Daphne Jackson Fellowships - Medical Research Scotland

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2025 call anticipated to open August 2025

The 2024 call for applicatons for Medical Research Scotland-sponsored Daphne Jackson Fellowships is closed. The 2025 call is anticipated to open in August 2025.

MRS sponsored Daphne Jackson Fellowships provide two or three year part time fellowships for scientists wishing to return to medical research after a career break of at least two years’ duration, from a paid research position, taken for family, health or caring reasons. The Fellowships must be undertaken at a Scottish university and involve a challenging research project that addresses a question of relevance to human health or disease. There is no restriction on the specific discipline of the research and Fellows benefit from an individually tailored retraining programme throughout the course of their Fellowship.

Up to two MRS sponsored Daphne Jackson Fellowships are available per year and provide a Fellowship salary paid on the University pay scale; £5,000 consumables per annum; and £1,500 extraordinary expenses (for courses, attendance at conferences, training and equipment). The University hosting the Fellowship will be the employer and will set the salary: its value will depend on the host University and the Fellow’s experience, but is expected to be on the postdoctoral salary scale (between National spine points 29 and 34).

Candidates will be required to develop their proposal and identify a host University and supervisor, but these details are not required at the initial application stage.

Eligibility and Requirements

To be eligible for consideration applicants must meet the following criteria:

have a good first degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM)
have a PhD, or ideally at least three years research experience (academic or industrial) prior to the career break ((with evidence of research impacts and outcomes)
have had a career break of at least two years’ duration, from a paid research position, taken for family, caring or health reasons
be resident in the UK at the time of application and have the right to work in the UK. We will consider applicants with a Tier 2 visa or those able to apply for a Global Talent Visa. Please contact the Daphne Jackson Trust directly for further advice.
have good command of English (spoken and written)
have good computer skills.

Your application will be stronger if you also have post-doctoral experience and researach impacts and outcomes.

MRS sponsored Daphne Jackson Fellowships must be held at a Scottish university.

There is no requirement or restriction on the subject or nature of the research, provided it addresses a question relevant to human health or disease – the causation, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness or the development of medical or surgical appliances, including hearing aids.

Applying

Applications and enquiries should be made to the Daphne Jackson Trust.

Application Review Process

The application and review process for MRS sponsored Daphne Jackson Fellowships is rigorous and differs from other funding awards. Details are available at “Step by step guide to the application process“. Medical Research Scotland works closely with the Daphne Jackson throughout the candidate selection process and a Trustee of Medical Research Scotland sits on the Interview Panel.

Award

Successful candidates will be notified by the Daphne Jackson Trust by email. Award decisions will normally be available in July.

Reporting

MRS sponsored Daphne Jackson Fellows and supervisors are required to submit progress reports to the Daphne Jackson Trusts 6 months after the start, 12 months after the start and at the end of the Fellowship. Reports are assessed and reviewed by the Daphne Jackson Trust and Medical Research Scotland.

Payment

Medical Research Scotland will transfer funding for the Fellowship to the Daphne Jackson Trust at the start of each year of the Fellowship. The Daphne Jackson Trust is responsible for payment to the host university. Payment is contingent on satisfactory progress reports having been received.