diff --git a/app/controllers/researchers_controller.rb b/app/controllers/researchers_controller.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f462b3785
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/controllers/researchers_controller.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+class ResearchersController < ApplicationController
+  include ActionController::MimeResponds
+
+  prepend_before_action :authenticate_user!
+  before_action :set_researcher, only: [:show, :destroy]
+  load_and_authorize_resource except: [:index, :update]
+
+  def index
+    sort = case params[:sort]
+           when "relevance" then { "_score" => { order: 'desc' }}
+           when "name" then { "family_name.raw" => { order: 'asc' }}
+           when "-name" then { "family_name.raw" => { order: 'desc' }}
+           when "created" then { created_at: { order: 'asc' }}
+           when "-created" then { created_at: { order: 'desc' }}
+           else { "family_name.raw" => { order: 'asc' }}
+           end
+
+    page = page_from_params(params)
+
+    if params[:id].present?
+      response = Researcher.find_by_id(params[:id])
+    elsif params[:ids].present?
+      response = Researcher.find_by_id(params[:ids], page: page, sort: sort)
+    else
+      response = Researcher.query(params[:query], page: page, sort: sort)
+    end
+
+    begin
+      total = response.results.total
+      total_pages = page[:size] > 0 ? (total.to_f / page[:size]).ceil : 0
+      options = {}
+      options[:meta] = {
+        total: total,
+        "totalPages" => total_pages,
+        page: page[:number]
+      }.compact
+
+      options[:links] = {
+        self: request.original_url,
+        next: response.results.blank? ? nil : request.base_url + "/researchers?" + {
+          query: params[:query],
+          "page[number]" => page[:number] + 1,
+          "page[size]" => page[:size],
+          sort: params[:sort] }.compact.to_query
+        }.compact
+      options[:is_collection] = true
+
+      fields = fields_from_params(params)
+      if fields
+        render json: ResearcherSerializer.new(response.results, options.merge(fields: fields)).serialized_json, status: :ok
+      else
+        render json: ResearcherSerializer.new(response.results, options).serialized_json, status: :ok
+      end
+    rescue Elasticsearch::Transport::Transport::Errors::BadRequest => exception
+      Raven.capture_exception(exception)
+
+      message = JSON.parse(exception.message[6..-1]).to_h.dig("error", "root_cause", 0, "reason")
+
+      render json: { "errors" => { "title" => message }}.to_json, status: :bad_request
+    end
+  end
+
+  def show
+    options = {}
+    options[:is_collection] = false
+    render json: ResearcherSerializer.new(@researcher, options).serialized_json, status: :ok
+  end
+
+  def create
+    logger = Logger.new(STDOUT)
+    @researcher = Researcher.new(safe_params)
+    authorize! :create, @researcher
+
+    if @researcher.save
+      options = {}
+      options[:is_collection] = false
+      render json: ResearcherSerializer.new(@researcher, options).serialized_json, status: :created
+    else
+      logger.warn @researcher.errors.inspect
+      render json: serialize_errors(@researcher.errors), status: :unprocessable_entity
+    end
+  end
+
+  def update
+    logger = Logger.new(STDOUT)
+    @researcher = Researcher.where(uid: params[:id]).first
+    exists = @researcher.present?
+
+    # create researcher if it doesn't exist already
+    @researcher = Researcher.new(safe_params.except(:format).merge(uid: params[:id])) unless @researcher.present?
+
+    logger.info @researcher.inspect
+    authorize! :update, @researcher
+
+    if @researcher.update_attributes(safe_params)
+      options = {}
+      options[:is_collection] = false
+      render json: ResearcherSerializer.new(@researcher, options).serialized_json, status: exists ? :ok : :created
+    else
+      logger.warn @researcher.errors.inspect
+      render json: serialize_errors(@researcher.errors), status: :unprocessable_entity
+    end
+  end
+
+  def destroy
+    logger = Logger.new(STDOUT)
+    if @researcher.destroy
+      head :no_content
+    else
+      logger.warn @researcher.errors.inspect
+      render json: serialize_errors(@researcher.errors), status: :unprocessable_entity
+    end
+  end
+
+  protected
+
+  def set_researcher
+    @researcher = Researcher.where(uid: params[:id]).first
+    fail ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound unless @researcher.present?
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  def safe_params
