Senior Investigators

Role

NIHR Senior Investigators:

• Contribute significantly to NIHR as a senior leader
• Lead in training and development of NIHR’s people
• Act as an ambassador for the NIHR in the wider system
• Demonstrate research excellence
• Contribute to growth
• Integrate patient, care users, carers and public involvement and engagement in research
• Play a leading role in NIHR’s contribution to growth; for example, through attracting, developing and retaining a highly skilled health research workforce, or by supporting collaborations and contract research with the life sciences industry.

Senior Investigators receive a discretionary award of £20,000 per year of appointment to fund activities that support their research. Funding is awarded for 4 year appointments on the recommendation of an independent Selection Committee. There may be on occasion an exception to this approach; for example, where a previous term of 3 or 5 years has been held.

As senior members of the NIHR Academy,  they help guide research capacity development and enhance the career paths of our researchers. This includes participating as mentors in the NIHR Academy mentoring programme and supporting the NIHR Future-Focused Leadership Programme as guest faculty members.

Selection

The NIHR holds an annual, open competition to fund Senior Investigators, with selection informed by the advice of a Selection Committee. 

Members of NIHR Committees are required to declare any interests which conflict, or may be considered to conflict, with NIHR business, or may be perceived as influencing decisions made in the course of their work within NIHR programmes. All members are asked to complete the Register of Interest form (annually), which is intended to capture long term predictable interests that could be perceived to lead to conflicts of interest. These and other interests are judged on a case by case basis at individual meetings.

NIHR registry of interests

The selection criteria for Senior Investigators are:

• NIHR and applied research focus
• Training and leadership
• Individual research excellence and impact

Senior Investigators receive a 4 year award on the recommendation of the Selection Committee. Senior Investigators can reapply for a second award on completion of the first award, with a maximum of two awards permitted totalling no more than 8 years.

The guidance for applicants provides critical information and sets out the process for an open competition for NIHR Investigators to apply for an NIHR Senior Investigator award.

Current college

In March 2024, we announced the appointment of 43 NIHR Senior Investigators in the 17th annual round of appointments - 22 new Senior Investigators and 21 reappointments of current or previous holders of the award. See the full list of 2024 Senior Investigators.

Over 300 appointments have been made since 2008, with the number of active awards maintained at around 200.

Clinical Impact Awards

National Clinical Impact Awards, as administered by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA), recognise and reward NHS consultants and academic General Practitioners who have delivered national impact above the expectations of their job role or other paid work. Applicants need to demonstrate commitments to and nationally relevant impact on improving the NHS through delivering and developing a high-quality service; leadership; education, training and people development; and innovation and research.  

 

Contact us

You can contact the team that manages Senior Investigator awards via the following methods:

Telephone: 0113 532 8410
Email: academy-awards@nihr.ac.uk 
Our operating hours are 09:00 to 17:00