Wellcome Trust-DBT India Alliance calls for applications for Senior & Intermediate Fellowships 

By Sunderarajan Padmanabhan

New Delhi: The Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance has called for applications for its Senior and Intermediate Fellowships under the track of Basic Biomedical Research. The fellowships will be available across the full spectrum of biomedical research under the remit of India Alliance, which is to support biomedical research that is relevant to human and animal welfare. Applications can also propose interdisciplinary projects.

The competition is open for basic science/veterinary researchers with four to 15 years of post-PhD research experience. The applicant can have a PhD in any discipline of science. There are also no age or nationality restrictions. He or she need not be resident in India while applying but should be willing to relocate to and work in India. Besides, a salaried position or commitment towards a salaried position at the host Institution is not required.

However, the research proposal has to be based on a hypothesis and seeks to answer an original biomedical research question. The application also needs to have at least one letter of recommendation, a not-for-profit  host institution in India that will administer the fellowship for the complete duration of the award, and a sponsor at the host Institution, who can guarantee space and resources for the duration of the award. If invited to make a full application, an official support letter from the sponsor would be mandatory.

Senior Fellowship is for researchers who have demonstrated their ability to lead an independent research programme and want to expand it further to undertake pioneering research. Intermediate Fellowship, in turn, is for postdoctoral researchers who have been successful in building a track record of pursuing cutting-edge research and wish to establish their own independent research programme in India.

The fellowships will be for five years. The deadline for submission of the applications is February 3. Besides offering adequate compensation for personal salary support and the research-related expenditures, the fellowship will also provide funds to develop international collaborations.

(India Science Wire)