Restricted Call: NIHR Future Leaders Fellowship (Internal deadline 6th October 2026)

Applications are open for the NIHR Future Leaders Fellowship call

The NIHR, in partnership with MRC, CRUK and BHF, has announced the NIHR Future Leaders Fellowship call, which targets ambitious academics (Postdoctoral researchers or already independent but not yet recognised as an international leader) leading applied health and care research that will bridge the gap between research discoveries and their application in practice and public health. It provides 7 years of full-time equivalent (FTE) support, enabling protected research time and engagement with leadership development opportunities.

NIHR requires contracting organisations to provide significant support, including contributing to tapered salary costs throughout the fellowship; commitment to the provision of an open-ended UK based independent research or innovation position, to be taken up during or upon the completion of the fellowship (this must be in-line with organisational employment policies and practices). For more information on salary tapering, see the “lead applicant salary tapering” section of the call page.

The NIHR continues to prioritize applications that develop skills and experience in the following 1) Strategic areas: Social Care, Mental Health, Public Health, and Health Data Science and 2) Priority settings: Local Authorities, post-92 HEIs, and non-university hospital practice settings.
Further Information

University Internal Selection:

Institutions can only nominate up to 3 candidates, so this call will be managed according to the University’s restricted calls procedure. Furthermore, if nominating 2 or 3 individuals, contracting organisations must ensure a spread of nominees across professions, gender, and ethnicity. To comply with diversity guidance, nominations must mandatorily include female and minority ethnic group researchers. Your Department’s Research Grants Team and/or Departmental Administrator (or equivalent) must be made aware of your internal application, and a support letter signed by the Head of Department is required.

To take part in the internal selection, please complete our online form by 6^th October (NB: if asked to log-in, please use your University account and note that a Form cannot be saved and returned to).

You will need the following documents and information to complete the Form:

• Applicant name, host Department, and contact email.
• Project Title.
• Confirm that you are eligible to apply – Please see “Who can apply?” Section of the funder webpage.
• Gender – Disclaimer: Please note that this question is only included in this form as it is required by the funder to determine the University’s allowed number of submissions.
• Ethnicity – Disclaimer: Please note that this question is only included in this form as it is required by the funder to determine the University’s allowed number of submissions.
• Scientific Abstract (max 500 words) – Outlining the research question, aims/objectives, delivery timelines, anticipated impact, and dissemination strategy.
• Narrative CV (max 3 pages): Following the UKRI Narrative CV template.
• Training and Development Plan (max 500 words): Addressing the relevance of the plan, suitability to the applicant’s development and project needs, and how proposed training supports career aspirations.
• Head of Department Support Letter: Explicitly confirming departmental support in agreement to the tapering salary contribution, and commitment to a permanent/open-ended position upon completion of the fellowship.

Internal Assessment Criteria

The assessment of internal applications will focus strictly on the following core funder criteria:

• Criterion 1 (Applicant & Career Development): Potential of the applicant to transition into a research leader, and justification for why this award represents the appropriate step-change at this career stage.
• Criterion 2 (Research Strategy & NIHR Remit): Quality, feasibility, and impact of the proposed research project within the NIHR remit and strategic priorities where relevant.
• Criterion 3 (Training & Development): Quality and relevance of the proposed training plan.

Funder deadline: December (TBC)

If you have any initial queries, please contact researchstrategy@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Posted on 09/09/2026