Response Study Supports Undergraduate Internship Programme

We are committed to developing pathways into research for health and social care professionals and growing the next generation of researchers.

The University of Leeds launched their School of Healthcare research internship scheme in 2024, as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Undergraduate Internship Programme. Since then, it has been successful in securing funding for five undergraduate nursing student interns representing Child, Adult, and Mental Health Nursing Programmes.

Meet our 2025/2026 research interns

Daniela Grice (left) and Ellie-May Neville (right).

Our current NIHR-funded research interns (Child Nursing students Daniela Grice and Ellie-May Neville) undertook a five-week research internship led by two mentors, Dr Emma McLorie and Rebecca Talbot. The internships were hosted across two research programmes (The MEND Study and The Response Study) within the School of Healthcare, covering research themes of ‘Ageing well’ and  ‘Quality and Safety’. As well as learning more about research in health and social care settings, our interns also had the chance to attend the annual Nursing Live event and present at both the NIHR INSIGHT Programme and the British Conference of Undergraduate Research in Glasgow.

Daniela and Ellie-May embraced every aspect of the internship, combining academic learning with hands-on research experience. They engaged with leading academics, explored research career pathways, and demonstrated genuine enthusiasm for understanding how high-quality research underpins evidence-based nursing practice.

Balancing clinical placements, academic work and a competitive research internship has been demanding. Yet they both approached it with great discipline, curiosity and professionalism.

Find out more about Daniela Grice and Ellie-May’s Neville internship research experience here:

Ellie-May Neville: https://youtu.be/e0KtrKEKU_k?si=qAYkvBxIx2Roq6xB

Daniela Grice: https://youtu.be/GGIKui4jUdo?si=woeyPCLUPMUDwKGg

Both Ellie-May and Daniela’s research internships were funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Undergraduate Internship Programme. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health and Care Research or the Department of Health and Social Care.