Deadline: 6 February 2025
The National Medical Research Council is currently accepting applications for its Clinician Innovator Award and is providing salary and funding support, to enable the clinician innovators to bring their ideas to the next level, towards the commercialization end-point.
The Clinician Innovator Award (CIA) aims to support clinicians with healthcare innovation ideas such as in disease diagnosis, medical treatment, and/or improvement of human health and quality of lives.
Research Areas
- Applicants focusing on translation of research and innovations into healthcare in the following strategic areas (covering both expertise in technology as well as use case areas) will be prioritised:
- Medical Technology (MedTech), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science and Digital Health
- Epidemiology, Population Health and Implementation Science
- Precision Medicine
- Healthy and Meaningful Longevity
- Family Medicine and Primary Care
Award Information
- The Clinician Innovator Award (CIA) has two levels of award:
- Investigator (INV) Category: This is for a clinician innovator with potential healthcare innovation idea and requires funding to generate pilot data. The award includes up to $250k direct costs, with up to 30% indirect costs^ and up to 0.3 FTE salary support for protected time in research over 2 years.
- Senior Investigator (SI) Category: This is for a senior clinician innovator who has demonstrated track record in healthcare innovations. The award includes up to $500k direct costs, with up to 30% indirect costs^ and up to 0.3 FTE salary support for protected time in research over 2 years.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants should hold a clinical qualification (e.g. MBBS, MD, BDS or equivalent), with specialty training beyond medical or dental school (including specialists, family physicians and public health practitioners).
- Applicants who are health science/healthcare professionals with non-medical degrees, such as nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professions listed on MOH’s website in clinical practice, possess PhD or equivalent qualifications are eligible to apply. Those without PhD or equivalent qualifications but possess relevant research track record can be considered for award on case-by-case basis.
- Applicants working in human clinical research, including epidemiologists and biostatisticians, and whose research is clinically relevant and has potential health impact, will be considered as exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
- All applicants must be doing research in clinical settings or doing research with clinical and healthcare applications/relevance.
- Applicants with non-medical degrees conducting laboratory-based research are not eligible.
- Applicant must hold the following appointments:
- A primary appointment in a local public hospital/public health institutions/national specialty centre/public university/Academic Medical Centre (AMC) and be salaried by the institution; and
- A regular-rank faculty/academic appointment in one of the AMCs or medical schools within 3 months of award conveyance.
- Applicant must be a Singapore citizen or Permanent Resident at the point of application.
- Applicant must generally not be beyond the retirement age in the year of grant call.
- All research must be conducted in Singapore at a public research institute, hospital/centre or medical school.
- Applicant should not have outstanding reports from NMRC grants and other national grants.
- Applicant may only submit one application to the human capital/talent awards (i.e. STaR, CSA, HCSA, CIA and TA) for each round of grant call. Applicants are allowed to hold up to 0.3 FTE salary support under the Clinician Scientist/Clinician Investigator Salary Support Programme (CS/CISSP), if awarded the CIA.
- Applicant is only allowed up to 2 resubmissions following an unsuccessful first submission.
Assessment Criteria
- The assessment criteria will be broadly as follows:
- Track Record of PI will be the highest priority
- Demonstration of intellectual property position
- Viability of development and commercial plans
- Feasibility of study in local context
- Productivity
- Overall Impact in local context
- For INV: Mentorship training plan, suitability and track record of mentor
Application Requirements
- Awardees will have to provide an annual report to NMRC which sets out what has been achieved and the progress made towards the contributions which had been agreed to at the point of recruitment.
- Awardees are also required to submit a final report to NMRC within 3 months from the project completion date.
For more information, visit NMRC.
