NHG LKCMedicine Clinician Scientist Career Scheme (CSCS)
Introduction
The NHG-LKCMedicine Clinician Scientist Career Scheme (CSCS) is a research manpower development programme jointly offered by the National Healthcare Group (NHG) and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine).
It aims to develop research capabilities of clinicians to transform patient care through competitive research and enable them to compete successfully 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.
Award Components
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Project funding quantum up to S$180,000, for up to 3 years; and
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Salary support of up to 0.4FTE for up to 3 years, with an applicable annual salary cap by clinician’s clinical designation (Table 1).
a) NHG 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.
Table 1: Annual Salary Cap by Clinical Designation |
|
Clinical Designation |
Annual Salary Cap |
Senior Consultant |
S$300,000 |
Consultant |
S$200,000 |
Associate Consultant |
S$150,000 |
Health Science/Healthcare Professional |
S$100,000 |
Application
Eligibility
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Applicants should be:
a) Doctors (i.e. clinically qualified with MBBS/MD/BDS) with primary appointments of at least Associate Consultant at NHG institutions.
OR
b) Health Science/Healthcare Professionals with non-medical degrees, such as nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professions (as listed on MOH's website) in clinical practice, with primary appointments at NHG institutions and have at least 7 years of clinical or research experience. Clinical post-graduate qualification would be an advantage. -
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 and LKCMedicine (eligible applicants who do not meet this criteria may contact the CSCS Secretariat for further discussion on suitability of the scheme) -
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.
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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.
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Interested clinicians are strongly encouraged to contact the CSCS Secretariat for discussion on suitability of the Programme prior to submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI).
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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).
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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 and a mentor
from LKCMedicine (subject to approval by the review committee) to guide
them in their research career and project. The CSCS Secretariat may assist
in the nomination of appropriate mentor(s) where required.
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.
Application Period
Applicants are required to submit all application documents (Table 2) in softcopy to the CSCS Secretariat at NHG 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 respective internal deadlines for the above submissions. Please check with your institutions for these deadlines. The Institution’s CRU/CRIO will ensure that the respective documents reach the CSCS Secretariat by the stipulated deadlines. Applications submitted after the call closing date and time will not be considered.
Table 2. CSCS Application Timeline |
|
Call Opening |
15 Oct 2024 (Tue) |
Letter of Intent Submission Deadline
|
12 Nov 2024 (Tue), 12pm (SGT) |
Full Application Submission Deadline
|
26 Nov 2024 (Tue), 12pm (SGT) |
Resources
NHG-LKCMedicine CSCS Information Sheet - FY2024
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.
NHG-LKCMedicine CSCS Application Package - FY2024
The CSCS Application Package consists of templates for the following documents:
1. Information Sheet
2. Letter of Intent (LOI)
3. Application Form
4. Budget Breakdown Form
5. Application Checklist (For reference only); and
6. NHG Research Funding Guidelines (For reference only).
Download the latest CSCS Application Package.
NHG-LKCMedicine 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. Annex for CSCS Interim & Final Report Template
5. CSCS Research Protected Time Logsheet
6. NHG Research Funding Guidelines
Download the latest CSCS Forms & Templates.
Past CSCS 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
NHG Group Research and Innovation
Tel: (65) 6038 3632
Email: nicole_yx_yap@nhg.com.sg
Ms Adeline Chan
Clinician Scientist Development Office
NHG Group Research and Innovation
Tel: (65) 6038 3631
Email: adeline_mx_chan@nhg.com.sg