The Research Department of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology (NPP) 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.
We are looking for candidates to address fundamental questions in neuroscience, physiology and/or pharmacology using innovative approaches and technologies and to contribute to our teaching programmes.
NPP offers an interactive and supportive research environment within the Division of Biosciences. NPP has outstanding research strength in areas that span receptor pharmacology, biophysics, circuits and systems neuroscience, cardiovascular neurophysiology and neural computation. Researchers have access to state of the art facilities (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/science-technology-platforms/) and the department has close links with partners including the Francis Crick Institute, the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, and the UK Dementia Research Institute. NPP also delivers world-class teaching. UCL is ranked 10th in the 2021?QS World University Rankings and 8th for Life Sciences (2020 Times Higher Education) and our Neuroscience degree is ranked first in Europe (U.S. News and Report 2020).
We are looking to sponsor early career researchers (ECRs) for external fellowships that will enable them to establish an independent research group. Such fellowships include: UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, Wellcome Trust Career Development Award, MRC Career Development Award, CRUK Career Development Fellowship, ERC Starting Grant, Royal Society URF, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, EPSRC Open Fellowship, and similar awards.
Following application, shortlisted candidates will be invited to give a departmental seminar and meet with faculty members, students and current fellows. They will be expected to demonstrate how their research complements NPP’s research strategy and could contribute to collaborative programmes of work in the department. Interviews may be face-to-face or via an online platform. After this process, we will sponsor ECRs that are a good fit for NPP and who will have competitive fellowship applications. Our commitment starts with academic and administrative support at the application and interview stages for these fellowships
For successful fellows, we will provide support to ensure they can successfully establish their research group, gain opportunities to develop teaching skills and play a full role in the running of the department. Fellows will also benefit from career development and mentoring programmes, membership of the Biosciences Fellowship Network, access to additional support for their research, opportunities to attract PhD students through PhD programs and additional funding support beyond the end of the fellowship. We expect fellows to develop into strong candidates for permanent positions within the department, or elsewhere. In line with this ethos, a large proportion of our past fellows have progressed to permanent positions within NPP.
Candidates should confirm their eligibility for specific fellowships schemes and will be required to provide evidence of eligibility to work in the UK before commencing any fellowship offered.
To apply, please email the following to Tina Bashford (t.bashford@ucl.ac.uk):
1) a full CV with details of at least two referees [max 3 pages];
2) an outline of your fellowship application/proposal [max 1 page];
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 yourself and your research programme fitting into the department [max 2 pages].
For informal enquiries and more information, please contact the NPP Fellowship Coordinators:
Dr Isaac Bianco (i.bianco@ucl.ac.uk)
Professor Annette Dolphin (a.dolphin@ucl.ac.uk)
