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

Applications are currently closed.

These Fellowships - which will commence in early 2026 - 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. 

• Up to 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. 

Future Bicentenary Fellowship opportunities

The scheme is expected to run again in 2026.

Sign-up to receive the latest updates and further information on future opportunities when they are confirmed.

• Sign-up for future updates

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, and 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.

Interdisciplinary collaboration

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.

To check if your proposed project fits within the remit of this Fellowship, please email FBMHFellowshipacademy@manchester.ac.uk.

Building support for your research at The University of Manchester

Before applying, applicants must identify an academic sponsor currently based in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester. 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.

What to look for in an 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. 

How to find an academic sponsor

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.

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.

What you and your sponsor need to include when you apply

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.

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

At this stage, you don't need to contact Research Services to calculate the full economic cost of the application. 

Instead, please provide approximate cost estimates that are necessary for you to carry out the project. It is recommended to 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.

The fellowship will not cover staff salaries other than the award holder’s.

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 Saturday, 31 January 2026.

Applicants must:

• have completed their PhD viva or anticipate completing it by the start of the award (no later than Saturday, 31 January 2026);
• have less than three years of post-doctoral research experience, thus are expected to have completed their PhD a maximum of three years ago from April 2025, unless there are periods of longer term leave (such as parental leave, long-term sick leave or clinical training) to consider, which can be detailed in the application. If you have had a career break, please specify the reason and duration clearly in the application form. Please include dates and periods away from post-doctoral research activity or periods of significant disruption so that we can use this to decide on eligibility. No formal documentation is required at this stage, however, if appointed you may be asked to provide additional supporting evidence;
• 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;
• 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;
• have completed their PhD viva or anticipate completing it by the start of the award.

Clinical applicants

We can support applicants in current clinical practice. Our expectation is that health professionals 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.

Application process

Applications are currently closed.

Information webinars

Discover more about the fellowships from Professor Jo Dumville and Professor David Bechtold in a recording of our recent information webinar.

• Watch webinar recording

Got a question?

If you have any questions, please email Aleks Rea at FBMHFellowshipacademy@manchester.ac.uk.