Join a Wellcome advisory committee
We are currently seeking expressions of interest to join our advisory committees.
Who we're looking for
We rely on the expertise and impartiality of advisory committees to decide which applications to fund for our funding schemes and targeted funding calls. All advisory committee members receive a payment for participating in advisory committee meetings and associated expenses are covered by Wellcome.
We are seeking expressions of interest from experts worldwide in academic, and non-academic sectors including industry.
We are particularly interested in expressions of interest from underrepresented groups, including researchers from racially minoritised groups, disabled researchers and researchers working in low- or middle-income country settings.
What you’ll be doing
Advisory committee members assess and score grant applications submitted for funding, based on agreed assessment criteria. Committee meetings can sometimes involve interviews with candidates. You will be provided with guidance in advance of each meeting to support your role as a committee member.
Currently, advisory committee meetings take place at Wellcome's offices in London, United Kingdom but may occasionally occur virtually.
Committee members are compensated for their participation and expenses.
Further details about the role are available in the full role description.
Experts for our Discovery Research committees
Our three Discovery Research funding schemes are designed to give researchers at different career stages the time and resources to make discoveries that change the way we understand life, health and wellbeing:
We have up to 50 vacancies in total across all of our Discovery Research committees.
These committees cover the full breadth of Discovery Research that has the potential to improve human life, health and wellbeing, including, but not limited to the major research areas investigating:
- molecular mechanisms underpinning biological processes
- pathogen biology and disease transmission
- cell biology, developmental biology and physiology
- immunology and infectious diseases
- population and public health
- brain and behavioural science, including basic and cognitive neuroscience
- genetics and genomics
- medical humanities, including all disciplines in the arts and humanities
- social science, including bioethics
- data science and research related to the development of novel tools and technologies.
View the full list of our current Discovery Research committees.
Appointments will be for three years with a review by Wellcome and the committee member at the end of the first year. Committee members are expected to attend three meetings per academic year, each lasting one to three days.
Expert reviewers in the areas of Mental Health, Climate and Health and Infectious Disease
We also convene advisory committees to assess applications in specific areas of Mental Health, Climate and Health and Infectious Disease.
We are looking to build a pool of experts that we can call upon for committees for funding calls in these areas as they occur. We may also approach this pool of experts for review of other applications outside of distinct funding calls.
We have up to 40 vacancies in total, across mental health, climate and health, and infectious disease.
Mental Health
Mental health expertise in the areas of depression, anxiety or psychosis, specifically:
- statistics and clinical trials design and analysis, including health economics
- research and/or industry expertise in developing medical devices, psychosocial or digital interventions
- commercial and industry experience of bringing interventions to scale
- basic, cognitive, developmental neuroscientists, geneticists and epidemiologists, psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, social/humanities scientists and computational/AI scientists.
Climate and Health
Climate and health expertise in the areas of:
- understanding the impacts on health of climate change and the effects of climate change mitigation and adaptation on health
- climate sciences, modelling, meteorology, policy, communications, law, economics, technology, capacity strengthening or community engagement, epidemiology, biology and public health.
Infectious Disease
Infectious disease expertise in the areas of:
- diseases that have a high burden in Africa and South-East Asia, particularly cholera, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, fungi, mosquito-borne arboviruses, schistosomiasis and leishmaniasis
- product discovery and development, specifically in small molecule development, novel vector control technologies, vaccines and clinical trial design or execution
- understanding of public health burden of infectious disease, emergence and transmission dynamics, including expertise such as pathogen biology, clinical microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, modelling
- translating evidence into decision making and research uptake by relevant stakeholders.
How to apply
To apply, you will need to submit the expression of interest form before 17:00 BST on Friday 28 June 2024.
We work to ensure that our processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition. If you would like us to make adjustments during the application process, please contact us:
Closing date: 17:00 BST Friday 28 June 2024
Submit your expression of interest
You must submit your expression of interest by 17:00 BST on Friday 28 June 2024. We will not accept late submissions.
How we will assess your application
We will make appointments based on an individual’s experience in line with the role description. We will also consider the need for expertise in particular research areas and the overall membership of each committee. There are only a limited number of vacancies in each of our committees.
Wellcome has a clear diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and we are committed to ensuring that our committees are inclusive and diverse, and representative of where our applicants are based.
Downloads
Contact us
If you have any questions, email our committee queries inbox: