Basic Science Research Skills in Surgery
Your route into the Specialised Foundation Programme, NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowships and PhD funding
Date: Friday 18 December 2026, 08:00–17:00
Venue: Newcastle Surgical Training Centre (NSTC), Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7DN (morning) and Newcastle University Medical School (afternoon; taxi transfer provided)
Fee: £90 trainees / £45 medical students
CPD: 6 points (pending RCS England accreditation); certificate of attendance for all delegates
Course description
Basic science research is one of the most powerful ways to stand out in surgical training, and one of the least well understood. This course shows you what a clinical academic career actually looks like and how to get there. Over one day you will hear how the Integrated Academic Training pathway fits around surgical training, get honest first-hand accounts from trainees who have recently secured SFP, ACF and PhD posts, learn how research funding really works, and see live demonstrations of both laboratory techniques and robotic-assisted knee replacement.
The course has been designed by Professor David Deehan and Professor Paul Banaszkiewicz with Mr Sami Anjum. Our conveners and faculty are internationally recognised in surgical research and education, have sat on NIHR ACF interview panels and PhD vivas, and have applied for every programme covered — so the advice on offer is the advice that actually gets you shortlisted.
The day covers
- Academic pathways — SFP, ACF, MRes, OOPR fellowships and funded PhDs explained, with practical application tips
- Hear from trainees — SFP, ACF and PhD experience first-hand
- Funding guidance — grants, fellowships, costings and how to structure a winning application
- Experimental concepts you need to know — gene analysis, protein expression and staining, with real-life examples
- Live laboratory observations — small-group rotations through research laboratories at Newcastle University Medical School
- Robotic surgery — discussion and live demonstration of robot-assisted total knee replacement, followed by a faculty Q&A
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, delegates will be able to:
- describe the NIHR Integrated Academic Training pathway and how SFP, ACF and PhD posts fit around clinical training;
- identify what a competitive SFP or ACF application looks like and plan their own portfolio and application accordingly;
- outline the main sources of research funding available to trainees and the structure of a grant application;
- explain the core laboratory techniques used in basic science surgical research and how they are applied to clinical questions;
- describe the principles of robotic-assisted arthroplasty and its place in surgical research.
Audience
Medical students, foundation doctors, core surgical trainees, SHOs and registrars in orthopaedics, ENT, general surgery, paediatric surgery and urology — and non-surgical trainees interested in the NIHR clinical academic training programme. No previous research experience is needed.
Places
Numbers are strictly limited by laboratory capacity, so early registration is recommended.
Booking
Register online: https://nstcsurg.org/courses/basic-science-research-skills-in-surgery/?course=register&date=Friday%2018%20December%202026
The course flyer is attached. We would be very grateful if the Society would be willing to circulate the course to the membership, include it in your newsletter, post it on your social media channels and add it to your events calendar.
For course enquiries: basicscience.ortho@gmail.com
Organised by: Mr Sami Anjum of Basic Science Research Skills in Surgery