NHG Health LKCMedicine Clinician Scientist Career Scheme (CSCS)

Introduction

The NHG Health-LKCMedicine Clinician Scientist Career Scheme (CSCS) is a research talent development programme jointly offered by NHG Health and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine).

It aims to develop a clinicians's research capabilities to improve patient care through competitive research by supporting applicants for the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Transition Award (TA) /Clinician Scientist Award (CSA) or equivalent within the next 2-3 years and further build his/her research career.

Awardees will be offered access to LKCMedicine’s library resources during the term of the award.

Key Features of Award

1. Project funding quantum up to S$100,000, for up to 2 years; and

2. Salary support of up to 0.4FTE for up to 2 years, with an applicable annual salary cap by clinician’s clinical designation (Table 1).
   a) NHG Health Host institution will need to top up the difference if the awardee’s salary exceeds the applicable annual salary cap.
   b) Salary support will cover the total annual compensation, inclusive of salaries, CPF, fringe benefits, as well as bonus / incentive payments.

Eligibility

1. Applicants should be:
   a) Doctors (i.e. clinically qualified with MBBS/MD/BDS) with primary appointments of Associate Consultant / Consultant at NHG Health institutions.
   OR
   b) Health Science/Healthcare Professionals with non-medical degrees, such as nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professions (as listed on this website) in clinical practice, with primary appointments at NHG Health institutions and have at least 7 years of clinical or research experience. Clinical post-graduate qualification would be an advantage.

2. All applicants should also fulfil the following criteria:
   a) Has a research PhD
   b) Has a good publication track record in peer-reviewed journals
   c) The CSCS research project should be relevant to the research themes of NHG Health and LKCMedicine (eligible applicants who do not meet this criteria may contact the CSCS Secretariat for further discussion on suitability of the scheme)

3. On an exceptional basis, an applicant without a PhD could be considered if he/she is committed to enroll into the LKCMedicine PhD programme during the CSCS award period.

4. As awardees are expected to apply to NMRC TA/CSA or equivalent by the end of their CSCS award period, applicants should take note of the latest eligibility criteria for the respective national talent development scheme and ensure that he/she is able to meet them.

5. Past CSCS awardees who were unsuccessful TA/CSA or equivalent may reapply to CSCS on exceptional basis.

6. Interested clinicians are strongly encouraged to contact the CSCS Secretariat for discussion on suitability of the Programme prior to applying.

7. Applicants are required to seek endorsements for their applications from their Reporting Officer (RO), Head of Department (HOD), Director/Chief/Head of Family Group (applicable for nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professions listed on MOH’s website only) and Director of Research (DOR).

8. The applicant’s Department should be able to make provisions for the applicant’s research commitments during the CSCS award period (if awarded) and continue to facilitate his/her career pathway as a clinician scientist beyond the CSCS award.

Mentorship

Each applicant is required to nominate a mentor from NHG Health and a mentor from LKCMedicine (subject to approval by the review committee) to guide them in their research career and project.

The mentor should be an established clinician scientist or clinical scientist who:
a) Is involved in research with significant impact on clinical care;
b) Has had experience as Principal Investigator (PI) in a relevant area of research;
c) Has strong foundation and knowledge in research methodology and conduct;
d) Has obtained intramural/extramural grant(s) during the past 5 years;
e) Has an established research track record; and
f) Has had experience in supervising or providing research mentorship to junior investigators or peers.

Applicants may contact the CSCS Secretariat if they require assistance in identifying appropriate mentor(s) or refer to the Academy of Clinician Scientists and Innovators (ACSI) mentors' directory. 

Submission

Applicants are required to submit all application documents (Table 2) in softcopy to the CSCS Secretariat at NHG Health Group Research and Innovation through their Institution’s Clinical Research Unit (CRU)/Clinical Research and Innovation Office (CRIO).

The Institution’s CRU/CRIO will set internal deadlines for the submission and ensure that the documents reach the CSCS secretariat by the stipulated deadline. Please check with your institution for these deadlines. Applications submitted after the call closing date and time will not be considered.

Resources

CSCS Information Sheet - FY2026

This document contains important information about the objective of the scheme, award components, eligibility, application procedure, evaluation criteria and expected deliverables etc., and should be read carefully before proceeding to apply.

Download the latest CSCS Information Sheet.

CSCS Application Package - FY2026

The CSCS Application Package consists of templates for the following documents:
1. Information Sheet
2. Application Form
3. Budget Breakdown Form
4. Application Checklist (For reference only); and
5. Research Funding Guidelines (For reference only).

Download the latest CSCS Application Package.

CSCS Forms & Templates

The CSCS Forms & Templates zip folder consists of the following documents:
1. CSCS Variation Forms - Budget Variation, Unbudgeted Item, Time Extension, Change of Research Scope
2. CSCS Interim Report Template
3. CSCS Final Report Template
4. CSCS Research Protected Time Logsheet
5. Research Funding Guidelines

Download the latest CSCS Forms & Templates.

Past Awardees

Download the list of past CSCS awardees.

Contact information

For more information and further enquiries, please contact the CSCS Secretariat:

Ms Nicole Yap
Clinician Scientist Development Office
Group Research and Innovation, NHG Health
Tel: (65) 6038 3632
Email: nicole.yx.yap@nhghealth.com.sg

Ms Adeline Chan
Clinician Scientist Development Office
Group Research and Innovation, NHG Health
Tel: (65) 6038 3631
Email: adeline.mx.chan@nhghealth.com.sg