We are glad to be joining the Academy of Medical Sciences, along with 21 other UK research funders, to remember and recognise the impacts of COVID-19 on Lister Fellowship applications.
We are seeing that COVID-19 is having both immediate and longer-term impacts on biomedical research. This week’s statement formally recognises that we are taking concrete, practical steps to consider these impacts when we assess applicants’ outputs, achievements, and career progression.
We already have a section on our application form for applicants to tell us about factors affecting their research and personal life. Our Scientific Advisory Committee considers these personal circumstances during the longlisting and shortlisting processes. We hope that this further step does more to support biomedical researchers and their teams and helps prevent talented researchers from dropping out of the field.
“At the Lister Institute, we’ve always felt it was incredibly important to take applicants’ personal circumstances into account when considering their applications. We’re delighted to be able to join with other leading funders in this important initiative.”
Dr Sally Burtles, Director
Future applicants to the Lister Prize are welcomed and encouraged to explain how COVID-19 has affected them, their team, and their research. We understand that this may include changes in personal circumstances and clinical responsibilities, impact on access to facilities and normal work environment, impact on research, and impact on publications and other outputs.
You can read more about this and access the full statement on our website.
The Academy of Medical Sciences has also produced a useful article that provides tips on factoring COVID-19 into grant applications.
