The 2025 call for Attachments to the Francis Crick Institute is now open for Imperial researchers, deadline for applications is 10th April 2025

The Crick-University attachment programme was established in 2015 to enable university groups to work in the Crick, with the intention of bringing together researchers from the Crick and its partner institutions to improve the opportunities for collaboration.

The scheme is open to scientists (clinical and non-clinical) leading research groups and aims to attract people and groups with skills that are complementary to the Crick’s core talents and capabilities and to identify research projects that will best benefit from Crick interactions. Therefore, applications in engineering, physical, mathematical, computational, clinical and translational sciences will be prioritised in general. Another aim of the scheme is to support career development of new Group Leaders and, as such, applications from early career PIs are particularly welcome.

 

Attachments are flexible and can take different forms:

  • Secondment: A PI might transfer all or the majority of their research group to the Crick for up to six years. Usually, the Crick becomes the primary research base for the group and the PI spends the majority of their time at the institute. However, the PI can also keep part of their group at University and share their time between the two institutions.
  • Satellite: A PI might transfer a subset of their staff to the Crick, possibly on a part-time basis. The group’s primary research base remains at the home university, with the PI visiting the Crick occasionally. The scientists may be embedded within a single Crick research group or STP working on a defined project or could work with multiple groups or STPs. Satellites’ stay duration varies. Satellite PIs running a substantive project-focused collaboration at the Crick usually stay for up to 3 years. Satellite PIs who already have established links with multiple Crick groups or STPs and run a larger-scale and longer-term collaborative programme could stay at the Crick for 3 to 5 years.
  • Sabbatical: Whilst remaining a University employee, a PI might spend up to a year on sabbatical (full or part-time) working in a Crick research group, for example to learn new techniques or undertake a hands-on collaboration.
  • Reverse satellite: A Crick Group Leader might transfer a subset of their staff to the partner University possibly on a part-time basis. The group’s primary research base remains at the Crick, with the Group Leader visiting the University occasionally. Reverse attachments comprise small groups of researchers (usually one to three) embedded into the university research group for up to three years. Applicants to the reverse satellite scheme should submit their application with a CV to the Crick uni-partnership@crick.ac.uk by the 10th April 2025.

These definitions are not intended to be exclusive and there is room for flexibility; in all cases the proposed attachment will be assessed primarily on its added value to the applicant, the University and the Crick whilst ensuring the group can be accommodated within the spaces allocated to each University.

 

Applicants should therefore discuss their proposal with their Department and the Research Office, before starting their application. Full details are provided in the Guidance document, Information document and Application forms:

Please read the guidelines fully before completing an application form.

Applicants should submit their application with a CV to the Research Office researchoffice.fundingstrategy@imperial.ac.uk by the 10th April 2025.

 

Full Timeline:

Action

Date

Applicants to discuss proposals with Research Office: Enquiries can be sent to researchoffice.fundingstrategy@imperial.ac.uk

FAO Angela Kingman or Louise Sherlock

3rd February 2025 – 31st March 2025

Applicants to discuss proposals with Crick

Collaborator(s) – Note that collaborators need to complete parts of the Application form

3rd February 2025 – 31st March 2025

Applicants to discuss proposals with Elisabete Silva, Director of Scientific Platforms at Crick elisabete.silva@crick.ac.uk:

•Tuesday 11th February 15:00-17:00

•Wednesday 12th February 15:00-17:00

•Tuesday 25th February 15:00-17:00

•Tuesday 11th March 15:00-17:00

•Wednesday 12th March 15:00-17:00

11th February 2025 – 12th March 2025

Applicants to secure Departmental approvals by

email if not already done so.

1st April 2025 – 10th April 2025

Deadline for Applicants to send completed applications to:

researchoffice.fundingstrategy@imperial.ac.uk

10th April 2025

 

Faculty representatives: Each Faculty has an assigned Crick representative who you may wish to reach out to for strategic advice. 

Faculty of Engineering 
Professor Daniele Dini (profile)
Vice-Dean (Research) for FoE 
Email: d.dini@imperial.ac.uk

 

Graham Cooke FoMFaculty of Medicine 
Professor Graham Cooke (profile
Vice-Dean (Research) for FoM 
Email: g.cooke@imperial.ac.uk

 

Faculty of Natural Sciences 
Professor Ramon Vilar (profile
Vice-Dean (Research) for FoNS 
Email: r.vilar@imperial.ac.uk

 

Approved attachments: The following individuals (in no particular order) either currently hold an attachment at the Crick or have held an attachment at the Crick in the past. 

  • Faculty of Engineering: Molly Stevens (Materials), Adam Celiz (Bioengineering). 
  • Faculty of Medicine: Avinash Shenoy (ID), Clare Lloyd (NHLI), Wendy Barclay (ID), Xiaodong Zhang (ID), Holger Auner (I&I), Teresa Thurston (ID), Vanessa Sancho-Shimizu (ID), David Riglar (ID), Aylin Hanaloglu (MDR), Faith Osier (Life Sciences). 
  • Faculty of Natural Sciences: Gunnar Pruessner (Maths), Cristina Lo Celso (Life Sci), Doryen Bubeck (Life Sci), Ed Tate (Chem), Marco Di Antonio (Chem), Morgan Beeby (Life Sci), Paul French (Phy), Vahid Shahrezaei (Maths), Sadra Sadeh (Brain Science), Rachel Edgar (Infectious Disease).