+    fail JSON::ParserError, "You need to provide a payload following the JSONAPI spec" unless params[:data].present?
+    ActiveModelSerializers::Deserialization.jsonapi_parse!(
+      params,
+      only: [
+        :uid, :name, "givenNames", "familyName"
+      ],
+      keys: {
+        id: :uid, "givenNames" => :given_names, "familyName" => :family_name
+      }
+    )
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/jobs/orcid_auto_update_by_id_job.rb b/app/jobs/orcid_auto_update_by_id_job.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a7d9c3502
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/jobs/orcid_auto_update_by_id_job.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+class OrcidAutoUpdateByIdJob < ActiveJob::Base
+  queue_as :lupo_background
+
+  # retry_on ActiveRecord::Deadlocked, wait: 10.seconds, attempts: 3
+  # retry_on Faraday::TimeoutError, wait: 10.minutes, attempts: 3
+
+  # discard_on ActiveJob::DeserializationError
+
+  def perform(id)
+    logger = Logger.new(STDOUT)
+
+    orcid = orcid_from_url(id)
+    return {} unless orcid.present?
+
+    # check whether ORCID ID has been registered with DataCite already
+    result = Researcher.find_by_id(orcid).results.first
+    return {} unless result.blank?
+
+    # otherwise fetch basic ORCID metadata and store with DataCite
+    url = "https://pub.orcid.org/v2.1/#{orcid}/person"
+    # if Rails.env.production?
+    #   url = "https://pub.orcid.org/v2.1/#{orcid}/person"
+    # else
+    #   url = "https://pub.sandbox.orcid.org/v2.1/#{orcid}/person"
+    # end
+
+    response = Maremma.get(url, accept: "application/vnd.orcid+json")
+    return {} if response.status != 200
+
+    message = response.body.fetch("data", {})
+    attributes = parse_message(message: message)
+    data = {
+      "data" => {
+        "type" => "researchers",
+        "attributes" => attributes
+      }
+    }
+    url = "http://localhost/researchers/#{orcid}"
+    response = Maremma.put(url, accept: 'application/vnd.api+json', 
+                                content_type: 'application/vnd.api+json',
+                                data: data.to_json, 
+                                username: ENV["ADMIN_USERNAME"],
+                                password: ENV["ADMIN_PASSWORD"])
+
+    if [200, 201].include?(response.status)
+      logger.info "ORCID #{orcid} added."
+    else
+      puts response.body["errors"].inspect
+      logger.warn "[Error for ORCID #{orcid}]: " + response.body["errors"].inspect
+    end
+  end
+
+  def parse_message(message: nil)
+    given_names = message.dig("name", "given-names", "value")
+    family_name = message.dig("name", "family-name", "value")
+    if message.dig("name", "credit-name", "value").present?
+      name = message.dig("name", "credit-name", "value")
+    elsif given_names.present? || family_name.present?
+      name = [given_names, family_name].join(" ")
+    else
+      name = nil
+    end
+
+    {
+      "name" => name,
+      "givenNames" => given_names,
+      "familyName" => family_name }.compact
+  end
+
+  def orcid_from_url(url)
+    Array(/\A(http|https):\/\/orcid\.org\/(.+)/.match(url)).last
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/jobs/orcid_auto_update_job.rb b/app/jobs/orcid_auto_update_job.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..40474ef03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/jobs/orcid_auto_update_job.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+class OrcidAutoUpdateJob < ActiveJob::Base
+  queue_as :lupo_background
+
+  def perform(ids)
+    ids.each { |id| OrcidAutoUpdateByIdJob.perform_later(id) }
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/models/concerns/indexable.rb b/app/models/concerns/indexable.rb
index 7c8b6ec69..80c7bf3f8 100644
--- a/app/models/concerns/indexable.rb
+++ b/app/models/concerns/indexable.rb
@@ -114,6 +114,10 @@ def query(query, options={})
         from = 0
         search_after = [options.dig(:page, :cursor)]
         sort = [{ created: { order: 'asc' }}]
+      elsif self.name == "Researcher" && options.dig(:page, :cursor).present?
+        from = 0
+        search_after = [options.dig(:page, :cursor)]
+        sort = [{ created_at: { order: 'asc' }}]
       elsif options.dig(:page, :cursor).present?
         from = 0
         search_after = [options.dig(:page, :cursor)]
diff --git a/app/models/event.rb b/app/models/event.rb
index 7666df154..1f4cd3759 100644
--- a/app/models/event.rb
+++ b/app/models/event.rb
@@ -331,6 +331,32 @@ def self.update_datacite_crossref(options={})
     response.results.total
   end
 
