Associate interest group membership

Crick interest groups are where scientific discussions happen and culture builds. They are a key opportunity to deepen the scientific and personal relationships between the Crick and the breadth and depth of research excellence across the partner universities (University College London, Imperial College London and King’s College London).

To foster these relationships, we invite researchers from our partner universities to join the Crick's interest groups as an associate member to attend the internal seminars and symposia and become part of and contribute to the scientific discourse at the Crick.

About our interest groups 

The Crick interest groups were developed to bring together scientists working on diverse biological systems, with many different complementary sets of expertise, to understand how these processes are regulated in health, and how their breakdown can result in diverse diseases. 

The aim of the Crick interest groups is to build communities around common scientific interest, enhance scientific discussion by strengthening existing interactions and promoting new links within and across the different interest groups. They also provide a key training platform for PhDs, postdocs and laboratory research scientists.

There are currently seven interest groups at the Crick. Internal seminars for each interest group generally run on the same day each week during term time but these may be subject to change:

• Cancer (seminars held on Wednesdays, 14:00–15:00)
• Development and Stem Cells (seminars held on Fridays, 15:30–16:30)
• Genes to Cells (seminars held on Wednesdays, 16:00–17:00)
• Immunology (internal seminars held on Wednesdays, 12:00–13:00, external seminars Friday 12:00–13:00)
• Host and Pathogen (seminars held on Thursdays, 11:00–12:00)
• Neuroscience (internal seminars held on alternating Wednesdays, 13:30–14:30, external seminars Friday 14:00–15:00)
• Structural and Chemical Biology (internal seminars held on Wednesdays, 12:00–13:00)

Interest group events

Interest groups have several types of events where activity and discussions take place, internal and external seminars as well as other, less regular formats such as symposia or discussions. Associate Members and their nominated group members are invited to attend all of these.

Application guidelines for associate membership of interest groups

Periodically, we open the interest groups to new associate membership and we very much welcome applications.

Eligibility and expectations of applicants

To apply to become an associate member of an interest group, you should: 

• Be a PI employed at a Crick partner university – UCL, King’s and Imperial.
• Have complementary scientific expertise to one of the seven interest groups (see above), with the potential to collaborate with other interest group members.
• Be interested in enhancing scientific discourse and contributing to both the concept of the ‘greater Crick’ and new collaborations that will benefit your home university scientific community.
• Be able to regularly attend the internal seminars in-person at the Crick. Your two nominated group members must be able to do the same. Please note the timings of each interest group above to ensure that regular attendance is possible.
• Allow your nominated group members to at least annually present the unpublished work of your group at the internal seminars, in an open but confidential environment.
• Please note that unless work is undertaken at the Crick, you should not list the Crick as an affiliation in any publications.

Applying

In applying for this scheme, you are applying to become an associate member of one (or in rare cases two) of the seven Crick interest groups (see above). You will become an interest group member together with up to two members of your group (students or early-stage post-docs) whose work most closely aligns with those of the Crick researchers. These lab members are required to present their research in the interest group internal seminars or symposia as above.

The initiative is open to Crick partner universities and may be extended to some members from other institutions who have made a scientific commitment to work with the Crick.

Applications from partner university PIs should include:

• A short statement (approx. 300 words) indicating the applicant’s interest, how they expect to benefit from, and what they would bring to the interest group that they wish to join. Existing or future potential links to Crick GLs should be discussed here.
• Three exemplar publications that reflect the PIs scientific achievements relevant to the interest group.

Upon acceptance, this material will be used to inform the interest group of the new members’ interests.

Once the application window closes, all applications will be reviewed by Leads from the respective Interest Group. Newly accepted Interest Group Associate Members will be informed of the outcome and are welcome to join internal seminars starting in the new academic year.

Open presentation and discussion of unpublished and preliminary work is at the heart of all interest groups. Thus, not only complementary scientific expertise and interests but also potential conflicts of interest will be a factor in the decision about associate membership applications.

In the event that applications are oversubscribed, or any other potential conflict arises that cannot be resolved between the interest group leader and the partnership manager, then a small committee (Andreas Schaefer, Steve Wilson, Peter Ratcliffe, the University Partnership Manager and the Interest Group Lead/s) will meet to define the best way to proceed.

We envision the interest groups and the associate membership as a key way to deepen scientific relations between the Crick and the breadth and depth of research excellence across the university partners. Thus, we aim and hope for wide interest in the opportunities this offers. 

Please direct any queries to IG-admin@crick.ac.uk