Are you planning to submit a senior research fellowship application for funding competitions with deadlines after March 2026?

We are seeking Expressions of Interest from early career researchers who wish to be sponsored for externally funded fellowships that will allow them to start an independent research group in our Department.  Target fellowship schemes include: NERC Independent Fellowship, ERC Starting / Consolidator Grant, The Wellcome Trust Career Development Awards, Royal Society University Research Fellowship, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, Branco-Weiss Research Fellowship.

We offer a programme of support that will help you to establish you as an independent academic researcher, including assistance with your fellowship application, setting up your lab and recruiting personnel, as well as mentoring and training to help you develop your career. Research fellows will also have access to the comprehensive package of ongoing support available from the School of Biological Sciences https://www.bio.cam.ac.uk/research/research-fellowships.

We have an excellent track record in progressing our Senior Research Fellows into lectureships or equivalent positions at leading international universities and research institutes.

How to apply for sponsorship

Please address informal enquires to the Head of Department Professor Rebecca Kilner hod@zoo.cam.ac.uk

To make an application, please download and complete the very short application form (https://shorturl.at/3KpGp) and send it with your publications list and contact details for 2 referees to admin@zoo.cam.ac.uk by 17:00 GMT on Monday 10 November 2025. We will only contact you, and your referees, if you are shortlisted.

We will shortlist the fellowship applicants we would like to support by Monday 8 December 2025. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to the Department to meet the academic staff and give a seminar in the week beginning 12 January 2026.

If you have any queries regarding the application process please contact Anastasia Nezhentseva.

Email: an286@cam.ac.uk Telephone: (0)1223 330117

Please quote reference PF46494 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy. The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Image: Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Photo by Daniel Field