Preparing for Fellowships Vivek Nityananda vivek.Nityananda@ncl.ac.uk

My background 2008: PhD, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 2009: Postdoc, University of Minnesota 2010-2011: HFSP Long Term Fellow, QMUL 2011-2013: Marie Curie Incoming International Fellow, QMUL 2013-2019: Postdoc, Newcastle University 2016-2017: College for Life Sciences Fellow, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin 2019-2024: David Phillips Research Fellow, Newcastle University (from June) Small grants: CEE, CBE, Wellcome Trust, Great North Museum 12 corresponding author publications, 4 independent author publications 16 invited talks + invited reviews and referee requests, extensive media coverage My background

2008-2009: Mostly applying for postdocs, freelance illustration and writing. 2013: Early Career Fellowship, Research Fellowship, Leverhulme Trust, Unsuccessful 2014: Public Engagement Fellowship, Wellcome Trust, Unsuccessful 2015: University Research Fellowship, Royal Society, Unsuccessful 2017: David Phillips Fellowship, Research Fellowship, BBSRC, Reached the interview stage, Unsuccessful 2018: Manchester Presidential Fellowship, Unsuccessful 2018: ARC Future Fellowship, Abandoned midway 2013-2018: ~70 lecturership/Assistant Prof applications, 5 Interviews, Unsuccessful My background

Fellowships It’s all about you Find your narrative – about your career and about your project. Host fit is important- choose the place that’s best for your science as well as gives you good support.

Prepare in advance Set up your CV to seem like you’re ready. Lots of time for writing the application. Allow time for multiple feedback loops from mentors. Allow time for budget calculations and corrections from the finance department. Allow time for processing by HR.

Publications First author publications Corresponding author publications. Independent author publications – separate collaborations, single author, reviews, commentaries. Productivity > Impact Factor (perhaps) “Big” publications just before applying help.

Funding Any external or internal funding Scholarships, Travel grants, Short visit grants Equipment funding

Career Independence Upward trajectory Do you look like a PI? Mentorship, Responsibilities Invitations to speak

Letters of Support Build in new collaborations Letters should specify what the collaboration will entail.

Preliminary Data Important especially for the more senior fellowships. Ideally get a small pot of money to run preliminary experiments. Try to get your data alongside your current project.

‘Hero’ narrative Set the stage in the very first paragraph What is the question and why is it important? What is missing? You are going to solve this! Second paragraph: summary of how you will. Why Here, Why You, Why Now?

Interview Practice in mock interviews. Find out typical questions – these are often repeated. Panel of about 15 people Short presentation (10 minutes) and short Q&A (10 minutes) – so be prepared. Think about where you fit into the broader field and your competitors –what do you bring? Think about impact. Think about management of the project, contingency planning, mentoring and leadership. Be engaging –stand out!

Take Home Messages Prepare- in time! Build in “good practice” (independence, leadership, creativity, collaborations, good writing) into your research functioning on a regular basis. Make use of opportunities. Take care of yourself- mental health is important! Keep failing- fail better.