+  def self.update_datacite_orcid_auto_update(options={})
+    logger = Logger.new(STDOUT)
+
+    size = (options[:size] || 1000).to_i
+    cursor = (options[:cursor] || 0).to_i
+
+    response = Event.query(nil, source_id: "datacite-orcid-auto-update", page: { size: 1, cursor: cursor })
+    logger.info "[Update] #{response.results.total} events for source datacite-orcid-auto-update."
+
+    # walk through results using cursor
+    if response.results.total > 0
+      while response.results.results.length > 0 do
+        response = Event.query(nil, source_id: "datacite-orcid-auto-update", page: { size: size, cursor: cursor })
+        break unless response.results.results.length > 0
+
+        logger.info "[Update] Updating #{response.results.results.length} datacite-orcid-auto-update events starting with _id #{cursor + 1}."
+        cursor = response.results.to_a.last[:sort].first.to_i
+
+        ids = response.results.results.map(&:obj_id).uniq
+        OrcidAutoUpdateJob.perform_later(ids)
+      end
+    end
+
+    response.results.total
+  end
+
   def to_param  # overridden, use uuid instead of id
     uuid
   end
diff --git a/app/models/researcher.rb b/app/models/researcher.rb
index 8f5ab3f0a..aec33bfec 100644
--- a/app/models/researcher.rb
+++ b/app/models/researcher.rb
@@ -1,30 +1,75 @@
-class Researcher
-  def self.find_by_id(id)
-    orcid = orcid_from_url(id)
-    return {} unless orcid.present?
+class Researcher < ActiveRecord::Base
+  # include helper module for Elasticsearch
+  include Indexable
 
