1. Applying for Fellowships Henry Wellcome experience Ben Wilson benjamin
Applying for Fellowships Henry Wellcome experience Ben Wilson
Only my experience, not exhaustive, or necessarily accurate

2. Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship
Early career award (<2 years post-PhD)
Biomedical science or public health
4 years of funding
£250,000
Salary
Research expenses
Travel
“Offers recently qualified postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to start independent research careers”

3. My background 2009 - 2014 – PhD in Neuroscience in Newcastle
– Post-doc in Newcastle
– Henry Wellcome Fellowship
I stayed in Newcastle
Go to the best place for the research
New research sponsors
Newcastle
Leipzig, Germany

4. Lessons learned Timing Take advice, even when you don’t like it
The application takes longer than you think
Be aware of internal deadlines and requirements
Make use of the help that Newcastle offers
Take advice, even when you don’t like it
Discuss your proposal widely, for breadth of ideas, opinions and insights

5. Preliminary application
Very short (2 pages)
However, this took me as much effort to write as the full application
I had a clear idea of the experiments I wanted to do
But it took more effort to clearly lay out the impact and implications
Try and look at previous applications
Again, take advice seriously

6. Full application Build on preliminary application
Don’t repeat yourself or copy and paste
Words are tight, and any redundancy is wasting a chance to show something else to the interviewers
However, do restate key points from different perspectives
E.g., A project might have both basic science and policy implications. Emphasise the value in that.

7. Full application
In every section, think about what information the reviewers want from a strong candidate
“In what way will the fellowship further the applicants scientific goals and personal careers aspirations”
Use this as an opportunity to show them that you are worth investing in
The Wellcome Trust want to develop scientists as much as they want to fund research

8. Interview Prepare thoroughly Mock interviews
Think about answers to likely questions
If the panel list is available, look at who will be interviewing you
There will be a lot of non-specialists, so be broad
But the main interviewers will have read your application in detail, so be prepared for in depth questions
Be aware of what you are walking into

9. Take home messages Prepare!
At this stage, the Wellcome Trust want to identify, invest in, and develop, potential future scientific leaders
Not just funding great research projects, but people
Cover both technical and scientific detail, and place the work into a broader, more accessible context

10. Questions?

11. Application Project Person Place
Your own ideas, probably based on your prior work
Person
They want to fund future scientific leaders (not great technicians)
Place
Is Newcastle the best place in the UK/world to do your project?