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NIHR Incubator - supporting paediatric critical care researchers
- Professor Padmanabhan RamnarayanProfessor of Paediatric Critical Care at Imperial College London
Key points
- The NIHR-supported paediatric critical care research incubator was funded for three years to support and grow younger researchers.
- It funded a project manager, training events, mentorship and grant-writing retreats, and a parent and ex-patient group supports researchers.
- The incubator is not funded beyond 2026, so the team is considering absorbing or funding some of the work within PCCS.
Professor Padmanabhan Ramnarayan, Professor of Paediatric Critical Care at Imperial College London, discusses supporting the next generation of paediatric critical-care researchers. He describes the work of the NIHR research incubator, including training, mentorship and help with developing research ideas and grant applications. The interview highlights multidisciplinary participation and the importance of patient and public involvement throughout the research process. Professor Ramnarayan reflects on building a research community, helping colleagues develop their careers and sustaining the collaboration and support created through the incubator.
This interview took place at the PCCS Annual Scientific Meeting 2026 in London.
Read the transcript
Automatic transcript, lightly edited for readability. It may contain errors, so check it against the video before quoting.
The NIHR supported a paediatric critical care research incubator that was funded for three years: 24, 25, 26, and through until the end of 26. The purpose of that incubator is really to support, nurture and grow younger researchers in our specialty, particularly because we are a specialty which is a niche and small but very coherent and cohesive society. But there weren't that many young people and new trainees being interested in research, and we wanted the nursing, allied health professionals, dieticians, speech language therapists, pharmacists, everyone to be part of the research infrastructure. And so that was what was funded.
We got some money to fund a project manager to organise us, have some educational training events, and also to have a mentorship scheme, to organise specific grant writing and fellowship writing retreats so that people got more experience doing these things and then applying for grant bodies and personal awards. And we have been quite successful. These activities have helped a lot of younger researchers to get more grants and personal fellowships.
And the crowning jewel of the incubator is the PPIE group. So we have a group of parents and ex-patients with lived experience who have formed a group, and we have a very good relationship with them. They're very happy to support all the younger researchers through giving them good ideas, feedback, suggesting changes to their research so that they could apply for better supported funding projects and opportunities. So that's been great.
Sadly the incubator is not funded beyond 2026, which we are very disappointed about, but we have been starting to think about how we would continue this work without the funding. Maybe some of it could be absorbed within our existing structures within PCCS and maybe some of it will need funding from PCCS, but we can discuss those as time passes and try and embed them into our routine activities. Yeah.
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Cite this video
Professor Padmanabhan Ramnarayan. “NIHR Incubator - supporting paediatric critical care researchers.” The Paediatric Video Journal, 7 November 2026. https://paediatricvj.com/videos/nihr-incubator-supporting-paediatric-critical-care-researchers-ramnarayan/
This interview is educational content intended for healthcare professionals and is not medical advice. Views expressed are those of the speaker. © The Paediatric Video Journal. All rights reserved.