Wellcome Trust Investigator Awards in Science

Investigator Awards in Science
Investigator Awards enable independent researchers with a compelling research vision to tackle the most important questions in science.
You can apply for an Investigator Award if you're an independent researcher with a compelling research vision who wants to tackle the most important questions in your field.

These awards are also open to joint applications from two researchers whose complementary expertise is essential to deliver their shared vision.

Career stage and experience
We consider applications from researchers throughout their independent careers. For example, you may be a newly appointed lecturer, a mid-career researcher or a senior researcher.

If you're in the early stages of your independent research career, you should be able to show that you can drive advances in your field of study and that you have considerable promise for the future. You should have a strong track record relative to your career stage of:

leading innovative and creative programmes of research
making important contributions to research, eg publications, patents and impacts on policy
securing research grant funding.
You should also be able to show that you're developing an international reputation for excellence in your field.

If you're a more established researcher, you should have achieved more in terms of the originality and impact of your research. You should have a track record of:

making significant contributions to research, eg publications, patents and impacts on policy
securing sustained research support from major funding bodies
developing and mentoring less experienced researchers.
You should have an international reputation as a research leader in your field.

If you've been away from research (eg for a career break, maternity leave, or long-term sick leave), we'll allow for this when we consider your application.

Current situation
You must be based at an eligible host organisation in the UK, Republic of Ireland or a low- or middle-income country apart from India.

You should have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract, or the guarantee of one. Your salary must be paid by your host organisation.

If you hold a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract but have to get your salary from external grant funding, you can ask us for this in your application. If this applies to you, you must commit at least 10% of your working hours to this award. In this case, your host organisation must confirm details about your employment contracts or their policy on salary recovery costs.

Your research proposal
Your research proposal must:

describe an innovative and ambitious programme of work that could transform your field
explain the approaches you will use to deliver that programme of work
be distinct from, and not replace, activities already supported by other awards
be within our scientific remit.
We will review:

your track record as an independent researcher, relative to your career stage
the importance of your research question(s) to your field
the feasibility of your proposal
the suitability of your research environment
the time you'll spend on the Investigator Award, and how it fits in with your other academic commitments.