From left to right: Kudzai Nyamondo, Oumie Kuyatehand Ore Francis (inaugural Sanger Excellence Fellows 2022/23)
Sanger Excellence Fellowship
Applications for our Sanger Excellence Fellowship will shortly open
Following the success of our Excellence Fellowship in 2022, 2023 and 2024 we are proud to be launching our Fellowship for the fourth time. Our three-year Fellowship is aimed at people from Black heritage backgrounds. Meet our three Inaugural Fellows and our 2023/24 cohort.
We are keen to enable Black early career researchers to develop their portfolio of research experience and thrive in the field of UK genomics science. Our Fellowship is designed to attract research excellence. We will provide the Fellows with training, mentorship and support to drive their careers forward and to support a more diverse pipeline of future talent.
Our Fellowship has been developed in close collaboration with internal and external experts, including senior Black academics and Black-led community groups, who have helped shape the overall approach.
External review of the Excellence Fellowship
The Sanger Excellence Fellowship has been created by drawing on the rich knowledge and expertise of our Advisory Group and other people across the academic eco-system, taking a people-centric approach. As we seek to continuously learn and improve on our processes and to widen the Fellowship’s impact, we commissioned Nexus evaluation to conduct an external and independent review of the Fellowship. The aim was to better understand what worked well and to identify opportunities to make improvements. The review is available below and as a downloadable PDF document.
About the Fellowship
This Fellowship is aimed at early career researchers and the general requirements are an Undergraduate degree and PhD awarded from institutions within the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands (the common travel area). We pride ourselves in offering a first-class and well-resourced exceptional learning environment and our Postdoctoral Fellowship Development Programme provides a comprehensive training experience designed to equip individuals with the knowledge, training and skills they require to be successful in their future careers – whatever they may do.
This particular scheme is open to people who self-identify as being from a Black heritage background, including a mixed heritage background. For example, Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other; Mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black backgrounds).
Salary
The Fellows are part of our Postdoctoral Fellowship programme and are paid in line with this pay scale (£38,000-£41,956 per annum in 2025), dependent on skills and experience. The Sanger Excellence Fellowship also includes research consumables of up to £18,000 per annum, dependent on the nature of the project and a budget of £1,500 per annum for the Fellow to attend conferences and training.
Start date
There is flexibility with the start date, but Fellows should be able to start by January 2026. The Fellowship runs for three years and can be worked full-time, part-time or flexibly.
Application process
Candidates are invited to submit an Expression of Interest to outline:
- Eligibility: This Fellowship is aimed at early career researchers and the general requirements are an Undergraduate degree and PhD awarded from institutions from within the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands (the common travel area). We pride ourselves in offering a first-class and well-resourced exceptional learning environment and our Postdoctoral Fellowship Development Programme provides a comprehensive training experience designed to equip you with the knowledge, training and skills you require to be successful in your future careers – whatever you may do.This particular scheme is open to people who self-identify as being from a Black heritage background, including a Mixed heritage background. For example, Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other; Mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black backgrounds). If you want more information please see our advert on our job site
- What area(s) of research you are interested in across Wellcome Sanger Institute’s areas of research (you can select up to three from the areas of Science below). If you are not sure which programme area to apply to, you can indicate this in the expression of interest and we can discuss options during our call.
We also offer informal discussions about the application process and what support we can provide to help with the next stages of the process. Requests for informal discussions, and the content of the calls, do not affect or influence any subsequent decision-making processes.
If you are eligible, you will be sent an application form (through a google form) to complete, compromising a narrative CV. You will then either i) select a pre-defined project to apply to or ii) you can co-develop a research project with a Sanger supervisor, provided it aligns with the science at Sanger Institute.
The application form includes elements of the Resume for Research and Innovation (R4RI), otherwise known as the Narrative CV. This is to give greater flexibility on telling us about your skills and contributions to research. There are further resources on Narrative CVs here
For more information about the process and help with your application, please download: Excellence Fellowship Guidance and FAQ for Candidates – Jun 2025.pdf
Application deadline: 7 September 2025
The project proposal should be a maximum of 1000 words (figures, diagrams and references are excluded from the word count), outlining the aims, background and methodology. You will get lots of support though this part of the process, you do not need to have previous experience of writing research proposals.
You will also be invited to visit the Campus, research team, and meet other people supporting the Fellowship.
Following a triage by Sanger Supervisors, project proposals will be reviewed by the Excellence Review panel who will shortlist up to 8 candidates across the wider pool for interview.
If you are shortlisted for an interview, you will be invited to the in-person candidate information day on the Wellcome Genome Campus to meet key stakeholders including your Supervisor, their research teams, current Excellence Fellows and the wider Sanger Postdoc community. There will also be a workshop on interview skills. A full schedule will be provided. Please note the Campus Open Day is optional and not part of the interview process; reasonable travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by Sanger.
Interviews will be delivered by a panel of internal and external stakeholders via Zoom. You will be asked to prepare a presentation and answer questions on your previous research and the developed project proposal. This will be followed by a Q and A style competency-based interview with the panel.
Feedback will be provided to you on the status of your application and if unsuccessful, you will receive feedback.
Programme areas
Wellcome Sanger Institute research areas
Please have a look at the Institute’s research programmes below to learn more about what we do and how our research activities fit with your area of research interest.
Advisory Group
This Fellowship was created by drawing on the knowledge and experience of an Advisory Group comprising internal and external stakeholders. We are grateful for their guidance and support, their insights have had a lasting impact on its direction. As we move forward, we remain committed to improving our processes and widening the impact of the Fellowship.
- Dr David Adams, Senior Faculty, Wellcome Sanger Institute
- Tomi Akingbade, founder of the Black Women in Science Network
- Prof Jason Arday, Professor of Sociology, University of Glasgow
- Dr Maria Augusta Arruda, Head of Researcher Development, University of Nottingham
- Dr Diego Baptista, Head of Research and Funding Equity, Wellcome Trust
- Prof Dawn Edge, Professor Mental Health and Inclusivity, University of Manchester
- Nicholas Farmer, Race Equality Lead, MRC LMB
- Adrian Ibrahim, Founder, Mosaic TX
- Dr Matt Kaiser, Head of Careers and Discovery Research at Cancer Research UK
- Dr Esther Mukuka, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, NIHR
- Prof Rachel Oliver, Professor of Material Science, University of Cambridge and leader of The Inclusion Group for Equity in Research in STEMM (TIGERS in STEMM)
- Dame Cilla Snowball, GRL Board, Member of Wellcome Board of Governors
- Prof Nicholas Thomson, Senior Faculty, Wellcome Sanger Institute
- Dr Saher Ahmed, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Wellcome Sanger Institute
- Dr Paula Bailey, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, EPSRC
- Dr Sarah Goler Solecki, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Engagement and Change Manager, MRC
The Fellowship sits alongside our broader equality, diversity and inclusion activities that aim to ensure excellence, regardless of background, can be supported and nurtured at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Additional Information
For more information about the process, please download: Excellence Fellowship Guidance and FAQ for Candidates – Jun 2025
Targeted approaches to supporting people with black heritage backgrounds in academia and research
Contact
For further information, please contact: sangerexcellence@sanger.ac.uk
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Find out about our Postdoctoral Programme
When you join us as a Postdoctoral Fellow you will benefit from a unique learning environment. We pride ourselves in offering a first-class and well-resourced exceptional learning environment to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills they will need for a successful career in science.