Research Career Development Fellowships

About us

Research Career Development Fellowships in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCL: Expression of Interest for 2024

DEADLINE: The next deadline is 22^nd March 2024, 5pm.

The Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology (CDB) at University College London (UCL) invites Expressions of Interest from early career researchers who wish to be sponsored for external fellowships to establish an independent research group via a tenure-track like process.

UCL is ranked 8^th in the 2022 QS World University Rankings. CDB offers an interactive and rich research environment within the Division of Biosciences, with access to cutting-edge facilities (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/science-technology-platforms/). The diverse research areas include animal development, stem cell biology, functional and evolutionary morphology, neuroscience, mitochondrial biology and cell signalling. The Department is home to several centres including the UCL Centre for Integrative Anatomy and the UCL Consortium for Mitochondrial Research. Close links also exist to the Francis Crick Institute, the Natural History Museum and the Sainsbury-Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour.

External research fellowships available for sponsorship from CDB include: Wellcome Trust Career Development Award, UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, MRC Career Development Award, CRUK Career Development Fellowship, ERC Starting Grant, Royal Society URF, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin, and EPSRC Open Fellowship.

About the role

We are looking for outstanding candidates that address fundamental questions in cell and developmental biology using innovative approaches and technologies. Applicants may work in any area of Cell or Developmental Biology, but we are particularly interested in candidates able to demonstrate synergy with research carried out on computational cell biology or evolutionary morphology. The ability to teach cell biology and/or anatomy would be considered an advantage.

Further information and applying

For informal enquiries, please contact Professor Roberto Mayor, Fellowship Coordinator of CDB ( )

To apply, please email the following as one pdf document :

1) a full CV with names of referees;

2) a one page outline of your fellowship application/proposal;

3) and a cover letter explaining how your proposal is suitable for the fellowship scheme(s) you are interested in, a timeline for application(s), and how you see this research programme fitting into CDB.

About you

Successful candidates will be of the highest calibre, are able to demonstrate an exceptional track record in relation to their career stage and have the potential to submit competitive fellowship applications. Shortlisted candidates will give a departmental seminar and meet with faculty members. This may be face-to-face or via an online platform. Candidates that the Department offers support to will be provided with help with their fellowship applications including mock interviews. Candidates that are successful in securing a fellowship are provided with post-award support including membership of the Biosciences Fellowship Network, assignment of a mentor, access to additional support for research and further funding, opportunities to attract PhD students through PhD programs, and additional funding support beyond the end of the fellowship. Fellows will be assessed for a permanent position within the department towards the end of their fellowship

What we offer

Candidates should check eligibility for individual fellowships schemes. A PhD is required plus normally one or two postdoctoral positions. You will be required to provide evidence of your eligibility to work in the UK before commencing any fellowship offered. We strongly encourage applications from women, disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as part of our ongoing commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion­.