Sanger Excellence Fellowship

Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.

Sanger Excellence Fellowship Applications are now open for 2025 - We are offering up to 4 open positions.

This opportunity is designed specifically for Black early career researchers who are passionate about genomics and looking to build their research experience in a world leading Institute. Our Fellowship is designed to support your development with training, mentorship and funding to help you thrive and build a lasting career in science.

The Fellowship has been developed in close collaboration with internal and external experts, including senior Black academics and Black-led community groups, who have helped shape the overall approach to ensure the support we offer is tailored and meaningful. Even if you are not selected this time you feedback can be provided to help you move forward in your career journey.

Eligibility

About the Fellowship:

This Fellowship is aimed at early career researchers and the general requirements are an Undergraduate degree and PhD awarded from institutions within the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands (the common travel area).

This particular scheme is open to people who self-identify as being from a Black heritage background, including a Mixed heritage background. For example, Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other; Mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black backgrounds).

The Institute offers a range of fellowships, should your background not match the requirements, more details can be found on our website. We welcome you to reach out directly to [email protected] to discuss other relevant Postdoctoral opportunities at the Institute.

Salary

You will be part of our Postdoctoral Fellowship programme and will be paid in line with this pay scale (£38,000 - £49,156 in 2025), dependent upon skills and experience. The Sanger Excellence Fellowship also includes:

• Research consumables of up to £18,000 per annum, dependent on the nature of the project
• £1,500 per annum for you to attend conferences and training

These costs are held by your Supervisor, but ring-fenced for your Fellowship.

Start Date

There is flexibility with the start date, but you should be able to start by early 2026.

The Fellowship runs for three years and can be worked full-time, part-time or flexibly.

Application Process

• Stage 1: Expression of Interest

This is to confirm your eligibility to participate in the call, and to ensure your scientific background and/or research ideas are aligned with Sanger science.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will be invited to complete:

• Stage 2: Application form

Here, you will choose a pre-defined project to apply to, or spend some time co-developing a bespoke project with a Sanger supervisor. At this stage, you will be invited to speak with the relevant Sanger supervisor(s) to discuss the project and your research interests in more detail.

Once Your Application Is Submitted

• Lead supervisors will triage all applicants applying for pre-defined projects, or with co-developed projects and will recommend a sub-set (no more than 2 candidates per per-defined project, plus those with co-developed projects) to progress to shortlisting by the review panel. If you are unsuccessful at this stage, feedback will be provided.,
• The Sanger Excellence Review Panel will shortlist approximately 8 applicants across the entire applicant pool for interview

The Panel comprises internal and external stakeholders. There are 4 fellowships available, the Panel does not expect to shortlist more than 1 candidate per project. If you are unsuccessful at this stage, feedback will be provided.

If You Are Invited For Interview

• You will also be invited to join our in person ‘candidate information day’ at the Wellcome Genome Campus on Wednesday 5th November 2025

Reasonable travel and accommodation expenses will be covered for all candidates attending the information day. The information day will include opportunities to meet your potential Supervisor and their team, network with current Excellence Fellows and the wider Postdoc community, and participate in an interview skills workshop.

• Interviews will take place virtually on Thu 20 Nov and Fri 21 Nov

You will be asked to give a presentation and answer questions on your previous research and your developed project proposal (via Zoom). This will be followed by a Q&A-style competency-based interview with the panel. The interview panel will comprise of internal and external stakeholders. If you are unsuccessful at this stage, feedback will be provided.

About You

You will be an early career researcher (recently completed your PhD or more established with experience as a postdoctoral fellow) and interested in our science. This opportunity will give you the benefits of our unique learning environment, we welcome applications from you whether you are looking to move into a new research area or build upon your current skills and experience.

Essential Skills

• PhD in relevant subject area, or on track to be awarded your PhD within 6 months of starting the role
• Proven ability to deliver research projects
• A track record of demonstrating research excellence and expertise in your area of research
• Proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with wide range of persons of differing level, abilities and knowledge
• Foster an inclusive culture where all can thrive and diversity is celebrated
• Team player with the ability to work with others in a collegiate and collaborative environment
• Ability to effectively communicate ideas and results and present orally to groups
• Commitment to personal development and updating of knowledge and skills
• Ability to prioritise, multi-task and work independently
• Detailed orientated, strong organizational and problem-solving skills

Joining Us As Postdoctoral Fellow

You will be part of a vibrant international Postdoctoral Fellow community at the Sanger Institute with a wide programme of transferable skills training and excellent career development opportunities. We are committed to:

• Providing an enriching and respectful research environment so you can focus on, and enjoy, your work
• Mentoring you and providing opportunities for you to network across the genomics scientific community

For more information about being a Postdoctoral Fellow - please visit: https://youtu.be/1-vxm2nBmFA

To submit your Expression of Interest, please click apply.

Closing Date: 7th September 2025

Hybrid Working At Wellcome Sanger

We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.

Equality, Diversity And Inclusion

We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks, LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers, Disability and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness. The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others.

We want our people to be whoever they want to be because we believe people who bring their best selves to work, do their best work. That’s why we’re committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute. We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.

Our Benefits

We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme. The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute.

Sanger Institute became a signatory of the International Technician Commitment initiative In March 2018. The Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.