2015 Senior Fellowships in Public Health and Tropical Medicine for Developing Countries
Applications are invited for senior fellowships available for outstanding researchers to establish themselves as leading investigators at an academic institution in a low- and middle-income country location. Research should be aimed at understanding and improving public health and tropical medicine of local, national and global relevance. Public health and tropical medicine cover a wide range of health problems, including communicable and non-communicable diseases. Applicant must be a resident of a low- and middle-income country. Fellowships are for up to five years in the first instance. Preliminary application must be submitted till 8 May 2015.
Study Subject(s): Research should be aimed at understanding and improving public health and diseases of local, national and global relevance. Topics include:
-demographic, social science and health economic studies
-epidemiological, field and community based studies
-health care systems and policy research
-measurement of infectious and chronic disease burden
-population studies
-clinical trials and case control studies
-studies of disease mechanisms in the natural host
-determinants of disease susceptibility and resistance
-immunity or resistance in natural hosts or vectors.
Course Level: Fellowships are awarded for pursuing a research program at an academic institution in a low- and middle-income country.
Scholarship Provider: Wellcome Trust, UK
Scholarship can be taken at: low- and middle-income country
Eligibility:
The trust will consider applications that fall within the Public Health and Tropical Medicine remit. This covers research on infectious and non-communicable diseases within the fields of public health and tropical medicine that is aimed at understanding and controlling diseases (either human or animal) of relevance to local, national or global health. This can include laboratory based molecular analysis of field or clinical samples, but projects focused solely on studies in vitro or using animal models will not normally be considered under this scheme.
-Applicants must be a national or a legal resident of a low- and middle-income country, and be either a graduate in a subject relevant to public health or tropical medicine (for example; biomedical or social science, veterinary medicine, physics, chemistry or mathematics) with a PhD and at least five years’ postdoctoral experience, or medical graduate with a higher qualification equivalent to membership of the UK Royal College of Physicians (i.e. qualified to enter higher specialist training), or be recognized as a specialist within a relevant research area, and have at least five years’ research experience.
-Applicants who do not have a PhD but who are educated to first degree or Master’s level and have substantial research experience, as evidenced by their publication record, may be considered.
-You should have a substantial record of publications in your chosen area of research in leading international journals.
-Applications are particularly encouraged from outstanding low- and middle-income country researchers working overseas who wish to return to their home country.
Scholarship Open for Students of Following Countries: National or legal resident of a low- and middle-income country ( Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo Rep., Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Arab Rep., El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, The Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic Rep., Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Dem Rep., Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, FYR, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Fed. Sts., Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, RB, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Rep., and Zambia and Zimbabwe) are eligible for the senior fellowships.
Scholarship Description: The Wellcome TrustThis scheme supports outstanding researchers from low- and middle-income countries to establish themselves as leading investigators at an academic institution in a low- and middle-income country location. This fellowship is the most senior of a series of career awards aimed at building sustainable capacity in areas of research that have the potential for increasing health benefits for people and their livestock in low- and middle-income countries. Research should be aimed at understanding and improving public health and diseases of local, national and global relevance. Topics include: demographic, social science and health economic studies epidemiological, field and community based studies health care systems and policy research measurement of infectious and chronic disease burden population studies clinical trials and case control studies of disease mechanisms in the natural host determinants of disease susceptibility and resistance immunity or resistance in natural hosts or vectors.
Number of award(s): Not Known
Duration of award(s): Fellowships are for up to five years. This fellowship is subject to competitive rolling scientific review every five years, and renewed awards will be funded on the basis that the Trust and the host institution will each provide 50 per cent of the Fellow’s basic employment costs for the duration of any renewal period.
What does it cover? Fellowships provide support that includes:
-a basic salary: The salary should normally be based on the pay scales of the employing institution and must be justified by the head of the institution. The salary level should be appropriate for the holder of a competitive grant and allow him/her to focus full-time on research. If the fellow is already in receipt of a salary from the host institution, the host institution may use the salary to pay for a replacement member of staff while we provide the fellow’s salary for the duration of the fellowship. It is not expected that the fellow will hold a salary in addition to the one provided by the Trust.
-research expenses (e.g. consumables, equipment, collaborative travel, research assistance, technical support, fieldwork and data collection)
-course fees where appropriate and justified
-research management and support costs
-an inflation allowance and support to attend scientific meetings
-provision for public engagement costs.
Overseas allowances will be provided for periods of training or collaborative research spent outside the home institution country, where appropriate. Research-dedicated costs (excluding salary costs) should not exceed £100 000 per annum.
Selection Criteria: Reviewers typically assess: the caliber of the candidate; the quality and importance of the research question(s); the approach to solving these questions; the suitability of the research environment. Successful applicants will have a substantial record of publications in their chosen area of research in leading international journals.
Notification: Main applications are reviewed and shortlisted for interview by one of the Trust’s Expert Review Groups in September 2015. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by the Interview Panel between 2-4 December 2015. Interviews will be conducted at the Wellcome Trust’s offices in London. Travel and accommodation costs will be provided.
How to Apply:
Stage 1: preliminary application: A preliminary application form should be completed, via the Trust’s eGrants online application system and submitted any time before the published deadline.(Note: select ‘International’ in the ‘Funding Area’ drop-down menu, then ‘Senior Research Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine’ form in the ‘Scheme Name’ drop-down menu, then select ‘Principal/Senior Research Fellowship’ to choose the preliminary application form). Please note that your host institution will need to be registered on eGrants before you can create a new preliminary application form. Your preliminary application must be accompanied by an institutional statement of commitment from your host institution sponsor confirming that:
-the necessary space and facilities will be made available to conduct the research funded by the Wellcome Trust, and will continue to be available for the duration of the award
-the Fellow will be granted the status and benefits of other academic staff of similar seniority.
Stage 2: main application: If a main application is invited, you will be asked to complete the main application form (available on eGrants). The form will require you to provide information additional to that provided in the preliminary application, particularly in relation to your research vision. A copy of the home institution’s salary scale and justification of your salary level from the head of department should be submitted with your full application.
Scholarship Application Deadline: Applications are now considered three times a year. The timetable for the next round of the competition is as follows: 8 May 2015 (5pm) for preliminary application and 17 July 2015 for Main application.
Further Official Scholarship Information and Application