We welcome approaches from candidates who are thinking of applying for externally funded Post-Doctoral Fellowships, such as Royal Society University Research Fellowships, BBSRC Discovery Fellowships, NERC Independent Research Fellowships, European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants or EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action awards. The Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge has an excellent tradition for supporting Research Fellows in terms of providing financial support for laboratories and equipment, and PhD studentship opportunities, as well as promoting career development and collaborative expertise.
The Department of Plant Sciences in Cambridge is one of the foremost centres to carry out research in plant science, with world-leading groups across the breadth of the subject from genetics and epigenetics, through plant physiology and biochemistry, to epidemiology and remote sensing at the landscape scale. The department has five strategic targets: enhancing production of plant-derived products; reducing agricultural inputs; cutting loses from pests and pathogens; enabling resilience to environmental change; and delivering sustainable, bio-diverse landscapes. It also hosts the Plants @ Cambridge initiative which aims to put plant research into practice, supporting engagement with industry and other key stakeholders to facilitate translation of our research into key areas of economic benefit and global relevance.
The department has 26 academic staff leading active research groups, four research fellows, two senior research associates, 80 post-doctoral researchers, 85 support staff and over 100 graduate students. Research grant income in 2023/24 was £19m, with the department currently administering a total of 132 grants with a combined value of £86m from a variety of sources including research councils, Royal Society, EU, charities, industry and government agencies.
Excellent candidates for 2025 Fellowship schemes are now invited to apply to attend our Research Fellowship Open Day on 11 February 2025. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to visit the department on 11 February 2025 to discuss their proposal and application with members of staff. We will then select applicants from those shortlisted to support and mentor through the application process.
Successful Fellows will be provided with office and lab space, and resources for research including access to PhD studentships, plant growth facilities and glasshouses, and high-performance computing and imaging facilities.
Applicants should send a completed pro-forma including a short summary (200 words maximum) of their proposed research topic, and their CV, highlighting their top five publications, to researchfellows@plantsci.cam.ac.uk by 2 December 2024. The University is a signatory to the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). We will not assess your journal or citation metrics, so please do not include these in your CV.
We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible working arrangements.
Photo: Botany Building at the University of Cambridge. Photo by Katherine Maltby.