ISMB Research Fellowship Applications

We enthusiastically welcome the most promising early career researchers to join us via external Fellowships from funding agencies including the Wellcome Trust, UK Research and Innovation (MRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, NERC) and Cancer Research UK. 

Our research fellows make vital contributions to the ISMB. They bring energy and prestige, novel and original research questions and approaches and new collaborative opportunities, as they widen or deepen our current research portfolio. At the ISMB, research fellows are supported by and embedded into a closely-knit network of colleagues.

What we offer

The ISMB offers substantial support for the preparation of your Fellowship applications and throughout their duration.

Fellows receive laboratory and office space, access to state-of-the-art equipment and expertise and access to research students from a range of 4-year PhD programmes. In addition, we provide bespoke mentoring and continued professional training; with the aim of guaranteeing the success of all Fellows. Importantly, we aim, wherever possible, to provide a longer-term commitment for our Fellows after the external funding has come to an end, subject to the successful appraisal and review towards the end of the Fellowship.

How to apply

We ask candidates to contact us at least 4 months in advance of their target Fellowship application deadline. 

Applications should include: 

1. a short CV with names of referees,
2. a two-page research vision/draft fellowship application;
3. 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 the research endeavours of Birkbeck and UCL. 

Your application should be sent to either UCL SMB or Birkbeck School of Natural Sciences, where Fellowship Panels review expressions of interest twice a year to support candidates in joining UCL or Birkbeck.

Candidates can apply at any time of the year but applications will only be assessed at the nearest application deadline that follows its receipt. 

Once applications have been assessed, selected candidates will be invited to give a seminar online, followed by an online interview with the Fellowship panel. Short-listed candidates will then be invited to attend a day at the Institute, for a tour of some of the ISMB labs and facilities, and to engage in short meetings with selected group leaders. 

We are firmly committed to equal opportunity and welcome applications from candidates irrespective of gender, ethnicity or disability to create the best possible cultural diversity at the ISMB.

We will assess:

• Your research contributions and the scientific merit of your project,
• The significance of the research and the feasibility of your proposal,
• Your institutional fit, i.e. the mutual benefit and suitability of the ISMB’s environment for both your research and for the development of your independent career.

Three possible proton-conducting channels of cytochrome c oxidase by Amandine Marechal, MRC Career Development Fellow (PNAS, DOI:  10.1073/pnas.2001572117)

Dynein-2 complex on intraflagellar transport trains by Anthony Roberts, Sir Henry Dale fellow (NSMB DOI: 10.1038/s41594-019-0286-y)

Redox regulation of Pol III transcription by oxidation of Brf2 residue Cys-361 by Jerome Gouge, Sir Henry Dale fellow (Cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.11.005)