Restricted Call: NIHR Research Professorships Cohort 17 (internal deadline: 22nd September 2026)

It is expected that NIHR will issue a call for the Research Professorships Round 17 (RP) in September. This scheme is aimed at health, public health, and adult social care researchers, as well as methodologists with an outstanding record in clinical and applied health or care research.

The primary priority of the award is to promote the effective translation of research into practice to improve health and care outcomes.

Call Website

Candidate Profile

Career Trajectory: Candidates must demonstrate a steep career trajectory over the last 5–10 years.
Seniority: Applicants should have spent no more than 5 years at their current level of seniority at the time of application.
Leadership Status: Candidates should not already be established leaders in their field but must demonstrate the potential to become leaders by the end of the award period.

Research Scope

Fields: Nominations are welcomed from those working in experimental medicine, public health, health services research, social care research, or methodological research.
Translation: A demonstrable record in translating research into improved health or social care is essential.
Partnership Requirement: Nominations are only eligible where the Higher Education Institution (HEI) is working in partnership with the NHS, or organisations/commissioners/providers of public health and/or care services based in England.

Key Institutional Expectations

Salary Recycling

The basic salary of the Research Professor is funded by the NIHR. Host institutions are required to recycle the salary costs released from the Professor’s previous role. The institution must reinvest these funds into building research capacity (e.g., hiring new research staff or supporting early-career researchers). This reinvestment plan is a mandatory part of the application assessment.

Institutional Support and Future Employment

Institutions must demonstrate a sustained commitment to the nominee, including:

Providing appropriate administrative and research support.
Guaranteeing necessary infrastructure and facilities.
Supporting the nominee’s participation in the NIHR Leadership Programme.
Long-term Integration: A commitment to the individual beyond the lifetime of the award is required, including a clear long-term employment plan and integration into the institution’s strategic research direction.

University Internal Selection

NIHR restricts the number of nominations an HEI can put forward. This limit applies regardless of whether the University is the lead employing organisation or the partner organisation.

For the Research Professorship, the University may put forward a maximum of 3 nominations, subject to the following diversity requirements:

If 1 nomination is made: Applicants can be male or female.
If 2 nominations are made: At least one applicant must be female.
If 3 nominations are made: At least one applicant must be female AND at least one applicant must be from an ethnic minority group.

Based on NIHR data, specific groups remain underrepresented at senior levels. In the 2022/23 NIHR funding cycle, while 44% of total applicants were from ethnic minority backgrounds, this figure often decreases for high-seniority professorship awards. These diversity requirements are designed to directly address these disparities.

Process

This call will be managed according to the University’s restricted calls procedure.

Schools have been asked to provide a ranked list of recommended individuals. Departments should await communication from their respective School offices regarding the internal selection timetable. Please note that applicants who have not been through the School ranking stage will not be accepted for the final University submission.

Internal deadline for Schools to submit ranked candidates: 22^nd September 2026

Anticipated funder deadline: Early December 2026

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Posted on 02/06/2026