Wellcome Trust

Research Fellowships for Health Professionals

This scheme offers practising health professionals the opportunity to carry out humanities or social science research, in any area of health.

Scheme at a glance

Career stage: Postdoctoral research 

Level of funding: Salary and research expenses covered

Duration of funding: Up to 3 years

Who can apply

You can apply for a Research Fellowship if you're a practising health professional with some research experience.

The research you propose should aim to improve understanding of health and disease using humanities or social science methods.  

You must want to do one of the following:

A PhD. You must have a relevant Master's degree or equivalent research experience. You must also have an offer of a place on a PhD programme, or evidence that you expect to receive one. This must be at an eligible host organisation in the UK, Republic of Ireland or a low- or middle-income country.

Or

A project at postdoctoral level. You must have a relevant PhD or equivalent research experience. You must also have sponsorship from an eligible host organisation in the UK, Republic of Ireland or a low- or middle-income country.

Your proposal

Examples of areas we'll consider include, but are not limited to:

• how social, environmental and political structures determine health
• how governments, communities and individuals respond to disease and pursue wellbeing
• the cultural meanings and significance of sickness and health
• the challenges of modern biomedicine. 

Your proposal can be relevant to your immediate working environment. It can also have elements of applied research, but this should not be the main focus. For example, we're unlikely to fund a project focused on developing an intervention.  

We will assess:

• the significance and originality of your proposed research
• the suitability and relevance of your approach to the research topic
• your track record relative to your research career stage, such as publications, conference papers, public engagement and policy-related work
• the suitability of the host organisation for your research and for developing your independent career.

Who can't apply

You can't apply if:

• you hold a permanent academic post
• you've received support for your doctoral studies from another funding body.

What's expected of your host organisation

You must have:

a sponsor who holds an established post (or an honorary academic appointment) at your sponsoring organisation and is committed to helping you achieve your career aspirations

one or more supervisors or research mentors with strong track records in humanities or social science who'll offer you advice about your application, research training and guidance throughout the fellowship.

You should give careful thought to your choice of sponsor and supervisor(s) or research mentor(s). They should have strong track records in research and mentorship.

Your sponsor must guarantee that you'll get the space and resources you need. This must be agreed at the application stage and made available from the start date through to the end date of your award.

If you propose to work mainly in a low- or middle-income country, you must identify an eligible training organisation and sponsor in that location.