Start your research career in London

Are you a student, newly qualified nurse, midwife or an Allied Health Professional (AHP) and interested to finding out more about a career in research?
We can help you to access internships, training programmes, and mentorship opportunities that are available from the NIHR. 

Why work in health and care research?

Delivering and improving patient care

Research delivery roles give you the opportunity to enhance patient care by being part of conducting vital health and care research with patients. This helps to improve future treatments and care for patients across the NHS.

Career progression opportunities

Research roles offer career growth opportunities, deeper knowledge in a specialisation, and the chance to collaborate with experts. You will develop your core clinical skills, gain exposure to a wide range of career paths which includes academia, leadership roles, and working in health and care policy.

The right role to suit you

There are many roles available with some based in the community and others offering remote or flexible working options. Our NIHR research nurses, Stephanie Harvey and Uju Rockson-Rapu, and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust's Clinical Research Practitioner, Maame Aduse-Poku, talk about their research careers to date and why they enjoy it.

What are research delivery roles? 

The research process spans many activities, such as: 

• formulation of research questions

• the design and approval of research study protocols

• delivery of research with patients

• the publication of research results and integrating these into evidence-based practice guidelines

The stage of the process that is carried out in healthcare services is called research delivery. 

Research delivery is supported by a range of professionals who ensure studies meet research standards and timelines. These staff include research nurses, midwives, AHPs, research managers and coordinators. 

As the NHS integrates research into everyday practice, contributions to research delivery will become more commonplace across health and care roles. The NIHR aims to embed research delivery within clinical services, helping research delivery professionals to collaborate with clinicians and academic researchers to turn studies into real-world solutions. This helps NHS services to evolve in meeting patient needs, ultimately improving treatments and care of the future. Research roles offer a unique opportunity to contribute to health and care innovation beyond traditional clinical roles.

Placements and shadowing opportunities

Many research teams across London host students. On your placement you will gain practical experience in a workplace and learn about the demands of day-to-day work. If you are on placement at a research-active service, talk to colleagues and your practice supervisor about meeting the local research team and finding out about studies in progress. 

Many research teams host ‘spoke’ placements where it is possible to spend a few days with the research team. A spoke placement means you will have your placement at a main hospital site and then be offered ‘spoke’ days to gain experience and develop skills in other areas (e.g in nursing).

You can also approach your university placement team or course leaders to request a research placement.

NHS services which are research active in London:

INSIGHT scholarship programme

The NIHR INSIGHT programme provides funded scholarships for students and newly qualified health and care professionals to undertake research masters programmes. There are courses which combine research with advanced clinical practice. It can also help to connect interested early-careers professionals to other opportunities to experience work across the full range of clinical research activities.

The INSIGHT programme funds up to 60 scholarships across London each year. Find out more about contacting your regional INSIGHT programme team on the NIHR's website.

Additional resources

• The NIHR pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery toolkit is a useful resource to find out about clinical research
• The NIHR Improving healthcare through clinical research course provides an in-depth introduction to why research is important
• NIHR Academy Programmes are opportunities for registered staff who want to develop a clinical academic career