The John Vane Academy

Bursary Schemes

The John Vane Academy is not a direct funder of studentships or equivalent, but rather facilitates the further training of early-career researchers already supported through other funding channels.

At present, the Foundation offers three main awards:  The John Vane Bursary Scheme, the Lay Communication Prize and the Daphne Vane Media Training Bursary.  The winners of these awards are then invited to become members of the John Vane Academy.

John Vane Bursary Scheme

About the Scheme

This scheme is intended to enable early career researchers to extend their repertoire.  Up to £1,000 will be made available to the successful applicant(s) for travel and training to develop their own expertise or to learn new techniques.

Previous successful applicants have chosen training opportunities such as:

·         Participation in an extracellular vesicle workshop at University College Dublin

·         Learning expansion microscopy in a lab at the Yale Cooperative Center of Excellence in Hematology

·         Joining a Proteomics Bioinformatics training course in Cambridge

·         Developing analysis skills to interrogate single cell sequencing data through training at the University              of Edinburgh

·         Attending a bioinformatics training program delivered by the British Society of Immunology

Have you found a training opportunity that would expand your skillset?  We may be able to help fund it.  Continue reading for information on eligibility requirements and the application process.

Eligibility

Entries will be accepted from PhD students or junior postdoctoral researchers who work or study at one of the institutes within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London.

Proposals must meet WHRF’s charitable purpose to support medical research in cardiovascular disease, inflammation or endocrine disorders.

Applications

Submissions will be anonymised and then reviewed by members of the John Vane Academy Management Committee.  Depending on the number of applications received, candidates may also be invited for an interview.   We will aim to inform applicants whether they have been shortlisted by Thursday 21st March.

The John Vane Bursary Scheme will open for submissions again in February or March 2025.

Lay Communication Prize

About the Award

The annual Lay Communication Prize is awarded to researchers within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London who demonstrate skill in explaining complex research to a lay audience.

The winners receive funds of up to £500 to cover registration, accommodation and/or travel to a scientific conference of their choice.

All eligible submissions will be judged by a mainly lay panel, which also includes one or two senior scientists.  The highest scored entries are then invited to present a 5-minute oral “pitch” of their work and to answer questions from the panel.

Eligibility

Entries will be accepted from researchers who work or study at one of the institutes within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London (e.g. PhD students, post-doctoral scientists, clinical research fellows, etc).  Faculty staff are not eligible.

Topics must meet WHRF’s charitable purpose to support medical research in cardiovascular disease, inflammation and/or endocrine disorders.

The Lay Communication Prize will open for submissions again in April or May 2024.  Have a look through our news archive pages to see topics from our past winners.

Daphne Vane Media Training Bursary

About the Scheme

This scheme is specifically tailored to train PhD students, researchers and academic staff who wish to specialise in the dissemination of scientific information through the media.  In an age when the ability of scientists to communicate effectively with the public is more important than ever, we are delighted to offer a small number of bursaries each year for suitable, highly motivated applicants who wish to develop these important skills.

If selected, you will benefit from a full day of intensive media training organised by Media First.  This course takes place in a purpose-built media training centre near Reading in Berkshire and is delivered by working journalists to provide a highly realistic experience.  

The training will include a segment on print media and will also introduce you to radio and TV studios to prepare you for broadcast media opportunities.  You will learn the fundamentals of engaging with the media, how to get your messages right for the audience, tips for controlling and steering the conversation and handling challenging questions.

The John Vane Academy will cover the course fees along with reasonable travel expenses.

Eligibility

Entries will be accepted from PhD students, researchers and academic staff who work or study at one of the institutes within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London.

Applicants’ research must fall within at least one of the following fields in order to fulfil WHRF’s charitable purpose:

•                    Cardiovascular Disease

•                    Inflammation

•                    Endocrine Disorders

Further Details

This bursary scheme is made possible by the generosity of Lady Daphne Vane’s estate.

The Daphne Vane Media Bursary Scheme will open for submissions again in July or August 2024.