The Clinical Academic Training programme has been developed to meet the needs of the increasing number of clinical trainees wishing to undertake medical and translational research in the Graduate School of Life Sciences (principally, but not exclusively in the School of Clinical Medicine). Training to become a Consultant Physician takes between 8 – 10 years. The first two years (Foundation Years, FY1 + 2) are spent rotating between specialities in a junior role. The next 2 – 3 years (Specialist Trainee, ST1 + ST2) allow trainees to explore and refine further their intended specialisation. Once they have finalised their choice, they become Specialist Registrars (ST3 – onwards), after which typically they would become a Consultant Physician.
At each stage of this training, there are opportunities to satisfy their intellectual curiosity by pursuing academic research alongside their clinical training. According to the level of experience, an application may be made for an MPhil, PhD or Postgraduate Diploma: Many of the Consultants have also gone on to University roles such as University Lecturer, Reader or Professor, making them the future teachers of the next generation of clinical academics. The School of Clinical Medicine provides a number of training programmes and the Experimental Medicine and Immunotherapeutics (EMIT) Unit has a strong tradition in developing such clinicians. All the members of the Experimental Medicine and Immunotherapeutics (EMIT) Unit are clinicians with academic interests.
For further information about Clinical and Academic Training programmes available at Cambridge, please see the Graduate School of Life Sciences website:
For programme details and application instructions for the current Clinical Academic Training programmes provided, please click on each heading:
- National and Local Academic Clinical Fellows and Academic Clinical Lecturer Programme (ACF/ACL)
- Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (TMAT) Training Programme
- Part- or Full-Time MPhil programmes
Clinical Academic Training Office (CATO) is an office of the School of Clinical Medicine and manages the Clinical Academic programmes. Working closely with the Health Education East of England Local Education Training Board (HEEoE LETB) and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) CATO can provide advice and assistance to clinicians seeking information about clinical academic opportunities in the East of England Region.
