Dear reader,

Welcome to the June edition of the Academy of Medical Sciences' career development newsletter! Read on to hear about our brand new strategy, as well as upcoming events and other opportunities.

Academy opportunities:

• Our next online career development event on Disability and mental health in academia is coming up on 19th July 10.00-12.30 BST. In this event, we will explore some of the implications of having a disability in academia and working with academics with a disability, as well as helpful reflections on ways to address them. The event is open to everyone, and will be chaired by Prof Marie Johnston FRSE FMedSci, Emeritus Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and a registered Health and Clinical Psychologist.

• Health policy implications of climate change forum. The Academy is working alongside the Foundation for Science and Technology to sponsor this upcoming event on health policy and climate change, taking place online and in-person on 13th July. This forum will explore how the UK Government can respond to key questions, including what the implications are for health as the climate continues to change, what the health policy response should be to changes in climate and how to build this into our plans for a low carbon future. The forum will be chaired by the Rt Hon Lord (David) Willetts, Chairman of the Foundation for Science and Technology, with guest speakers including Professor Chris Whitty CB FMedSci, Chief Medical Officer for England.

• Our annual mentoring catalysis workshop is coming soon! The event will be held on 22nd September 10.00-15.30 BST, both online and in-person at the Academy's offices (41 Portland Place, London). This hybrid workshop will be focused on developing your own mentoring scheme, open to all individuals from organisations that are working on mentoring programmes and want to share their experiences and learn good practice. Look out for more information on the event and how to register coming soon!

Academy news:

Making medical science work for everyone: A new Academy strategy

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new 10-year strategy, which sets out how the Academy will support research to be more progressive and open to improve the health of everyone, everywhere.

Read more about our strategic priorities to:

1. Improve lives
2. Strengthen research
3. Support researchers
4. Work globally
5. Build resources

Other opportunities:

• Become one of the first members of the UK Young Academy. The UK Young Academy is a new UK-wide, interdisciplinary membership organisation for people early in their career who share a passion to improve our world and want to contribute to national and global decision making. They are looking for enthusiastic, driven and talented emerging leaders based in the UK to become its first group of members. As a member, you’ll help to set the agenda on issues that matter most to you. Be part of a worldwide network of Young Academies that provide a voice to early-career researchers, innovators and professionals from across sectors, and work together to address societal challenges and bring about meaningful change! Find out more and apply at the link above.

• Applications now open for the Janet Thornton postdoctoral fellowship 2022. The Wellcome Sanger Institute is committed to enabling and opening routes back into science for those who have had a break from scientific research. The Janet Thornton postdoctoral fellowship provides an additional opportunity specifically for those who have been out of scientific research for 12 months or more to return to high-quality postdoctoral training, and is now open for 2022 applications until 15th July. Find out more and apply at the link above.

• Call for applications - the European fund for displaced scientists. ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, is launching the call for applications for the European fund for displaced scientists (EFDS), set up to support academic institutions in Europe that are accepting Ukrainian scholars displaced by the war. Hosting institutions will integrate Ukrainian scholars into existing or new research projects and departments, and commit to supporting them by providing the required infrastructure for scholars to continue their research work in a safe environment. The EFDS programme will offer a monthly stipend for up to 12 months. To be considered for the first round, complete applications must be submitted by 1st July. Find out more and apply at the link above. All queries regarding the EFDS programme should be sent to efds@allea.org.

• Versus Arthritis are are replacing their three subcommittees (Disease, Treatment and Health) with a Research Expert Committee, which will work alongside their existing Fellowship Expert Committee. They are now recruiting academic and clinical expert members to their Research Expert committee, deadline 4th July. They are also recruiting members to their College of Experts, deadline 11th July, who have scientific, clinical or health research expertise. Members of the college will be called upon to review funding applications, including independent peer review as well as joining bespoke review panels. Find out more and apply at the links above.

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Please support us to create an open, progressive and diverse medical research community that is able to address the most pressing, unanswered questions facing medical science.

We are grateful to all the donors and funders who support our work, especially members of the Helix group members who give £250 a year to support us.

To join our supporters and help secure our vision for 2032:
https://acmedsci.ac.uk/support

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Please feel free to get in touch with us at programmes@acmedsci.ac.uk if you have any comments on this newsletter, or an item you'd like us to include in the next edition.

Thank you for reading, and we will be in touch again later in the summer with more updates!

With best wishes,

The Academy's Careers team