-    url = "https://pub.orcid.org/v2.1/#{orcid}/person"
-    response = Maremma.get(url, accept: "application/vnd.orcid+json")
+  include Elasticsearch::Model
 
-    return {} if response.status != 200
+  validates_presence_of :uid
+  validates_uniqueness_of :uid
+  validates_format_of :email, with: /\A([^@\s]+)@((?:[-a-z0-9]+\.)+[a-z]{2,})\Z/i, if: :email?
+  
+  # use different index for testing
+  index_name Rails.env.test? ? "researchers-test" : "researchers"
 
-    message = response.body.fetch("data", {})
-    data = [parse_message(id: id, message: message)]
+  settings index: {
+    analysis: {
+      analyzer: {
+        string_lowercase: { tokenizer: 'keyword', filter: %w(lowercase ascii_folding) }
+      },
+      filter: { ascii_folding: { type: 'asciifolding', preserve_original: true } }
+    }
+  } do
+    mapping dynamic: 'false' do
+      indexes :id,            type: :keyword
+      indexes :uid,           type: :keyword
+      indexes :name,          type: :text, fields: { keyword: { type: "keyword" }, raw: { type: "text", "analyzer": "string_lowercase", "fielddata": true }}
+      indexes :given_names,   type: :text, fields: { keyword: { type: "keyword" }, raw: { type: "text", "analyzer": "string_lowercase", "fielddata": true }}
+      indexes :family_name,   type: :text, fields: { keyword: { type: "keyword" }, raw: { type: "text", "analyzer": "string_lowercase", "fielddata": true }}
+      indexes :created_at,    type: :date
+      indexes :updated_at,    type: :date
+    end
+  end
 
-    errors = response.body.fetch("errors", nil)
+  # also index id as workaround for finding the correct key in associations
+  def as_indexed_json(options={})
+    {
+      "id" => uid,
+      "uid" => uid,
+      "name" => name,
+      "given_names" => given_names,
+      "family_name" => family_name,
+      "created_at" => created_at,
+      "updated_at" => updated_at
+    }
+  end
 
-    { data: data, errors: errors }
+  def self.query_fields
+    ['uid^10', 'name^5', 'given_names^5', 'family_name^5', '_all']
   end
 
-  def self.parse_message(id: nil, message: nil)
-    {
-      id: id,
-      name: message.dig("name", "credit-name", "value"),
-      "givenName" => message.dig("name", "given-names", "value"),
-      "familyName" => message.dig("name", "family-name", "value") }.compact
+  def self.query_aggregations
+    {}
   end
 
-  def self.orcid_from_url(url)
-    Array(/\A(http|https):\/\/orcid\.org\/(.+)/.match(url)).last
+  # return results for one or more ids
+  def self.find_by_id(ids, options={})
+    ids = ids.split(",") if ids.is_a?(String)
+    
+    options[:page] ||= {}
+    options[:page][:number] ||= 1
+    options[:page][:size] ||= 1000
+    options[:sort] ||= { created_at: { order: "asc" }}
+
+    __elasticsearch__.search({
+      from: (options.dig(:page, :number) - 1) * options.dig(:page, :size),
+      size: options.dig(:page, :size),
+      sort: [options[:sort]],
+      query: {
+        terms: {
+          uid: ids
+        }
+      },
+      aggregations: query_aggregations
+    })
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/serializers/researcher_serializer.rb b/app/serializers/researcher_serializer.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..225d6e163
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/serializers/researcher_serializer.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+class ResearcherSerializer
+  include FastJsonapi::ObjectSerializer
+  set_key_transform :camel_lower
+  set_type :researchers
+  set_id :uid
+  
+  attributes :name, :given_names, :family_name, :created_at, :updated_at
+end
diff --git a/config/routes.rb b/config/routes.rb
index ccad96033..b80c845d4 100644
--- a/config/routes.rb
+++ b/config/routes.rb
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@
     resources :prefixes, constraints: { :id => /.+/ }
   end
   resources :providers, constraints: { :id => /.+/ }
-
+  resources :researchers
   resources :resource_types, path: 'resource-types', only: [:show, :index]
 
