The Graham Ayliffe Training Fellowship is open to medically qualified candidates, those on a Higher Specialist Scientist training programme and  applicants with nursing qualifications and further training in IPC.  Applicants are required to be HIS members.

A medically qualified applicant must be in a training programme leading to a higher qualification in medical microbiology or virology h and such person is required to have passed the FRCPath part one examination or equivalent, exhibited satisfactory training progress (e.g. ARCP progression) and be able to demonstrate an interest in IPC.

For HSST applicants, they must be in a training programme leading to a higher qualification in  microbiology or virology and to have passed the FRCPath part one examination or equivalent.  Additionally they need to exhibit satisfactory training progress and be able to demonstrate an interest in IPC.

Applicants with a nursing qualification are required to be NMC registered, possess a post-graduate diploma in IPC or public health and have worked as an IPC specialist for a minimum of 2 years.

The applicant must be able to take a one year leave of absence (or FTE) from their current post and receive an honorary contract at the Institution.

The applicant is required to identify a Supervisor, who will support the application and provide supervision during the fellowship.  Additionally a member of the HIS council must be identified to act as an external mentor, provided that it will be at the discretion of the person so nominated as to whether they will act as a mentor.  

The fellowship year is based at the applicant’s chosen host institution (such as hospital trust, academic organisation or Public Health England) and an honorary contract with the institution should be drawn up, together with a job description (in agreement with the Society).

Suggestions include, but are not limited to:
• Work in a specialist service relevant to infection prevention and control;
• Development of specialist skills and expertise with the potential to become a regional and/or national
resource of expertise;
• Undertaking a significant audit project with greater than local scope and completing a full audit cycle;
• Development of a guideline in an area of significant importance and/or need, including pilot
implementation;
• Production of a structured review literature and/or meta-analysis.
• Gain experience as a part time trainee editor for the JHI

The award should not be used to support a recipient:
• During a course for an examined higher qualification, e.g. a Master’s degree;
• After an appointment to a Consultant Medical or Senior Nursing grade post at band 8/9;

Universities

We will only pay the direct costs of research at UK and Irish Universities.
The UK higher education funding bodies provide funding for directly allocated and indirect costs associated with charity-funded research.
In England, this funding is called the Charity Research Support Fund. Similar funding is provided by the Scottish Funding Council, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Northern Ireland government.  Higher Education Authority block grants support research costs within the Republic of Ireland.

Research costs in the NHS

For research conducted within the NHS, we follow AcoRD principles for non-commercial studies available here.
For non-commercial studies the normal funding arrangements for research, NHS Treatment and NHS Support costs are:

• Research costs - are usually met by grant funders through the award of a research grant. However, there are some specific research activities where, in England, the costs will be met by the Department of Health.
• NHS treatment costs - met through the normal commissioning process.
• NHS support costs - met from the R&D budget by the Health Departments of the United Kingdom.

Salary, research and training costs:

The successful applicant will receive a contribution of up to £65,000 towards their basic un-banded salary. The exact amount of the award will depend on the current salary of the recipient (comprising basic salary, pension and national insurance contributions) and subject to National Pay Awards. This will be paid six monthly via the host institution upon receipt of an invoice.

There is also be an additional amount of up to £3,000 to cover any training requirements (such as courses, conference attendance which should be identified in the application (these costs should be claimed as expenses in arrears from HIS). 

A further amount of £5,000 is available for research and audit tasks where there is full justification of expenses in the application

These funds will be administered by the host institution and must be managed by the Fellow.

Your application must be reviewed and approved by your host organisation.  The application and terms and conditions require signatures from an authorised authority within your institution who undertakes financial management of award, in addition to a Director of Research, Dean of Medicine or equivalent.

Applications must be sent to grants@his.org.uk by 11.59 pm on the application deadline.

The following items must be included in your application:

• Completed application form (including signatures)
• Abridged 2 page C.V.s for the applicant and sponsor
• Letters of support
• Ethics applications and risk assessments
• Job plan
• Terms and conditions signed by all applicants

The application should include: aims for the Fellowship year and how the award will benefit the applicants career; training requirements and expected costs.

Application forms, terms and conditions and a C.V. template are available below.

Next steps:

• Applications will be triaged for completeness, eligibility and fit to the HIS remit 
• Applications will be sent the Research Committee for peer review, who will meet to discuss the applications and perform short-listing
• Applicants will be notified of their progress at this stage
• Short-listed applications will be sent for external peer review
• After reviewing the external peer-reviews, the Research Committee will make a recommendation to the HIS Council regarding the proposal to fund
• Applicants may be invited for interview
• All remaining applicants will be notified of the outcome

The following Conditions of Funding are absolute and apply in all cases unless otherwise stated:

Financial management and administration of the fellowship

Fellows are expected to manage the budget of their research and training expenses, with oversight from their Research Support Office (or equivalent).

Reporting on project outcomes

Successful applicants are required to report on project outcomes (including publications and follow-on funding). Failure to report the outcomes of your project may result in your department being ineligible to receive HIS funding in the future. 

In line with the Society’s terms and conditions, publications resulting from the research must be submitted to the Journal of Hospital infection for first refusal.  Award holders will be required to acknowledge HIS funding in oral and poster presentations, and may be asked to present at a HIS meeting or conference.

Research Integrity

Projects are supported on the understanding that all applicants are familiar with the MRC’s policies and guidance on research ethics and research integrity and that the PI has taken ethical considerations into account in the project design, and has or will receive relevant formal ethical review and sign-off by  the relevant research ethics committee and governance committees  (and any relevant external committees), prior to the commencement of the research. The responsibility for identifying and responding to ethical considerations, referring them for review, and securing approval before the research commences lies with the PI: failure to do so can constitute misconduct.

Extensions

Projects should be completed within 36 months of the grant start date.  Grant holders may apply for a no cost extension in line with the Society’s terms and conditions.