Senior Fellowships in Public Health and Tropical Medicine

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Purpose

This scheme supports outstanding researchers from developing countries to establish themselves as leading investigators at an academic institution in a developing country location.

This fellowship is the most senior of a series of career awards aimed at building sustainable capacity in areas of research that have the potential for increasing health benefits for people and their livestock in developing countries.

Research projects must be in the area of public health or tropical medicine, aimed at understanding and controlling human and animal diseases of local, national or global health importance.

What's included

Fellowships are for up to five years in the first instance and provide support that includes:

a basic salary
research expenses (e.g. consumables, equipment, collaborative travel, research assistance, technical support)
training costs where appropriate and justified
an inflation/flexible funding allowance and support to attend scientific meetings.

Contributions to costs of the project that are directly incurred by the overseas institution may also be provided.

The salary should normally be based on the pay scales of the employing institution and must be justified by the head of the institution. The salary level should be appropriate for the holder of a competitive grant and allow him/her to focus full-time on research.

If the fellow is already in receipt of a salary from the host institution, the host institution may use the salary to pay for a replacement member of staff while we provide the fellow's salary for the duration of the fellowship. It is not expected that the fellow will hold a salary in addition to the one provided by the Trust.

Overseas allowances will be provided for periods of training or collaborative research spent outside the home institution country, where appropriate.

Research-dedicated costs (excluding salary costs) should not exceed £100 000 per annum.

This fellowship is subject to competitive rolling scientific review every five years, and will be renewed on the basis that the Trust and the host institution will jointly fund the Senior Fellow's basic employment costs through a partnership arrangement for the duration of any renewal period.

Eligibility

Applications are only accepted in the Public Health and Tropical Medicine Interview Committee remit. This covers research on infectious and non-communicable diseases within the fields of public health and tropical medicine that is aimed at understanding and controlling human and animal diseases of local, national or global health importance.

Some fundamental biomedical studies are acceptable, but projects focused solely on in vitro or animal model studies will not normally be considered under this scheme.

You must be a national or legal resident of a developing country, and be either a:

graduate in a subject relevant to public health or tropical medicine (for example; biomedical or social science, veterinary medicine, physics, chemistry or mathematics) with a PhD and at least five years' postdoctoral experience, or
medical graduate with a higher qualification equivalent to membership of the UK Royal College of Physicians (i.e. qualified to enter higher specialist training), or be recognised as a specialist within a relevant research area, and have at least five years' research experience.

Applicants who do not have a PhD but who are educated to first degree or Master's level and have substantial research experience, as evidenced by their publication record, may be considered.

You should have a substantial record of publications in your chosen area of research in leading international journals. Applications are particularly encouraged from outstanding developing country researchers working overseas who wish to return to their home country.

Due allowance will be given to those whose career has been affected, either by a late start or by interruption, for personal or family reasons.

Please note that researchers based in the restructuring countries of Europe and Asia are not eligible to apply for this scheme.

Sponsorship and supervision

You must be based at an eligible host institution in a developing country, and have an appropriate sponsor who holds an established post for the duration of the fellowship and has a track record in research and research training.

Your sponsor must be able to guarantee that space and facilities will be made available for you. The sponsor is expected to support you in your research and to ensure that you will be released from the majority of your administrative and teaching commitments to enable you to focus on research.

You must have the full support of your sponsor, who should give an undertaking that, conditional only on your sustained performance as a research worker:

if a suitable vacancy arose locally or elsewhere, support would be given to you fellow as a candidate for the post
the sponsoring department would hope during the tenure of the fellowship to be able to arrange for a suitable new post for you.

An additional sponsor(s) must be identified for periods outside the host institution, i.e. the institution(s) where periods of training will take place.

You may apply to remain in your current laboratory (even if you already hold an established post), to return to one where you have previously worked, or to move to a new laboratory, in a developing country.

The time permitted for clinical duties or other non-research activity during the fellowship is normally restricted to a maximum of eight hours each week.

In terms of renewal, fellowships will be subject to a competitive, rolling scientific review every five years. If successful, Senior Fellowships will be renewed on the basis that the Trust and the host institution will jointly fund the Senior Fellow's salary through a partnership for the duration of any renewal period.

In general, fellowships may be held in 'not for profit' institutions that are able to sign up to our Grant Conditions. Institutions that have not previously received significant funding from the Trust will be required to submit information to enable us to assess eligibility. Applications will not be considered by a Funding Committee until all eligibility checks have been completed.

Application process

You are required to complete and submit a preliminary application form [Word 236KB] by the published deadline. The form should be emailed to phatic@wellcome.ac.uk.

Completed forms will normally be assessed within one month of the preliminary deadline. If your preliminary application meets the scheme's requirements, a full application will be invited.

A copy of the home institution's salary scale and justification of your salary level from the head of department should be submitted with your full application.

The full application will be peer reviewed and, if successful, you will then be short-listed for interview by the Public Health and Tropical Medicine Interview Committee.

Candidates shortlisted for interview will normally be notified four weeks before the interview date. Interviews will be conducted at the Wellcome Trust's offices in London. Travel and accommodation costs will be provided.

Fellowships must be taken up within one year of award.

We reserve the right not to process an application if the scheme's eligibility criteria are not met or if the application has not been completed in full.

Application advice

Reviewers typically assess:

your research and career to date
the scientific merit and feasibility of the proposed project
the significance of the science
the suitability of your supervisor, sponsor and host environment.

Successful applicants will have a substantial record of publications in their chosen area of research in leading international journals.

We do not normally accept resubmissions of fellowship applications.

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

Deadlines

Applications are considered three times per year.

Next preliminary application deadline: 5 March 2010
Full application deadline: 14 May 2010
Funding Committee review: October 2010
Interviews: November 2010

Schedule for full applications submitted for 25 September 2009 deadline:

Funding Committee review: February 2010
Short-listed candidate interviews: March 2010

Schedule for full applications submitted for 18 December 2009 deadline:

Funding Committee review: April/May 2010
Short-listed candidate interviews: June 2010

Fellowships must be taken up within one year of award.

Late applications will not be accepted at any stage.

Contacts

Please direct any enquiries to phatic@wellcome.ac.uk, the appropriate funding stream, or by telephone to the Grants Management Helpdesk: +44 (0)20 7611 2020.

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

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

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

Physiological Sciences
E phs@wellcome.ac.uk

Molecules, Genes and Cells
E mgc@wellcome.ac.uk

See our postal address and general contact details.