   # custom routes for maintenance tasks
diff --git a/db/migrate/20190629072238_add_researchers_table.rb b/db/migrate/20190629072238_add_researchers_table.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ff22d3ecf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20190629072238_add_researchers_table.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+class AddResearchersTable < ActiveRecord::Migration[5.2]
+  def up
+    create_table "researchers", force: :cascade do |t|
+      t.string   "name",                 limit: 191
+      t.string   "family_name",          limit: 191
+      t.string   "given_names",          limit: 191
+      t.string   "email",                limit: 191
+      t.string   "provider",             limit: 255,   default: "orcid"
+      t.string   "uid",                  limit: 191
+      t.string   "authentication_token", limit: 191
+      t.string   "role_id",              limit: 255,   default: "user"
+      t.boolean  "auto_update",                        default: true
+      t.datetime "expires_at",                         default: '1970-01-01 00:00:00', null: false
+      t.datetime "created_at",           precision: 3
+      t.datetime "updated_at",           precision: 3
+      t.text     "other_names",          limit: 65535
+      t.string   "confirmation_token",   limit: 191
+      t.datetime "confirmed_at"
+      t.datetime "confirmation_sent_at"
+      t.string   "unconfirmed_email",    limit: 255
+      t.string   "github",               limit: 191
+      t.string   "github_uid",           limit: 191
+      t.string   "github_token",         limit: 191
+      t.string   "google_uid",           limit: 191
+      t.string   "google_token",         limit: 191
+      t.integer  "github_put_code",      limit: 4
+      t.boolean  "is_public",                          default: true
+      t.boolean  "beta_tester",                        default: false
+    end
+  
+    add_index "researchers", ["uid"], name: "index_researchers_on_uid", unique: true, using: :btree
+  end
+
+  def down
+    drop_table :researchers
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
index 25460d010..2e434a8b3 100644
--- a/db/schema.rb
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 2019_06_21_202343) do
+ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 2019_06_29_072238) do
 
-  create_table "active_storage_attachments", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_bin", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "active_storage_attachments", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 COLLATE=utf8_bin ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "name", limit: 191, null: false
     t.string "record_type", null: false
     t.bigint "record_id", null: false
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
     t.index ["record_type", "record_id", "name", "blob_id"], name: "index_active_storage_attachments_uniqueness", unique: true
   end
 
-  create_table "active_storage_blobs", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_bin", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "active_storage_blobs", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 COLLATE=utf8_bin ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "key", limit: 191, null: false
     t.string "filename", limit: 191, null: false
     t.string "content_type", limit: 191
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
     t.index ["key"], name: "index_active_storage_blobs_on_key", unique: true
   end
 
-  create_table "allocator", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "allocator", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "system_email", null: false
     t.datetime "created"
     t.integer "doi_quota_allowed", null: false
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@
     t.index ["symbol"], name: "symbol", unique: true
   end
 
-  create_table "allocator_prefixes", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "allocator_prefixes", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.bigint "allocator", null: false
     t.bigint "prefixes", null: false
     t.datetime "created_at"
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
     t.index ["prefixes"], name: "FKE7FBD674AF86A1C7"
   end
 
-  create_table "audits", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_bin", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "audits", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 COLLATE=utf8_bin ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "auditable_id"
     t.string "auditable_type"
     t.integer "associated_id"
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@
     t.index ["user_id", "user_type"], name: "user_index"
   end
 
-  create_table "datacentre", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "datacentre", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.text "comments", limit: 4294967295
     t.string "contact_email", null: false
     t.string "contact_name", limit: 80, null: false
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@
     t.index ["url"], name: "index_datacentre_on_url", length: 100
   end
 
-  create_table "datacentre_prefixes", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "datacentre_prefixes", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.bigint "datacentre", null: false
     t.bigint "prefixes", null: false
     t.datetime "created_at"
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@
     t.index ["prefixes"], name: "FK13A1B3BAAF86A1C7"
   end
 
-  create_table "dataset", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "dataset", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.datetime "created"
     t.string "doi", null: false
     t.binary "is_active", limit: 1, null: false
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
     t.index ["url"], name: "index_dataset_on_url", length: 100
   end
 
-  create_table "events", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "events", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_bin ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.text "uuid", null: false
     t.text "subj_id", null: false
     t.text "obj_id"
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@
     t.index ["uuid"], name: "index_events_on_uuid", unique: true, length: 36
   end
 
-  create_table "media", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "media", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.datetime "created"
     t.string "media_type", limit: 80
     t.datetime "updated"
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@
     t.index ["url"], name: "index_media_on_url", length: 100
   end
 
-  create_table "metadata", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "metadata", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.datetime "created"
     t.integer "metadata_version"
     t.integer "version"
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@
     t.index ["dataset"], name: "FKE52D7B2F4D3D6B1B"
   end
 
