Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The X-Net project – a partnership between the Universities of Edinburgh, Dundee, and Oxford – publishes its recommendations following extensive consultation with the biomedical research community.

Wording on top of white background

For science to give maximum benefit to society and the economy, academic research requires root-and-branch reform that transcends individual, siloed disciplines.

Existing Future Leaders Fellowship and PhD programmes have bulldozed barriers for some, yet many seeking to change discipline still face daunting career obstacles. Funders acknowledge these obstacles, but action is urgently required if the next generation of world-leading scientists is to overcome them.

The X-Net project is an interdisciplinary network that aims to understand the barriers to interdisciplinary research and to catalyse the change required to nurture research talent in the UK.

The network’s evidence-based report is a policy roadmap which has been presented to funding bodies and policy makers with a view to influencing improvements in working environments for interdisciplinary researchers, with a particular focus on those in their early careers.

The report, Sweeping Away Barriers to Interdisciplinary Research published on 5 March 2024, highlights common career and funding roadblocks and offers recommendations to increase the retention and impact of interdisciplinary researchers in the UK.

Read full story on MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Similar stories

Alan Davidson Foundation renews funding for ground-breaking motor neuron disease research at Oxford

As part of its renewed commitment, the Alan Davidson Foundation will continue to fund a full-time project manager to facilitate the ongoing coordination and growth of the ACORN study. The foundation is also contributing to the cost of a research fellow to support the next phase of the project.