Dr David Baldwin
is Honorary Professor of Medicine and Consultant Physician at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. He is Chair of the NCRI Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis Group, and we spoke to him about the importance of supporting early career researchers.
Why is this type of scheme for early career researchers needed?
Early career researchers in medicine are really valuable because not every medical trainee is interested in research. So those that are interested in research need to be supported. This scheme gives some real insight into what research is like and gives them the connections they might need for onward progress.
What opportunities will early career researchers get by getting involved with NCRI?
The biggest opportunity that early career researchers will get from being involved with one of these programs is exposure to some very experienced people in the field. People who have looked at lots of different aspects of cancer research. Also, they will be involved in an organisation that is good at processing the whole area of cancer research and making some sense of it and how it all fits together.
What would your advice be to early career researchers?
People interested in research and have decided that this is something they may want to pursue should get in touch with NCRI. See what opportunities are available, either in their chosen tumour site or a more generic group like the screening prevention and early diagnosis group. Talk to some of the members of those groups and then decide on the way forward.