-  create_table "prefix", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "prefix", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.datetime "created"
     t.string "prefix", limit: 80, null: false
     t.integer "version"
@@ -258,6 +258,35 @@
     t.index ["prefix"], name: "prefix", unique: true
   end
 
+  create_table "researchers", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.string "name", limit: 191
+    t.string "family_name", limit: 191
+    t.string "given_names", limit: 191
+    t.string "email", limit: 191
+    t.string "provider", default: "orcid"
+    t.string "uid", limit: 191
+    t.string "authentication_token", limit: 191
+    t.string "role_id", default: "user"
+    t.boolean "auto_update", default: true
+    t.datetime "expires_at", default: "1970-01-01 00:00:00", null: false
+    t.datetime "created_at", precision: 3
+    t.datetime "updated_at", precision: 3
+    t.text "other_names"
+    t.string "confirmation_token", limit: 191
+    t.datetime "confirmed_at"
+    t.datetime "confirmation_sent_at"
+    t.string "unconfirmed_email"
+    t.string "github", limit: 191
+    t.string "github_uid", limit: 191
+    t.string "github_token", limit: 191
+    t.string "google_uid", limit: 191
+    t.string "google_token", limit: 191
+    t.integer "github_put_code"
+    t.boolean "is_public", default: true
+    t.boolean "beta_tester", default: false
+    t.index ["uid"], name: "index_researchers_on_uid", unique: true
+  end
+
   add_foreign_key "allocator_prefixes", "allocator", column: "allocator", name: "FKE7FBD67446EBD781"
   add_foreign_key "allocator_prefixes", "prefix", column: "prefixes", name: "FKE7FBD674AF86A1C7"
   add_foreign_key "datacentre", "allocator", column: "allocator", name: "FK6695D60546EBD781"
diff --git a/lib/tasks/event.rake b/lib/tasks/event.rake
index b0ca30fd7..e9e206e05 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/event.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/event.rake
@@ -40,3 +40,12 @@ namespace :datacite_crossref do
     Event.update_datacite_crossref(cursor: cursor)
   end
 end
+
+namespace :datacite_orcid_auto_update do
+  desc 'Import orcid ids for all events'
+  task :import_orcid => :environment do
+    cursor = (ENV['CURSOR'] || Event.minimum(:id)).to_i
+
+    Event.update_datacite_orcid_auto_update(cursor: cursor)
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/tasks/provider.rake b/lib/tasks/provider.rake
index 0d5649688..bc68acc2d 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/provider.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/provider.rake
@@ -19,4 +19,4 @@ namespace :provider do
   task :refresh_index => :environment do
     Provider.__elasticsearch__.refresh_index!
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
diff --git a/lib/tasks/researcher.rake b/lib/tasks/researcher.rake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ce2ae17eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/tasks/researcher.rake
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+namespace :researcher do
+  desc 'Import all researchers'
+  task :import => :environment do
+    Researcher.__elasticsearch__.create_index!
+    Researcher.import
+  end
+
+  desc "Create index for researchers"
+  task :create_index => :environment do
+    Researcher.__elasticsearch__.create_index!
+  end
+
+  desc "Delete index for researchers"
+  task :delete_index => :environment do
+    Researcher.__elasticsearch__.delete_index!
+  end
+
+  desc "Refresh index for researchers"
+  task :refresh_index => :environment do
+    Researcher.__elasticsearch__.refresh_index!
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/factories/default.rb b/spec/factories/default.rb
index 982528f38..f54fc6c86 100644
--- a/spec/factories/default.rb
+++ b/spec/factories/default.rb
@@ -262,6 +262,11 @@
     association :provider, factory: :provider, strategy: :create
   end
 
