
Liz's story: how she transformed HIV testing in Africa
As a world-renowned scientist, Liz had to navigate plenty of obstacles throughout her career – from getting support for early-stage research ideas to influencing international policy.
If you have a PhD (or equivalent) and significant postdoctoral research experience then you may be ready to lead, or already be leading, your own independent research programme.
In this career stage, you’ll:
To be eligible for our funding at this level, you must have a PhD or equivalent, and significant postdoctoral research experience.
You must have a compelling research vision that is original and has impact.
In the early stages of your independent research career, you should have made important contributions to your research area eg publications, patents, software development or an impact on policy.
To apply for more senior funding, you’ll already be leading your own independent research programme. In addition:
Read about the career journeys of some of our researchers.
As a world-renowned scientist, Liz had to navigate plenty of obstacles throughout her career – from getting support for early-stage research ideas to influencing international policy.
For Stephen, setting up a lab meant dealing with some predictable challenges, like building a team, but also some unpredictable ones.
Patricia wants younger researchers to have better support than she had around challenges like setbacks with research and balancing career and parenthood.
Funding teams who are tackling major health-related questions in the humanities and social sciences that require a collaborative approach.
Established independent researchers can apply for more funding at this level or consider careers related to research or outside of research.