Reflections on 10 years of research capacity building

There are major concerns about the decline in translational research capacity in the UK with potential knock-on implications for advances in clinical care and the growth of the life sciences sector. As co-leads and student representative for a UK-wide Postgraduate Training and Capacity building programme for the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research (AUKCAR), we have learnt much from our 10 years of developing and delivering a UK-wide academic training initiative involving 17 partner universities. We discuss learnings from a broader research capacity building perspective, with a focus on maintaining a pipeline of respiratory-interested researchers, including clinical academics. In this article, we reflect on what we hoped to achieve, the lessons learnt along the way, and implications for others seeking to improve the research pipeline.