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Clinical academic opportunities

Discover how our staff are combining clinical practice with research. This page shines a spotlight on colleagues who have pursued academic pathways, sharing their experiences, insights, and advice for anyone interested in a research career.

Spotlight: Dr Kevin Williamson

At the heart of our mission to support research connecting nutrition, behaviour, and mental health is the outstanding work of Dr Kevin Williamson. His work shows how nutrition science can be practically applied in NHS care.

In 2025, Kevin received a highly competitive Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) award from the NIHR. This grant funds a programme of research in nutritional psychiatry, in collaboration with the charity FAB Research.

Kevin is the clinical lead at the Centre for Nutrition and Behaviour, where he developed a nutrition service for young people experiencing first-episode psychosis, integrating diet into mental health care.

About Kevin’s research programme

The NIHR-funded grant allows Kevin to build on decades of research into:

  • how dietary patterns, nutrition interventions, and behavioural approaches can support people with serious mental ill-health
  • collaborating with FAB Research, NHS teams, and public contributors to translate findings into practical care
  • ensuring research reflects both lived experience and clinical realities

The programme will:

  • engage public contributors and NHS stakeholders
  • build capacity for diet-based interventions in mental-health settings
  • provide education and training for healthcare professionals
  • conduct studies exploring how nutrition strategies affect outcomes for people with psychosis and other mental-health conditions
  • help translate findings into service improvements and better patient wellbeing

The goal

Kevin’s work aims to create the evidence and infrastructure needed to embed nutritional psychiatry as a routine part of mental-health care.

Learn from their journey

This story is one example of how clinical and academic careers can be combined, highlighting the impact of research on patient care and how academic pathways can open new opportunities.

NIHR Senior Research Leader Programme: Nursing and Midwifery

In 2022, the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) launched the first cohort of Senior Research Leaders (SRLs) for nurses and midwives across England.

SRLs come from different health and social care backgrounds and have shown leadership in research at local, regional, and national levels. Their role is to embed a research-active culture among nurses and midwives in their organisations and beyond.

The SRL programme provides two days per week, for three years, at band 8B, to focus on leading research.

Three years and five key objectives

  • Raise the profile of community nurses as future leaders of research, particularly in non-hospital settings.
  • Support nurses in communities with high health needs and health inequalities to lead, participate in, and deliver research.
  • Build a culture where nurses can integrate research with their practice.
  • 4. & 5. Regional and national priorities: support the capacity and capability of nurses and midwives working in preventative, public health, and social care research.

Impact and aims

The NIHR SRL programme:

  • develops research leadership skills for nurses and midwives
  • improves research across organisations and beyond
  • supports the implementation of “Making Research Matter”, the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s strategic plan for research

Research leadership is key to building capacity and capability, giving nurses and midwives opportunities and empowerment to drive change.

Spotlight: Tracey Long

Tracey Long is a Nurse Consultant in the Children’s Care Group at RDaSH, an NIHR Senior Research Leader, PhD student, and Honorary Fellow at the University of Hull.

Her work shows how nursing leadership supports a whole-team approach to research and innovation, helping build capacity and capability in the Children’s Care Group at RDaSH.

Listen to Tracey Long discuss her journey and research leadership:
Tracey Long Podcast “I’ve got objectives, they all align to building research capacity and capability”.

Page last reviewed: November 25, 2025
Next review due: November 25, 2026