+  factory :researcher do
+    sequence(:uid) { |n| "0000-0001-6528-202#{n}" }
+    name { Faker::Name.name }
+  end
+
   factory :activity do  
     association :doi, factory: :doi, strategy: :create
   end
diff --git a/spec/jobs/orcid_auto_update_by_id_job_spec.rb b/spec/jobs/orcid_auto_update_by_id_job_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3924a40d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/jobs/orcid_auto_update_by_id_job_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+describe OrcidAutoUpdateByIdJob, type: :job do
+  let(:researcher) { create(:researcher) }
+  subject(:job) { OrcidAutoUpdateByIdJob.perform_later(researcher.uid) }
+
+  it 'queues the job' do
+    expect { job }.to have_enqueued_job(OrcidAutoUpdateByIdJob)
+      .on_queue("test_lupo_background")
+  end
+
+  after do
+    clear_enqueued_jobs
+    clear_performed_jobs
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/models/researcher_spec.rb b/spec/models/researcher_spec.rb
index 0cff28dd2..f7e8a656e 100644
--- a/spec/models/researcher_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/researcher_spec.rb
@@ -1,21 +1,8 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
-require 'rails_helper'
+require "rails_helper"
 
 describe Researcher, type: :model, vcr: true do
-  describe "find_by_id" do
-    it "found" do
-      id = "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1419-2405"
-      researchers = Researcher.find_by_id(id)
-      expect(researchers[:data].size).to eq(1)
-      expect(researchers[:data].first).to eq(id: "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1419-2405", name: "Martin Fenner", "givenName" => "Martin", "familyName" => "Fenner")
-    end
-
-    it "not found" do
-      id = "https://orcid.org/xxx"
-      researchers = Researcher.find_by_id(id)
-      expect(researchers[:data]).to be_nil
-      expect(researchers[:errors]).to be_nil
-    end
-  end
+  it { is_expected.to validate_presence_of(:uid) }
+  it { is_expected.to validate_uniqueness_of(:uid) }
 end
diff --git a/spec/requests/researchers_spec.rb b/spec/requests/researchers_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cc8b747b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/requests/researchers_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+describe "Researchers", type: :request, elasticsearch: true  do
+  let!(:researcher) { create(:researcher) }
+  let(:token) { User.generate_token }
+  let(:params) do
+    { "data" => { "type" => "researchers",
+                  "attributes" => {
+                    "name" => "Martin Fenner" } } }
+  end
+  let(:headers) { {'HTTP_ACCEPT'=>'application/vnd.api+json', 'HTTP_AUTHORIZATION' => 'Bearer ' + token } }
+
+  describe 'GET /researchers' do
+    let!(:researchers)  { create_list(:researcher, 3) }
+
+    before do
+      Researcher.import
+      sleep 1
+    end
+
+    it "returns researchers" do
+      get "/researchers", nil, headers
+
+      expect(last_response.status).to eq(200)
+      expect(json['data'].size).to eq(4)
+      expect(json.dig('meta', 'total')).to eq(4)
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'GET /researchers/:id' do
+    context 'when the record exists' do
+      it 'returns the researcher' do
+        get "/researchers/#{researcher.uid}", nil, headers
+
+        expect(last_response.status).to eq(200)
+        expect(json['data']['id']).to eq(researcher.uid)
+        expect(json['data']['attributes']['name']).to eq(researcher.name)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'POST /researchers' do
+    context 'request is valid' do
+      let(:params) do
+        { "data" => { "type" => "researchers",
+                      "attributes" => {
+                        "uid" => "0000-0003-2584-9687",
+                        "name" => "James Gill",
+                        "givenNames" => "James",
+                        "familyName" => "Gill" } } }
+      end
+
+      it 'creates a researcher' do
+        post '/researchers', params, headers
+
+        expect(json.dig('data', 'attributes', 'name')).to eq("James Gill")
+      end
+
+      it 'returns status code 201' do
+        post '/researchers', params, headers
+
