Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 2019, UK

Who can apply

Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships are aimed at researchers who want to undertake a guided period of research and will go on to lead their own independent research.

You must either be in the final year of your PhD studies or be an early-career researcher with some initial postdoctoral experience.

You should have started to make important contributions to your area of research, eg publications, patents, software development or an impact on policy.

You must have an eligible sponsoring organisation in the UK or Republic of Ireland that will administer the fellowship for the full duration of the award.

You must also:

• be a UK or European Economic Area national

or

• have, or expect to have, a PhD from a UK or Republic of Ireland university.

If you've been away from research (eg for a career break, maternity leave, or long-term sick leave), we'll allow for this when we consider your application. 

What we're looking for

During this fellowship, we expect you to develop your scientific independence and expand your research horizons so that you can become a leader in the field. You could do this by developing new skills and/or by working:

• across disciplines
• in new research environments or sectors
• in more than one research location, either in the UK or another country.

We expect you to think about your long-term vision and the skills and competencies you’ll need.

You should identify an important biomedical or population health research question that is within our scientific remit. We want you to drive the development of your proposal (although you should also get advice from your research sponsors and mentor).

We will review:

• your research contributions
• the quality and importance of your research question(s)
• your knowledge of the scientific area
• the feasibility of your proposal
• the suitability of your choice of research sponsors and environments
• your vision of how this fellowship will contribute to your career development.

At the end of this fellowship, you should be able to show:

• you have the potential to be an independent leader in your area of research
• you have the skills and experience to apply for more advanced (intermediate level) funding schemes.

Who can't apply

You can't usually apply if:

• you have previously held or are currently completing a nationally competitive fellowship at an equivalent level
• you're currently applying for another Wellcome fellowship.

You can't apply if you want to combine research with a continuing clinical career in medicine, psychology, dentistry or veterinary practice. Instead, see our clinical fellowship schemes.

If you've already been unsuccessful with a full application for this scheme, please contact us before you apply.

What we offer

The Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship is for four years and can be held on a part-time basis.  An award of £300,000 provides support for:

• a basic salary (determined by your host organisation)
• a fellowship supplement of £2,500 a year, for your personal support
• research expenses directly related to your proposal

We’ll consider requests for additional funding if it’s scientifically justified, eg non-human primate research.

How to apply

You must submit your application through the Wellcome Trust Grant Tracker (WTGT).

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.