Scale through partnership

The British Hip Society (BHS) and Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK) are offering a full-time, 2-year research fellowship of up to £110k, to start by no later than February 2025.

In partnership with The James Lind Alliance (JLA), the BHS recently completed a Problematic Hip Replacement Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) to identify the top 10 unanswered questions from patient and clinical perspectives relating to the assessment, management or rehabilitation of patients with problematic hip replacements.

The focus of this year’s BHS/ORUK Research Fellowship is to invite researchers to develop applications that will aim to answer one of these ten important questions as defined below or an alternative question that meets the aims of the BHS and ORUK:

1. How can the cause of a problematic hip replacement be diagnosed more quickly and accurately?
2. What causes pain in hip replacements? How is this best treated and managed, including using non-surgical approaches?
3. What can be done before revision hip surgery (including physiotherapy, lifestyle change and exercise) to optimise the result?
4. What are the best ways (including non-surgical treatments) of managing fractures around hip replacements?
5. Are there ways to identify which people with a problematic hip replacement will benefit from revision surgery?
6. What can be done after revision hip surgery (including physiotherapy and exercise) to optimise the result?
7. What are the best ways to treat and manage infected hip replacements?
8. What treatment benefits people with a problematic hip replacement when no cause is found?
9. Is revision hip surgery best carried out by a specialist or non-specialist surgeon? Which is more successful and cost-effective?
10. What are the early signs of a problematic hip replacement which indicate patients need to be assessed?

The successful candidate will be expected to register for study towards a higher degree (MD, PhD, DPhil or equivalent) from a UK University. This will require a leave of absence from clinical roles and / or training with agreement of employers or training programme directors. 

Application process:

• Applications will be a single stage process closing by 17:00 on Friday 5 July.
• Panel scoring and short listing will take place by the end of July 2024.
• Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed between 17 – 20 September 2024.
• Award decisions will be received immediately after the interviews.
• The 2-year fellowship will start no later than 1 February 2025.

You will work closely with the ORUK Research Committee and the BHS Executive committee to ensure the goals and outputs of the research align with these requirements.

In order to apply for the post please complete the online application form by 17:00 on Friday 5 July 2024.  

Applications for the Joint ORUK/RCSEd Research Fellowship in Orthopaedics are invited from suitably qualified and experienced young surgeons in the field of Orthopaedics. The funding for the one-year fellowship is currently up to £60,000 per annum and provides salary, National Insurance and superannuation costs.  

The project must be undertaken in the UK and start within the year the Fellowship is awarded.

Eligibility criteria:

• Applicants must be a Member or Fellow of the College in good standing.
• Surgical trainees who are within a year of completing the MRCS and intend to join the RCSEd are also eligible.
• We welcome applications from Speciality Doctors and Specialist Grade Doctors (SAS) in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery.
• If you have been awarded the Joint RCSEd/Cutner Research fellowship in Orthopaedics in the past, you are not eligible to receive the Joint RCSEd/ORUK Research Fellowships in Orthopaedics.
• Projects that have been previously considered by the committee cannot be presented again, unless they have been substantially changed.
• Previously funded applicants, including those funded by ORUK and/or RCSEd through other grant schemes, cannot apply again for funding for the same project.

Application process:

Only submissions through the online form will be considered. As part of the application, a brief curriculum vitae must be filled out and applicants should detail their contribution to the College. The application form must be countersigned by the applicant’s Head of Department/Supervisor and Administrative Authority (Finance Officer, Secretary of Institution, etc.), of the institution where the research will be undertaken. The completed application should be accompanied by two letters of support from suitably qualified referees.

All applications received will be reviewed and shortlisted by the scoring committee for this fellowship. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend a short online interview to pitch their proposed research project. The interview panel will comprise members of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Research Committee and the ORUK Research Committee. The interview date and time will be confirmed at least two weeks beforehand.

Applications close on 23^rd May at 23:59.