Early Career Researchers (ECRs)
Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are the foundation of future research excellence. Within our NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), we are committed to attracting, developing and retaining ECRs. We have a particular focus on supporting and providing training opportunities for ECRs to facilitate their career pathway towards independence.
What we do
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Deliver targeted training and workshops aligned with BRC themes
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Build mentorship and peer-support networks across disciplines
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Create collaboration opportunities through joint ECR events (for example, the Southampton Academy of Research and NIHR Wessex Experimental Medicine Network)
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Promote ECR visibility by highlighting achievements, fellowships and funding success stories
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Support applications for fellowships, funding and career devlepoment awards
Meet our BRC ECR Co-leads
Dakshat Trivedi is a postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Clinical Metabolomics Unit and Colleen Deane is a Lecturer in Muscle Cell Biology. Both Dakshat and Colleen are based in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton.
You can get in touch with Dakshat at dakshat.trivedi@soton.ac.uk and Colleen at C.S.Deane@soton.ac.uk.
Upcoming ECR-focused events
SoAR/BRC Connecting new researchers
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When: 13th November 2025, 12pm to 4pm
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Where: Axis Conference Centre, 2 Ventura Road, University of Southampton Science Park, Chilworth
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Purpose: To provide researchers who are new to Southampton with a comprehensive overview of the research environment and the local support available to them.
ECR funding opportunities
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BRC Predoctoral Bridging Fellowships: These funds support salaries for up to 9 months to enable applicants to apply for an externally funded doctoral training fellowship. Learn more
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BRC Postdoctoral Bridging Fellowships: The funds will be used to support the salary of the successful applicant for up to one year, to facilitate applicants submitting for an externally funded fellowship. Learn more
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Research funding support: The Research Funding Development team, based in Research and Innovation Services at the University of Southampton, supports researchers to develop high quality bids. Their focus is on supporting people applying for fellowships, new investigator grants, and large strategic bids. They can offer support throughout the application process, from providing guidance on eligibility criteria and understanding funder guidelines through to a review of draft applications. They also deliver training sessions on key areas such as an introduction to fellowships and narrative CVs. To find out more please contact them via funding@soton.ac.uk to discuss how they can support you with your application.
ECR links and resources
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Training and development:
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Career pathway:
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SoAR Advice Clinics: These one-to-one clinics are for University Hospital Southampton staff interested in a health-related research career. You can get advice on the next steps in your research career, or discuss how to get started. Once you have registered your interest, we will be in touch to arrange a 20-minute appointment via Teams with a SoAR Research Advisor. To register your interest, please complete this form.
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Networking and collaboration:
ECR Blog (coming soon)
The BRC ECR blog will be a space for ECRs to share their experiences, reflections and insights from their research journeys. We aim to celebrate ECR voices, highlight their achievements, and foster connections across disciplines within the BRC.
What can a blog post include?
Posts can include personal reflections on career journey, development, event summaries research spotlights or discussions about challenges and opportunities in translational research. We welcome images to accompany your blog post too.
Whether you’ve attended an inspiring conference, completed a fellowship, won a small pot of funding or simply want to share lessons learned in the lab or clinic – this is your space to connect, reflect and inspire.
Want to share your story?
Submit a 300-500 word post (with optional image/s) to researchcomms@uhs.nhs.uk or contact dakshat.trivedi@soton.ac.uk and C.S.Deane@soton.ac.uk.