Overview

The 2025 Clinical Pharmacy Congress (CPC) in London once again proved to be a dynamic platform for showcasing pharmacy’s expanding leadership in research and innovation. There were 100+ sessions dedicated to pharmacy practice over two days at the congress. This included dedicated 4 research sessions:

• Two sessions organised by SRT in the RPS theatre - here
• Pharmacy Incubator presentation by Professor Debbi Bhatacharya
• Two sessions organised by Dr Ofran Almossawi which were supported by Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) and will be the focus of this roundup.
  • Securing Research Funding: From Aspiration to Application (Strategy and Policy Forum Theatre)
  • Becoming Successful in Research: Resilience, Relevance, and Reach (Leadership and Professional Development Theatre) - here

Securing Research Funding: Insights from CPC 2025

This session offered comprehensive guidance for pharmacy professionals at all career stages on navigating the complex world of research funding. Also, provided attendees with practical tools, clear pathways, and actionable strategies for securing research funding and building long-term research careers in pharmacy.

Reflecting on the event, Dr. Ofran Almossawi shared, “The CPC is good space to connect with colleagues from a very wide range of practices, but one thing that I noticed was missing is a research focused stream. This motivated me to contact the CPC organisers in 2023. This year was the third year of having research session and we are working towards building more research sessions within the CPC”.

Meet the Speakers

• Richard Milham (Senior Programme Manager, NIHR Academy)

• Professor Diane Ashiru-Oredope (Deputy Chief Scientist, Royal Pharmaceutical Society; AMR Lead Pharmacist, UKHSA)

Securing Research Funding: From Aspiration to Application (Strategy and Policy Forum Theatre)

In an insightful session led by Richard Milham, Senior Programme Manager at the NIHR Academy, delegates were given a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of research funding by NIHR. With recent efforts to streamline and simplify its awards, the NIHR is creating clearer pathways for pharmacy professionals whether at the start of their research journey or seeking to advance to leadership roles.

Key NIHR career development opportunities discussed included:

• Pre-PhD Awards: Offer funding for one-year full-time equivalent protected academic time, designed for early-career exploration.
• PhD Awards: Three-year awards (FTE) covering tuition, training, conference attendance, and research costs (e.g. consumables).
• Postdoctoral Awards: Flexible scheme (2-5 years FTE) supporting skills development, training, and funding for research costs, including support post-award where appropriate.
• SCPRA Awards: Flexible awards (2-5 years FTE) funding protected academic time from within current practice roles, plus up to £20k per year (up to £100k over 5 years) to support senior clinical and practitioners back into research.
• Chair and Senior Investigator Roles: Designed for research leaders, offering support for salary, PhD supervision/support posts, research, and training costs.
• Pre-Application Support Fund and the Development Skills Enhancement (DSE) Scheme: Providing support for preparing competitive applications, enhancing skills, or returning to research after a break.
• Team Science Residential Camp: A unique interdisciplinary initiative offering a residential style camp for establishing teams and up to £100k for collaborative research teams to tackle complex research challenges.

Richard also highlighted initiatives such as the INSIGHT programme, which includes Masterships and the Undergraduate Internship Programme (UIP) which is a continuation of the legacy ICA scheme and designed to build early research capacity across regions.

You can find out more about the NIHR funding opportunities via NIHR Funding Opportunities.

Read about our other presentations at the 2025 Clinical Pharmacy Congress below: