Deadline: 18-Oct-22

Applications are now open for the Wellcome Early-Career Awards to provide funding for early-career researchers from any discipline who are ready to develop their research identity.

Through innovative projects, they will deliver shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing. By the end of the award, they will be ready to lead their own independent research programme.

Categories

The award includes:

• a basic salary (determined by your host organisation)
• relocation allowance
• staff
• continuing professional development and training
• materials and consumables
• animals
• equipment
• access charges
• overheads
• travel and subsistence
• overseas allowances
• fieldwork expenses
• inflation allowance
• open access charges
• clinical research costs
• public engagement and patient involvement costs
• contract research organisations
• other costs

Funding Information

• Your salary and up to £400,000 for research expenses.
• Usually 5 years, but may be less for some disciplines, and may only be longer if held on a part-time basis.

During the award, they expect you to

• expand your technical skills and/or your experience of different research methodologies or frameworks
• build a collaborative network with other researchers in your field
• develop your people management skills
• advance your understanding of how to complete research responsibly and promote a positive and inclusive culture.

Eligibility Criteria

• You can apply to this scheme if you are an early-career researcher and you are ready to design, plan and deliver your own innovative research project that aims to:
  • advance understanding in your field
  • develop methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques that could benefit health-related research.
• You must have:
  • completed a PhD (for example, in the life sciences) or an equivalent higher research degree. At the point of application you must have passed your viva examination.
  • if you have not started a PhD or equivalent degree, at least four years’ equivalent research experience (for example, in the humanities and social sciences).
• You may also have some postdoctoral experience in your proposed field of study, but no more than three years unless you can demonstrate how other factors have impacted on your research career. When they review how much postdoctoral experience you have, they will allow for part-time work, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, career breaks and other significant amounts of time spent outside research, for example clinical training.
• They will also consider whether you have changed research discipline. For example, moving from astrophysics to computational neuroscience. There may be some crossover, such as in research sites or techniques, but the shift should still be a significant change.
• They consider postdoctoral experience as any periods spent in research after you passed your PhD/higher research degree viva.
• You should be able to demonstrate:
  • a good understanding of research methodology
  • evidence of project delivery and analysis.

For more information, visit https://wellcome.org/grant-funding/schemes/early-career-awards#how-to-apply-ebb4