Bicentenary Early Career Research Fellowships
To celebrate 200 years of research-driven learning, development and innovation, The University of Manchester is investing nearly £10 million into postgraduate research and early careers research in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. As part of this significant investment, we are proud to announce the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Bicentenary Early Career Research Fellowships.
About the Fellowship
These Fellowships - which will commence in early 2027 - have been established to support exceptional early-career researchers with strong potential, providing them with the opportunity to grow into future leaders in bioscience, biomedical, and health research.
- Minimum of three Fellowships are available to applicants with less than three years of post-doctoral research experience.
- Award holders will be appointed at Grade 6 (£36,024-£44,263) for three years (salary for clinical staff will be assessed on an individual basis, as this will depend on profession, career stage and discussions with their NHS trust).
- The award includes up to £30,000 per annum of non-staff costs, which can include training activities, research costs and consumables, patient and public involvement and engagement, and travel.
- Proposed Fellowships must align with one, or more, of our priority research themes which are of strategic importance to the University and the Faculty.
This fellowship is not expected to run again next year.
Priority research themes
These Fellowships are open to outstanding researchers from any discipline including clinical, applied health, data science and pure science and methodologist and technologists.
Research should address at least one of the following priority research themes in the Faculty:
Tackling the causes and consequences of health inequalities
As a major social responsibility goal of our University and research strength for our Faculty, we are looking to support proposals addressing health inequality from underlying causes through to consequences and interventions.
Priority areas include:
- mental health research;
- healthier futures;
- health, employment and productivity;
- the biology of health inequalities.
Addressing impacts of climate change on our biology, health, and society
Research focussing on the impacts of the environment and climate change on our biology, health and society are emerging strengths of our University and major research priorities for the future.
Priority areas include:
- microbial dynamics and the microbiome;
- immunity and inflammation;
- cancer;
- circadian biology;
- cardiovascular research;
- developmental biology.
Advancing discovery through interdisciplinary life sciences research
Discovery research is a longstanding and core research strength for the Faculty.
Priority areas include:
- application of cutting-edge technologies;
- innovative interdisciplinary science.
Empowering our research through advanced data science, digital technologies and AI
An important strategic goal for our Faculty is to increase the use and application of advanced digital approaches across all our research disciplines.
Therefore, the integration of advanced data sciences and digital technologies into any field or research approach is a priority for the Fellowship. Projects may also have digital technologies and methodologies as a primary focus.
PPIEP is an essential part of most research activities. We recognise however that applicants may have different level of experience of this depending on their research background. Where applicable, we recommended to include brief information about PPIEP to date or what is planned.
You can find further information about PPIEP at The University of Manchester on our website, as well as resources related to PPIEP to help you.
Interdisciplinary research involves the integration of knowledge, methods and approaches from multiple disciplines to create a new perspective or solution. For example, studying climate change by combining climatology, economics and political sciences to develop comprehensive policies. This should not be confused with multidisciplinary research, where the disciplines are kept separately, and the work is done in parallel. For example, a project on cancer treatment could involve biologists, doctors and engineers working on different aspects of the treatment, without blending their expertise into a unified approach.
This Fellowship is for those in the early stages of their careers, so we don’t expect you to have established interdisciplinary collaborations. However, if you already have any in place or are starting to develop them, you can include details in your application. Your application will be stronger if you show how you plan to explore interdisciplinary opportunities during the Fellowship and how this could help your professional and research development.
Not sure if your proposed project fits within the remit of this Fellowship?
To check if your proposed project fits within the remit of this Fellowship, please email FBMHFellowshipacademy@manchester.ac.uk.
Eligibility criteria
These Fellowships are open to:
- outstanding early career researchers from clinical, applied health, or data science and pure science backgrounds including methodologists and technologists;
- both internal candidates and those applying from outside the University;
- UK and international applicants;
- candidates available to begin the Fellowship before 31 January 2027.
Applicants must have submitted their thesis by 12 November 2025 and be one of the following:
- awaiting a viva;
- in the process of submitting corrections following a viva;
- have been awarded their PhD (or waiting for conformation of this award).
Successful applicants must hold a PhD by 31 January 2027.
- have less than three years of post-doctoral research experience as of 12 November 2025.
This means you should have completed your PhD on or after 12 November 2022, excluding career breaks.
To be competitive for the scheme you will need to demonstrate success during your PhD studies and/or within the 3 years following, where you have been active in research. Publishing original peer reviewed research articles or at least having them available in a public repository, is an important indicator of being able to bring your work to fruition and present it to a wider research audience.
While you are still eligible to apply without publications, you are likely to be in a less competitive position than other applicants. We recognise that there are some cases where PhD research is intercalated into wider prestige publications. If this is the case, providing clarity about your contribution to the work will help make this clear.
If you have taken a career break or period of long-term leave (for example, parental leave, extended sick leave, caring responsibilities, clinical training, or other personal reasons) that affected your research activity:
- please describe the reason and duration clearly in your application;
- you do not need to provide formal documentation at this stage, but if you are appointed, you may be asked to supply supporting evidence.
Applicants should:
- undertake research aligned with the research themes outlined above;
- include an interdisciplinary focus, where possible, demonstrating their developing links to disciplines wider than their current expertise. This includes integrating different perspectives, knowledge and methods into their work to generate new ways of exploring their field of interest;
- demonstrate existing or potential opportunities for collaboration with existing research groups at the University;
- have linked to a proposed academic sponsor currently based in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester with whom they have co-developed an application;
Applicants must also:
- be able to demonstrate an exciting portfolio of research skills, outputs and accomplishments and present a project that will enhance their journey towards being a research leader;
- not currently hold or have previously been awarded a substantive post-doctoral Fellowship award or grant;
- must not currently hold a permanent post (such as a lectureship) at The University of Manchester.
