The BSGAR Executive Committee are pleased to invite applications for the Research Bursary/fellowship

BSGAR Research Bursary 2026 is open for applications from 12th March 2026 with a closing date of 5pm 5th June 2026. Scroll down to view the introductory video for the 2025 bursary, and application form, there have been no significant changes since 2025. 

Criteria 
The bursary value is for the cost-to-trust value of 1 PA of the applicant’s time (anticipated to be around ~£16,000) for one year. Research projects must be related to the field of GI and abdominal radiology and the applicant must be:

1. An NHS Consultant subspecializing in GI and abdominal radiology who is a BSGAR member in good standing (≥1 year)
2. Supported by an academic mentor  
3. With a hypothesis-driven piece of work with proposed output which is achievable within 1 year 
4. Applying with the support of their departmental lead 

Mentors
Applicants must be supported by an academic mentor, applicants are encouraged to identify their own mentor but those who do not have a mentor are encouraged to contact the mentors who have volunteered their time for this purpose. Click here for academic mentor list..

The academic mentor does not have to be a radiologist or a doctor but must have suitable academic experience to support the lead applicant. It is expected that the mentor will hold a MD(Res) or PhD but those with equivalent academic experience can be considered. 

How to apply
Applications should be emailed to [email protected], with supporting documentation, before the closing deadline of 5pm 5th June 2026 (late applications will not be considered). Applications should be accompanied by an up-to-date short CV (max 2 pages) for the applicant and academic mentor and written agreement of the host department.
 
Please complete all sections of the application form. You may embed two figures within the project plan, but this should not be used to overcome the 3 page limit in part 2(B).
 
Scoring
After the closing date the longlisted applications will be individually scored by the scoring subcommittee. It is anticipated the subcommittee will also include a lay representative so applicants are advised pay special attention to the lay summary and PPIE sections of the form. 

The value and total numbers of bursaries will be decided at the discretion of the scoring subcommittee.

Priority will be given to applicants without significant prior academic experiences as the aim of the bursary is to broaden the pool of academic GI and abdominal radiologists and provide opportunity to those who may not have had them before. 

Questions and further support?  Click here to view FAQs pdf. Queries can be directed to [email protected] and will be answered as soon as possible. 

Dr Anita Wale (BSGAR Research Officer) will host a live webinar to answer any questions on Thursday 26th March at 12:30pm. Sign up will not be required in advance and the webinar will be hosted on Zoom. Click here to join.