin conditions.

This led to a project centred around the genetics of psoriasis, the pathways and possible drug interventions.

Completing a PhD before finishing medical school is a huge advantage, lending itself to further involvement in research when re-joining the medicine course and being a more competitive applicant to the specialised foundation programme.

Through this course I will gain experience in many lab-based skills, including bioinformatics, genomics, and cell phenotyping, which I would have no exposure to otherwise. I will also gain experience in academic writing, hopefully leading to publishing and presenting my research at points throughout the course.

Compared to the generality of medicine, I am excited to do original research into the specific area that I find most interesting.

Jafar Cain – MB-PhD year 2 student

Supervisor: Dr Hannah Durrington

I was excited to apply to the Kennedy Trust MB-PhD program as a way to gain a lot of new experience in research, particularly in an area which I found interesting.

The vast range of available projects that fall under the programme’s wide umbrella of ‘inflammation sciences’ means that there really is something for everyone.

My project combined my interests in rheumatology and respiratory medicine in a PhD focused on the circadian mechanism and how it relates to the immunopathology of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

During my first year I was immersed in the lab very quickly and was able to run my first complex in-vivo experiment and build my confidence in planning and undertaking my own research projects. 

The PhD is a fantastic opportunity to grow as an independent researcher and take ownership of your own work from day one, something which feels incredibly rewarding and that I hope will allow me greater freedom in my career going forward.