Image: An ICR postdoc working in the lab (credit: ICR/John Angerson).
Your postdoc training is an exciting time leading you to a wide range of career possibilities so it’s important to consider your next steps when planning which postdoc will suit you. There are lots of reasons why early career researchers come to do a postdoc at the ICR.
A collaborative, international and inclusive community
We pride ourselves in offering postdocs an environment that’s collaborative, international and inclusive. Our 226 postdocs, who span 37 different nationalities, benefit from being part of a community that is focused on developing the next generation of cancer research leaders. Our unique partnership with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and strong links with industry also make the ICR a fantastic place to do a postdoc.
If you don’t believe us, we spoke to some of our past and present postdocs to find out why they chose the ICR.
“I wanted to join the ICR because of the world-class scientific environment it offered. In addition to its scientific and medical reputation, it favours the wellbeing of staff and promotes collaboration and teamwork across different research divisions. Overall, I had a very productive and enriching experience as a postdoc at the ICR.” – Manuel Daza-Martin, postdoc alumnus, Cancer Biology.
“The access you get to expert collaborators as a postdoc at the ICR is unmatched.” – Manasa Ravindra, current postdoc, Cancer Therapeutics.
Academia, industry or beyond?
For many new starters, coming to the ICR is about taking the steps they need to grow in their academic independence and one day lead their own research teams: consolidating the outputs of their PhD, building their publication profile, making a small pivot from their current area of expertise or a big departure from their PhD to explore new models, techniques, or therapeutic areas.
The transition from postdoc to group leader can be a challenging one, the funding landscape is competitive and applying for independent fellowships requires careful planning alongside your day-to-day research. We help our postdoc trainees navigate this by offering support through schemes like our pioneering 'Pathway to Independence' programme, which puts those who aspire to be future research leaders in as strong a position as possible to take the leap.
“My dream is to continue research as an independent academic. Pathway to Independence has helped me understand the whole transition process, helped me gauge my readiness and provided a taster as to the challenges and responsibilities to expect once a grant is awarded.” – Pathway to Independence 2023 participant.
“Following the Pathway to Independence programme I successfully applied for a two-year fellowship. I intend to use this fellowship as a springboard to allow me to apply for career development fellowships, so that I can start my own lab. Pathway to Independence was immensely valuable – providing me with information from the often-inscrutable application process of the various fellowship schemes to specific advice from successful applicants on what makes an effective application.” – Pathway to Independence 2023 participant.
We're proud of the impact of Pathway to Independence – 54 per cent of alumni from the programme have gone to be a group leader within three years. Due to its success, the ICR and the Wellcome Sanger Institute, our fellow co-founder, decided to open up the programme more widely – to Cancer Research UK institutes, the Francis Crick Institute, and the Babraham Institute.
“Pathway to Independence was the most important training that I received for my career development. It was then when I realised that I had to change my career path and create a competitive niche.” – an external Pathway to Independence participant.
We also run a parallel programme, with the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at The Royal Marsden and the ICR and the wider NIHR network of BRCs around the country, for aspiring clinical academic leaders in cancer research.
Other postdocs choose the ICR because they have their sights set on a research career in industry and want to be immersed in the ICR’s unique translational research environment, either in drug discovery and development or clinical trials, made possible by our close link with The Royal Marsden. Our training programme provides careers talks, alumni events, and groups to connect postdocs with those who can offer help and advice with moving into industry roles.
Many postdocs are still undecided about their next step – in which case the ICR is a great place to come and explore where your research project might take you, access training and hear from a range of people from different career paths to help you plan your next steps.
The postdoc experience matters
How our postdocs grow and develop during their time at the ICR is hugely important to us because whether they go on to lead their own research team or take on a key role in the wider science environment, they contribute to scientific progress and impact the sector.
We know that the way research is funded can make it a challenging career, so as signatories of the Researcher Concordat we want to do as much as we can to support our postdocs to set them up for success as they move on.
All postdoc trainees – including equivalent researchers on the ‘academic track’, such as analytical scientists, research fellows or principal statisticians – are given a minimum of 10 days training and professional development time per year which they discuss and plan with their group leaders. This enables an openness and honesty in conversations around career aspirations, whether within or beyond academia.
“Since starting at the ICR, I have been encouraged to develop my leadership skills, from helping supervise visiting PhD students to drafting grant applications.” – current postdoc.
“Whilst at the ICR have been able to access one-to-one careers sessions which were very useful to help me explore my career options. I am also looking forward to the upcoming sessions on writing a narrative CV and preparing for interviews.” – current postdoc.
Future leaders need a research culture which supports and encourages them to do their best science, to access excellent training, ask great research questions, find supportive mentors, and grow a strong research network – all things which the Researcher Concordat identifies as important to early career researchers. As such, career development is a key component of our research strategy: “We will empower our students and early-career researchers to become tomorrow’s leaders in cancer research and treatment by providing the best possible education, training and careers support.”
Are we achieving our aims of training a new generation of research leaders?
We encourage our students and postdocs to join our LinkedIn alumni groups when they start at the ICR. They can approach former postdocs and students who have moved into diverse and global scientific careers to help support their own career planning throughout their time here. When people leave us, we like to keep in touch and see where our people go next: both at the point of leaving and beyond.
A 2022 survey of our postdoc alumni told us that:
- 83 per cent of postdoc alumni remained research active (with no notable differences between men and women)
- Of those remaining research active, 72 per cent stayed in cancer research
- The majority (54 per cent) of our alumni who remain research active are in industry
- 38 per cent remain research active in academia
- Of those who are still research active, 36 per cent are in group leader roles in academia and industry (similar proportions of men and women) and 31 per cent still work as postdoc researchers
- Of the 17 per cent no longer research active, all work in roles supporting scientific research (tech transfer, science policy, etc.), therefore 100 per cent of respondents continue to contribute to the wider research ecosystem.
Together these highlight that we are succeeding in our training mission; that most of our alumni are committed to a career in cancer research and that more than a third of those surveyed are now in leadership roles across industry and academia.
At the ICR, we know we are not only training the next generation for success but through our alumni we have formed a growing pool of expertise beyond our own group leaders who are willing to mentor and advise those earlier on their career towards diverse and impactful scientific careers.
By doing a postdoc at the ICR, you are entering a life-long community which means that whatever you end up doing, you can contribute to making the discoveries that defeat cancer for many years beyond your postdoc.
Would you like to be a postdoc at the ICR? Explore our vacancies online.