Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Dr Kelly Vere, Director of Technical Strategy at the University of Nottingham, and Director of the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy, is to be part of a new national taskforce bringing together senior leaders from academia, the NHS, MedTech and the pharmaceutical industry to identify and address gaps across clinical and non-clinical career pathways.
The new UK Medical Science Careers Taskforce has been launched by the Academy of Medical Sciences to address the considerable challenges facing the UK’s medical science workforce.
Dr Vere said: “I am very pleased to contribute to this important national taskforce. Technical professionals and research specialists are essential to the delivery of modern medical science, yet their career pathways often lack clarity and connectivity across the NHS, academia and industry."
This initiative provides a timely opportunity to address those gaps and to build a more sustainable, agile and future ready medical workforce.
The taskforce comes at a critical moment. Rapid advances in AI, data science and novel therapeutics are transforming medical research, creating opportunities to improve patient outcomes and accelerate the UK's position as a global leader in life sciences. Realising these ambitions - set out in the Government's Life Sciences Sector Plan and 10-Year Health Plan for England - depends on having a workforce equipped to capitalise on them.
Career pathways for data scientists, research technicians and professionals working across MedTech and pharma remain fragmented, with limited routes for movement between the NHS, academia and industry. Vacant clinical academic posts have risen by 71% in the last decade, with 24% fewer researchers at senior lecturer level. Almost a third of clinical research staff are considering leaving UK clinical research within five years.
Dr Vere is a leading advocate for technical skills and careers who founded and leads the Technician Commitment, a sector-wide initiative promoting visibility, recognition, career development, and sustainability for technical professionals, with more than 130 institutional signatories. She also led TALENT, a £5 million Research England-funded programme advancing technical careers, which included the TALENT Commission, a landmark study on the UK’s technical workforce. Now leading the new UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy (UK ITSS), Kelly continues to champion the technical community, shaping policy and opportunities across the sector.
As a member of the taskforce, Dr Vere, will work with other members and the co-chairs on the taskforce to draw on evidence, stakeholder consultation and international comparisons to produce a national ‘gaps and fixes’ career pathways map and inform a fully endorsed cross-sector national plan by December 2026.
Rather than duplicating existing career frameworks, the taskforce will synthesise current evidence to identify gaps, misalignments and missed opportunities. It will examine career pathways across the full breadth of medical science – from clinical academics and biomedical researchers to data scientists, research technicians and professionals working in MedTech and the pharmaceutical industry.
The taskforce will pay particular attention to the boundaries between clinical and non-clinical roles, the barriers to cross-sector movement between the NHS, academia and industry, and the skills needed to engage with AI and data-driven technologies that are reshaping the field. It will also consider how place-based factors at local, regional and national level affect access to training and career development.
Medical science is one of the UK’s greatest strengths. Our researchers have developed life-saving treatments, our clinical trials infrastructure played a defining role in the pandemic response and our life sciences sector is a genuine engine of economic growth across the country.
Professor Morris added: “Sustaining this position requires investment in the talented people who make it possible. The pipeline of clinical academics is under serious strain, career pathways between the NHS, academia and industry are fragmented, and without concerted action, the UK risks ceding ground to countries that are making workforce development a deliberate national priority.
“The Academy’s ambition is to make the UK the best place in the world to have a career in medical sciences, and this taskforce will provide the clarity and coordination that our life sciences sector needs. For the first time, we will have a detailed national map of where the gaps are, and a delivery plan backed by the organisations with the power to act on it.”
In September 2025, a landmark summit convened by the Academy of Medical Sciences secured commitments from 40 leaders across the UK health sector – including the Medical Research Council, Wellcome, Cancer Research UK, the Government’s Department for Health and Social Care and Russell Group universities – to take urgent action to reverse the decline in clinical academic posts.
Building on this momentum, the taskforce will engage a wide range of health system partners throughout the process, including research charities, government departments, trade associations, royal colleges, NHS representatives, regulators and pharmaceutical industry leaders.
An open consultation on key ‘gaps and fixes’ will open in spring 2026 and the Academy welcomes input from across the medical sciences community – including researchers, clinicians, data scientists, technologists, research technicians and professionals working across the NHS, academia and industry. Contact policy@acmedsci.ac.uk to share views on where gaps exist, experiences of navigating career pathways, relevant evidence and ideas for practical solutions.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home. More news…