Research Career Development Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Science

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Purpose

This scheme provides an opportunity for postdoctoral scientists from across the remits of the Trust's funding streams to become independent research scientists and undertake high-quality research in an eligible Republic of Ireland institution.

The awards will be made in partnership with the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Health Research Board (HRB).

Details of awarded fellows can be found here.

What's included

Fellowships are tenable for five years and provide:

a basic salary, as determined by the host institution, with an additional Wellcome Trust enhancement
research expenses (e.g. consumables, equipment, fieldwork and data collection), including research assistance if required (normally a graduate research assistant or technician; requests for additional research staff may be considered where fieldwork or clinical studies in a low- or middle-income country are proposed)
overseas allowances where appropriate
travel and subsistence for scientifically justified visits of up to one year.

Fellowships may be taken up on a part-time employment basis, where appropriate.

Time permitted for non-research related activity during the fellowship is normally restricted to a maximum of eight hours each week.

Successful candidates for this scheme may be considered for a Wellcome-Beit Prize Fellowship. These are intended to provide additional recognition for outstanding biomedical researchers who have been awarded Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellowships.

Eligibility

You should have a relevant connection to the European Economic Area.

You are expected to have science or veterinary qualifications and, at the preliminary application stage, should normally have between three and six years' research experience from the date of your doctoral degree (PhD viva).

Time spent outside the research environment will be taken into consideration (e.g. time away due to personal reasons such as maternity, paternity, adoption leave or other caring responsibilities; ill-health or working in a non-research environment/role such as industry).

You must have made intellectual contributions to research that have been published in leading journals, and be able to demonstrate your potential to carry out independent research.

The proposed research should fall within our normal funding remit.

Resubmissions are not normally encouraged. If your application has been unsuccessful, please contact the Office for advice.

Sponsorship

You must have an eligible sponsoring host institution in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and an eligible sponsor who can guarantee space and resources for the tenure of any award.

If you propose to undertake fieldwork or research in a low- or middle-income country, you may require an additional sponsor in your overseas institution.

The host institution sponsor:

must have a contract of employment with the institution with tenure beyond the duration of the proposed fellowship
should give an undertaking that if an award is made, you will be granted the status and prerogatives of other academic staff of similar seniority
should not expect you to spend more than eight hours per week on activities unrelated to the fellowship (e.g. teaching duties).

We will normally expect you to have spent less than two years with your current sponsor/department if you plan to apply for a Research Career Development Fellowship in the same location.

Sponsors are encouraged to view their support and mentorship of you as part of a longer-term commitment to help you realise your career aspirations in research.

Sponsors are advised to read all the scheme information provided here.

Application process

A preliminary application form [Word 242KB] should be completed and submitted by the published deadline. It should be sent electronically (as a Word document), with the requested accompanying information, to the appropriate funding stream at the Trust (see ‘Contacts’).

Completed forms will normally be assessed within three weeks of the preliminary deadline.

If successful, you will be invited to submit a full application.

Full applications will be considered twice a year by the Expert Review Group most appropriate to the subject of the proposed research.

If your full application is successful, you will be shortlisted for interview, to be conducted in London.

You will be notified two weeks before the interview date as to whether you have been shortlisted.

Awards will be conditional upon a satisfactory performance at interview.

Application advice

Reviewers typically assess:

the calibre of the candidate
the scientific merit of the proposed project
the significance of the research
the suitability of the sponsor and host environment for the candidate's development as an independent researcher.

You are expected to write your own application for support of an independent project, which should normally be hypothesis-driven.

You should give careful thought to the choice of sponsor and host department/research location. Sponsors are encouraged to view their support and mentorship of you as part of a longer-term commitment to help you realise your career aspirations in research.

You may not apply for more than one Wellcome Trust fellowship scheme at any one time.

Resubmissions are not normally encouraged. If your application has been unsuccessful, please contact the Office for advice.

Fellowships must be taken up within one year of award.

Successful applicants may have the opportunity to apply for Enhancement funding. Details can be found here.

Deadlines

Applications for this scheme are considered twice a year.

Deadline for preliminary applications: 1 November 2013 (5pm)
Deadline for invited full applications: 17 January 2014 (5pm)
Expert Review Group review: Apr/May 2014
Shortlisted candidate interviews: 11-13 June 2014

Schedule for preliminary applications submitted to 15 March 2013 deadline:

Deadline for invited full applications: 10 June 2013 (5pm)
Expert Review Group review: Sept/Oct 2013
Shortlisted candidate interviews: 6-8 November 2013

Late applications will not be accepted at any stage.

Current award holders

A full list of Research Career Development Fellows is available.

Contacts

Enquiries may be directed to the appropriate stream, or by telephone to the Grants Service Desk: +44 (0)20 7611 2020.

Immunology and Infectious Disease
E iid@wellcome.ac.uk

Population and Public Health
E pph@wellcome.ac.uk

Neuroscience and Mental Health
E nmh@wellcome.ac.uk

Cellular, Developmental and Physiological Sciences
E cdps@wellcome.ac.uk

Genetic and Molecular Sciences
E gms@wellcome.ac.uk

See Contact us for our postal address.