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Students and researchers in the Centre for Atherothrombosis and Metabolic Disease

Scholarship and Special Interest Programme

Pursue areas of specialised knowledge outside the core curriculum in your Scholarship and Special Interest Programme, and tailor your learning to suit your interests and career aspirations.

Home » Medicine » Curriculum » Scholarship and Special Interest Programme

Introduction

Tailor your experience

Our Scholarship and Special Interest Programme (SSIP) gives you the opportunity to concentrate on subjects that particularly interest you, and study them in depth.

Working with our expert tutors and researchers, you will undertake small-scale projects and acquire research skills to help you develop as an independent scholar.

Many of our students have gone on to present their work at national or international conferences as well as publishing their work in high-impact scientific journals.

Your SSIP will also allow you to explore areas that might be related to your career goals or aspirations.

Students and researchers in Experimental Medicine and Biomedicine
Students and researchers in the Academy of Primary Care
Student in the lab in Experimental Medicine and Biomedicine

How the SSIP works

Phase I (Years 1 and 2)

In each year of Phase I, you will choose from a range of projects and will work alongside tutors who are active researchers and world-renowned experts in their fields affiliated to our research groups.

Project themes range from medical humanities, health inequalities and global public health to experimental medicine and biomedicine and evolutionary anatomy.

Phase II (Years 3 and 4)

In Years 3 and 4 you will choose clinically related projects, which focus on a special interest of your choice.

Your project might involve undertaking a research project, assessing or improving the quality of patient care through participation in an audit or improvement project or developing teaching or assessment materials or leadership skills.

You will begin to establish distinctive skills and attributes that will be of value as you shape your future career as a doctor.

Phase III (Year 5)

Your final year SSIP takes the form of your elective.

Student perspectives

Alvina Chan - Year 5

Wishing to contribute to positive transformations in healthcare, particularly for marginalised communities, final year Medicine student Alvina Chan undertook research into the differences in cancer screening attendance between transgender and gender-diverse individuals and cisgender counterparts.

The research started in the Scholarship and Special Interest Programme (SSIP) and later through the INSPIRE programme.

Read on for an interview with Alvina, revealing how this experience has not only shaped academic aspirations but also the potential for making a difference in clinical academia and healthcare advocacy.

Read about Alvina's SSIP experience
Alvina Chan

Noemi Cintio - Year 4

Year 4 medicine student Noemi Cintio's pursuit of research began with the INSPIRE programme during their second year of study.

Noemi discovered a profound interest in research, leading to a pursuit of an intercalated MSc in Clinical Anatomy degree at Hull York Medical School and then further research in the Scholarship and Special Interest Programme.

Their journey includes diverse experiences and impactful contributions, as well as publishing work and presentations at esteemed conferences.

Read on for Noemi's insight into how these invaluable experiences have fueled their future research career ambitions.

Read about Noemi's SSIP experience
Noemi Cinti

Dr Grace Cox - 2021 graduate

Dr Grace Cox, a 2021 graduate, ventured into a compelling research journey centred around the delivery of vaccination advice to patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).

Recognising the crucial need for regular vaccinations among immunocompromised CLL patients to prevent severe infections, Dr Cox's Scholarship and Special Interest Programme aimed to unearth any barriers hindering the provision of essential vaccination guidance.

Read more about find out more about Grace’s experience.

Read about Grace's SSIP experience
Blood samples in NHS cancer testing facilities