Apply Now: Wellcome Early-Career Awards Scheme

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

Funding Information

• A Wellcome Early-Career Award provides a salary for the grantholder and up to £400,000 for research expenses.

Eligible Costs

• Overheads
• Overseas allowances
• The cost of macaques purchased from the Centre for Macaques
• Adjustment support, including assistive technology (for example, screen readers or mobility aids) and support staff.

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.
• 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.
• By the end of the award, you should have the research maturity to develop, manage and lead your own creative, independent research programme.
• If you decide not to pursue a career in research, you’ll have transferable skills that you can use in roles related to research or outside of research, for example in industry or teaching.
• Lead applicant career stage and experience
• At the point you submit your application, you must have completed a substantive period of research training relevant to your discipline.
• 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 (for example, parental leave or long-term sick leave) 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.
• You should not need close supervision to complete your proposed research, although you may need training in new techniques and experimental approaches.

Ineligibility Criteria

• You have an existing tenured (salaried) post for the duration of the award (unless based in a low- or middle-income country). You can only relinquish an existing tenured (salaried) post to take up an Early-Career Award if your current post is not research-based.
• You have made an application to this scheme and you are waiting for a decision.
• You hold, have held, or have accepted an offer for an equivalent award at this career stage. An equivalent award does not include short-term funding.

Assessment Criteria

• To be competitive, your research proposal will be:
  • Bold: It aims to deliver a significant shift in understanding and/or it provides a significant advance over existing methodologies, conceptual frameworks, tools or techniques. It has the potential to stimulate new and innovative research.
  • Creative: Your proposed approach is novel – it develops and tests new concepts, methods or technologies, or combines existing ideas and approaches in a new way.
  • High quality: It is well-designed, clear, supported by evidence and the proposed outcomes/outputs are feasible.

For more information, visit Wellcome Trust.