Fellowships in research

A wide range of Fellowships is available but each has specific rules and regulations (e.g. minimum or maximum number of years post-PhD). Please check the funder's criteria carefully to make sure that you are eligible to apply.

ROUTE 1:  For Marie Curie, RC 1851 and EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship applications

At least 8 weeks before funder deadline
Please contact a member of academic staff within the Department who is involved in research in your area of interest. You will need to ask if they would be able to act as your sponsor – this is an important role as your sponsor will guide you through your application to submission and will need to host you in their research space within the Molecular Sciences Research Hub.

At least 6 weeks before funder deadline

Please contact chemfellowships@imperial.ac.uk highlighting your intention to apply and confirming the name of your mentor. We will need to confirm this with them and that they are able to host you in their research space. 

10 working days before funder deadline

Work with your mentor and the Department's costing team to prepare the costing for your application. Completing your costing can be a lengthy process so please liaise with Angie Cass [a.cass@imperial.ac.uk] at least 10 working days before the funder's deadline to start this process. You will need to have finalised your costings at least 5 working days in advance of the funder’s deadline to allow your application to be fully checked with College's central Research Office pre-submission.

ROUTE 2: For Independent fellowship applications and/or those requiring Departmental contribution (e.g. UKRI fellowships including EPSRC Open) 

Each request for support must undergo internal peer review so that we can make a decision on whether or not we will be able to support your application. For these Fellowships, we invite applicants to submit an expression of interest at 5 points during the year:

• 9th February 2024, 9AM
• 15th March 2024, 9AM
• 14th June 2024, 9AM *[see below for RS URF applications]
• 6th September 2024, 9AM
• 22nd November 2024 , 9AM

Your expression of interest will need to be submitted to chemfellowships@imperial.ac.uk by the relevant Departmental deadline (~2 months in advance of the funder deadline) and must comprise:

• A draft costing for your application including a summary of the financial contribution requested (please liaise with Angie Cass [a.cass@imperial.ac.uk] regarding this). Preparing your costing can be a lengthy process so please ensure that you notify Angie at least 5 working days before the internal deadline so that you can start to prepare this costing with a member of the costings team  
• Your 2 page CV
• A 2 page summary of your proposed research including your space requirements (in particular, bench space requirements and any large equipment requests)

Decisions to support all application will be made by a Departmental panel based upon: budget constraints (some fellowships require significant financial contributions from the Department) and the quality of the applications (in general we typically receive many high quality applications per scheme making processes competitive). Please note that if budget is not available or the quality of applications is not sufficiently high, the Department may end up not supporting any candidate in a given call.

For applications for Royal Society URFs, please apply to the 14th June deadline with: i) your 2 page research proposal (including bench space requirements and large equipment requests) and ii) 2 page CV. A Dept panel will consider applications and those shortlisted will then have the opportunity to prepare a costing once the RS call opens in July. 

Dr Andrew Ashley

"I joined Imperial College London in 2010 funded by a 3-year Imperial College Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), and jointly held a non-stipendiary Royal Commission of 1851 Research Fellowship at the same time. This was my first opportunity to undertake independent research and it enabled me to establish exciting results, attract additional funding from various funding bodies, and to define multiple future research directions and collaborations. In particular, the Imperial JRF scheme provided me with an appreciable grant to cultivate my own research group. I am very grateful for the mentoring from the Postdoctoral Development Centre, my JRF sponsor, and the Department of Chemistry, which were very important and always available. After two years I was successful in obtaining a Royal Society University Research Fellowship which has allowed me to develop novel, and highly challenging, catalytic methods for the hydrogenation of small molecules (e.g. dinitrogen and carbon dioxide) to useful products. The support of the Department was again extremely important in this success, which included the provision of an additional PhD studentship.”

Dr James Bull

“I joined Imperial College London in 2009 funded by a 2-year Ramsay Memorial Research Fellowship, which was co-sponsored by the Department of Chemistry. This was my first opportunity to undertake independent research and it enabled me to establish exciting results, attract additional funding and to define a future research direction. I am very grateful for the support and mentoring from my host lab and the department, which were very important and always available.

From this position I have recently been awarded a 5-year EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowship, which has enabled me to establish a research group. The support of the department was again extremely important in this success, which included the provision of an additional PhD studentship. This EPSRC Fellowship will enable me to continue my research into the development of new chemical methods for the synthesis of diverse molecular frameworks with desirable properties for drug discovery.”

Dr Silvia Díez - González

Silvia first joined the Department of Chemistry in 2009 as part of the first cohort of Imperial College Junior Research Fellows (JRFs). After 18 months as a Fellow, she was offered an Imperial College Lecturership in Catalysis for the development of novel organometallic complexes leading to better performing and more sustainable organic transformations.

“My arrival to the Department as a JRF has definitely set a landmark in my career. From the beginning I had the full support of my Department in order to establish myself as an independent researcher. Having total control on your scientific work and being able to count on the selfless advice of your Head of Department and colleagues is not a common situation in the early stages of our careers. When I was offered the Lectureship I currently hold, I was even more motivated than upon my arrival to the Department. I am ultimately responsible for my scientific success, but it is fantastic to work in a Department that sincerely cares for the development of its younger academics.”

Prof. Kim Jelfs

Kim joined the Department of Chemistry in October 2013 funded through a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. Her work involves developing computational approaches to direct the synthesis of functional molecular materials, with a current focus on porous molecular materials.

“The research environment at Imperial and in particular the Department of Chemistry is extremely supportive and a great place to be starting my independent research career. Not only has the Department provided a PhD studentship and resources, there is also strong mentoring from the Head of Department, the Postdoctoral Development Centre and my mentor. Interactions with other thriving departments and centres, such as Materials, Physics, Chemical Engineering and the Thomas Young Centre provide exciting opportunities for collaborative research."

Prof. Marina Kuimova

Marina first came to Imperial in 2005 as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2007 she secured the 3 year postdoctoral EPSRC Life Science s Interface Fellowship at Imperial, which was followed in 2010 by the EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowship.

Her work revolves around using small fluorophore molecules to study biophysically important processes in live biological cells.

"The research environment at Imperial is very vibrant and exciting and I really feel part of it. Even as an early career LSI Fellow I was invited to attend key Departmental and Sectional Meetings and this was an excellent way to gather information and get to know other academics.

Professionally, I feel I am treated exactly the same as my male colleagues. Importantly, help, mentoring and support are always available for me as an early career researcher, including from our Head of Department, whose door is always open, be it to discuss the issues of career progression, or the more specific laboratory infrastructure issues. So far I found this extremely helpful for my career."

Dr Philip Miller 

"I was awarded an EPSRC-Life Sciences Interface Fellowship (2007-2011) jointly hosted in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College and Aarhus University PET centre in Denmark. This was my first independent position, and gave me the support and resources to focus solely on my research. I had the opportunity to develop new ideas, form international collaborations and receive training in new areas of science. I was recently appointed as a lecturer within the Department of Chemistry and view my fellowship experience as key to securing a permanent academic position.”

Prof. Ed Tate

“I joined the department as a postdoctoral researcher in 2004, and was awarded a BBSRC David Phillips Research Fellowship in 2006. This 5-year fellowship enabled me to establish a vibrant independent research group in chemical biology at Imperial, and I was taken on as a permanent member of staff in 2009. The extra support I received from the Department through PhD studentships and provision of lab facilities and mentoring was outstanding, and I was given the opportunity to pick up skills and experience in teaching at my own pace.”