Health and care professional applicants
We can support applicants in current health and care practice. Our expectation is that those training to be medics who are eligible for this scheme, would be on their clinical training pathway and therefore if successful, we would discuss with the applicant setting up a Clinical Research Fellowship. In practice, this would mean that the applicant would request to be Out of Programme for Research (OOPR) to undertake their Fellowship research project.
If you are a medical doctor in clinical training, we have support from the local Deanery about doing academic training alongside clinical training. It is likely this will run in a similar manner to an NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship post with 50% Fellowship time and 50% Trust funded time over the three years. Specifics can be discussed on a case-by-case basis
Building support for your research at The University of Manchester
Before applying, you must identify an academic sponsor who is a permanent member of staff at The University of Manchester based in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health.
This person will provide research support and guidance throughout the Fellowship and should be closely involved in developing this application. If you are appointed, you are expected to do your research project as part of the research group or lab of your academic sponsor.
The academic sponsor you choose should align with the research area you propose to pursue. This means you'll need to identify a research group or lab whose expertise can support all or part of your project and if collaborators with additional expertise will be included.
To find suitable academic sponsors you should search for academics at The University of Manchester who have published research in your field of interest. If you have a potential sponsor in mind, consider contacting them by email to explain why you are contacting them and to request a meeting to discuss your research.
Academic sponsors will ideally only support one application for this award, although this is not mandated.
If you’re currently at The University of Manchester
Your academic sponsor can be your current supervisor. However, you will need to think about demonstrating how you plan to develop your own portfolio of work that will support your career trajectory. The fellowship is intended to help you on your journey to establishing your research independence. It should serve as a stepping stone for you to develop and lead your own programmes of work over time.
If you’re not currently at The University of Manchester
Your choice of academic sponsor should align with the research area you are proposing to pursue (i.e. you need to identify a research group/lab whose expertise can support your project or part of your project, if collaborators with additional expertise will be included). To find suitable academic sponsors you should search for academics at the University of Manchester who have published research in your field of interest.
If you have a potential sponsor in mind, consider reaching out by email to explain why you are contacting them and request a meeting to discuss your research.
When applying, you should also outline existing or potential future collaborators, internal or external to the University, who will contribute to your research, training and career development during the Fellowship.
If you are selected to progress to stage two, your academic sponsor needs to submit a supporting statement articulating a clear vision for how this Fellowship award will support you in developing your research maturity leading to the next step of securing significant external funding such as prestigious individual Fellowships or interdisciplinary team funding awards.
Funding
You do not need to contact Research Services to calculate the full economic cost of the application.
At stage two, you will be asked to provide approximate cost estimates that are necessary for you to carry out the project. We recommend that you seek advice from your academic sponsor to ensure these estimates are as accurate as possible.
You don't need to request the full £30k allowance for each year of the fellowship. The cost estimates that you include should be justified based on your research needs. Funding can cover consumables, animal costs , PPIE as well as conferences and associated travel and accommodation costs.
The fellowship does not cover staff salaries other than the award holder.
Application process
Check you meet all of the eligibility criteria listed above and consider how your proposed research plans map to the key themes.
Before applying, applicants must have identified an academic sponsor currently based in the Faculty and who will help them to develop the application.
Please read the ‘Building support for your research at The University of Manchester’ section further up this page for more information.
Interested candidates should complete an expression of interest application form:
You must outline your experience to-date, research plans, collaborative networks and why you want to do this Fellowship at The University of Manchester in the Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health.
Completed expression of interests should be sent by email to FBMHFellowshipacademy@manchester.ac.uk by 3pm on 12 November 2025. You should submit one application form.
Expressions of interest will undergo a stringent review process with reviewers from Schools relevant to each application. You will be notified whether you have been shortlisted to submit a stage two application by 19 December 2025.
Individual feedback will not be provided for successful or unsuccessful candidates after stage one.
At stage two there is more scope for applicants to detail their research plans, academic support and collaborative networks that will support their development and progression towards research excellence and accelerate their progression to independence.
All applications will be assessed based on research excellence, research support, the potential for interdisciplinarity working, fit to strategic theme, and potential to drive further external funding/investment.
As part of the stage two application form you’ll need to include three references. These can include your academic sponsor or collaborator.
All applications will be reviewed by academic staff at The University of Manchester and further discussed at a panel meeting chaired by the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Associate Dean for Fellowships and Individual Awards. The panel will select applicants for an interview.
We expect to notify applicants by 31 March 2026 if they have been invited for an interview or not. Interviews will take place in the week commencing 27 April 2026, and outcomes are expected to be communicated shortly after.
If you are selected for the Fellowship, we expect your research project to start by 31 January 2027 at the latest.
All applicants who submit stage two applications will receive individual feedback.
Researcher development
We place the development and wellbeing of our researchers at the heart of all we do, with support tailored for postgraduate fellows.
We’ll support you in developing further competitive funding applications that may include grants and external fellowship awards. You will receive extensive support from your sponsors and the group members around you, via mentorship programmes at the University, from access to a large portfolio of training and development activities including training and development focused at researchers with Fellowships.
We’ve held the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award since 2011, recognising our full adoption of the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.
For more information about researcher development visit our webpages on researcher development and talent development.
Information webinar
Discover more about the fellowships from Professor Jo Dumville:
Got a question?
If you have any questions, please email Aleks Rea at FBMHFellowshipacademy@manchester.ac.uk.