Career stories

Explore interviews with clinical academics who share their career paths and experiences. These stories offer insight into academic life and support those considering or developing a clinical academic career.

Profession

Medicine
Dentistry
Pharmacy
Veterinary Medicine
Nursing, Midwifery & AHPs

Theme

Overcoming adversity
Women in academia
Diversity
Alternative routes
Navigating clinical workload
Day in the life
Balancing family commitments

Career stage

Independent Researcher/Senior Leadership
Undergraduate
Pre-doctoral
Doctoral
Early Post-Doctoral
Later Post-Doctoral

Filters

“I guide students towards independent clinical practice and help them develop the skills and attributes essential to their role.”

Joanne Bowles

BSc Dental Therapy Programme Director and Senior Lecturer.

“The biggest thing for me is the passion to make a difference about a subject that sparks your curiosity.”

Dr Zoe Edwards

Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Bradford.

“Combining life and a career can be challenging. The women in these conversations have all found a way to thrive and have achieved great things.”

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“Your veterinary degree is a passport. It can take you into so many different careers and you don’t have to choose just one.”

Hayley Williamson

Clinical Assistant Professor in Small and Exotic Animal Practice at the University of Nottingham.

Medicine
Video

“Diversity brings much more than equal participation, it makes us stronger and more innovative.”

Professor Muzlifah Haniffa

Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science, Lister Institute Prize Fellow, Professor of Dermatology and Immunology at Newcastle University.

“Seeing a problem in practice is the best way to identify meaningful research questions.”

Professor Lucy Chappell

Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health and Social Care.

“Even a small step into research can enhance your clinical practice and contribute something unique to the field.”

Dr Pippa Bailey

Consultant Senior Lecturer in Renal Medicine, Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellow and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist.

“Your unique skills, whether coding, design, or statistics, can make a real difference in research. You don’t have to fit one mold to succeed.”

Dr Elizabeth Li

Surgical Registrar, NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow in Surgical Devices and Innovation and Chair of the West Midlands Research Collaborative.

“There’s something rewarding about seeing research you’ve created adopted into guidelines or clinical practice and translated into patient benefit.”

Mr James Glasbey

NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow in Global Surgery at the University of Birmingham.

“You need a mentor who can help you through the tough times. Having someone to lift you up is essential to keep going.”

Dr Ifeoma Offiah

NIHR Clinical Lecturer and Registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Southmead Hospital and the University of Plymouth.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that you either work in industry or academia. I’ve learned you can move between them if you understand the priorities and adapt.”

Professor Duncan Richards

Professor of Clinical Therapeutics at the University of Oxford, Director of the Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit and NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre’s Musculoskeletal Co-theme Lead.

“The joint clinical and academic route is an enormous advantage. The clinical work is structured, whereas research is free-floating, giving you something continuously moving forward.”

Professor Andrew Grace

Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Papworth Hospital and Honorary Professor of Experimental Cardiology at the University of Cambridge.

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