+        expect(last_response.status).to eq(201)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'request uses basic auth' do
+      let(:params) do
+        { "data" => { "type" => "researchers",
+                      "attributes" => {
+                        "uid" => "0000-0003-2584-9687",
+                        "name" => "James Gill" } } }
+      end
+      let(:admin) { create(:provider, symbol: "ADMIN", role_name: "ROLE_ADMIN", password_input: "12345") }
+      let(:credentials) { admin.encode_auth_param(username: "ADMIN", password: "12345") }
+      let(:headers) { {'HTTP_ACCEPT'=>'application/vnd.api+json', 'HTTP_AUTHORIZATION' => 'Basic ' + credentials } }
+
+      it 'creates a researcher' do
+        post '/researchers', params, headers
+
+        expect(last_response.status).to eq(201)
+        expect(json.dig('data', 'attributes', 'name')).to eq("James Gill")
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'when the request is missing a required attribute' do
+      let(:params) do
+        { "data" => { "type" => "researchers",
+                      "attributes" => { } } }
+      end
+
+      it 'returns a validation failure message' do
+        post '/researchers', params, headers
+
+        expect(last_response.status).to eq(422)
+        expect(json["errors"].first).to eq("source"=>"uid", "title"=>"Can't be blank")
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'when the request is missing a data object' do
+      let(:params) do
+        { "type" => "researchers",
+          "attributes" => {
+            "uid" => "0000-0003-2584-9687",
+            "name" => "James Gill"  } }
+      end
+
+      it 'returns status code 400' do
+        post '/researchers', params, headers
+
+        expect(last_response.status).to eq(400)
+      end
+
+      # it 'returns a validation failure message' do
+      #   expect(response["exception"]).to eq("#<JSON::ParserError: You need to provide a payload following the JSONAPI spec>")
+      # end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'PUT /researchers/:id' do
+    context 'when the record exists' do
+      let(:params) do
+        { "data" => { "type" => "researchers",
+                      "attributes" => {
+                        "name" => "James Watt" } } }
+      end
+
+      it 'updates the record' do
+        put "/researchers/#{researcher.uid}", params, headers
+
+        expect(last_response.status).to eq(200)
+        expect(json.dig('data', 'attributes', 'name')).to eq("James Watt")
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  # # Test suite for DELETE /researchers/:id
+  # describe 'DELETE /researchers/:id' do
+  #   before { delete "/researchers/#{researcher.symbol}", headers: headers }
+
+  #   it 'returns status code 204' do
+  #     expect(response).to have_http_status(204)
+  #   end
+  #   context 'when the resources doesnt exist' do
+  #     before { delete '/researchers/xxx', params: params.to_json, headers: headers }
+
+  #     it 'returns status code 404' do
+  #       expect(response).to have_http_status(404)
+  #     end
+
+  #     it 'returns a validation failure message' do
+  #       expect(json["errors"].first).to eq("status"=>"404", "title"=>"The resource you are looking for doesn't exist.")
+  #     end
+  #   end
+  # end
+
+  # describe 'POST /researchers/set-test-prefix' do
+  #   before { post '/researchers/set-test-prefix', headers: headers }
+
+  #   it 'returns success' do
+  #     expect(json['message']).to eq("Test prefix added.")
+  #   end
+
+  #   it 'returns status code 200' do
+  #     expect(response).to have_http_status(200)
+  #   end
+  # end
+end
diff --git a/spec/support/elasticsearch_helper.rb b/spec/support/elasticsearch_helper.rb
index a4d4ecdd3..fa78570da 100644
--- a/spec/support/elasticsearch_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/support/elasticsearch_helper.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ## https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch-ruby/issues/462
-SEARCHABLE_MODELS = [Client, Provider, Doi, Event]
+SEARCHABLE_MODELS = [Client, Provider, Doi, Event, Researcher]
 
 RSpec.configure do |config|
   config.around :all, elasticsearch: true do |example|