Sanger Excellence Fellowships include:

• 3 years salary, in line with our Postdoc pay scale (currently £38,000-£41,956 per annum in 2025), dependent on skills and experience
• Research consumables of up to £18,000 per annum, dependent on the nature of the project
• A budget of £1,500 per annum for conferences and training
• A Sanger Supervisor host and access to a first-class and well-resourced research environment
• Access to an exceptional learning environment, including our Postdoctoral Programme, which 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 go on to do.

This Fellowship is aimed at early career researchers who:

• Hold BOTH an Undergraduate degree AND PhD awarded from institutions within the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and/or the Channel Islands (the common travel area). 
• 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).

In previous rounds, candidates were required to submit an Expression of Interest to assess eligibility before being able to progress through the application process.

Candidates typically get lots of support through this part of the process, and do not need previous experience of applying for Fellowships or developing proposals.

Candidates meeting the eligibility requirements complete a full application via a GoogleForms, which includes:

• Stating whether they intended to apply to a pre-defined project or co-develop a project with a member of Sanger faculty
• (For pre-defined projects) Discussing why you are a good fit for the project
• (For co-developed projects) A project proposal of 1000 words max (figures, diagrams and references are excluded from the word count), outlining the aims, background, and methodology. 
• Completing a version of the ‘Resume for Research and Innovation’ (R4RI), otherwise known as a Narrative CV*. This enables candidates to tell us about their skills and contributions, including beyond their research.

For more information:

• Excellence Fellowship Guidance and FAQ for Candidates – Jun 2025.pdf
• Resources on Narrative CVs here.

In previous cycles, applications were then anonymised and:

1. First reviewed by Sanger Supervisors who identified 1) their top candidate amongst all those who had applied to their pre-defined project and/or 2) Selected their preferred candidate amongst any co-developed projects they had received
2. Then progressed to the Excellence Fellowship Review Panel, with up to 8 candidates across all projects then shortlisted for interview.

Shortlisted candidates are then invited to a candidate information day at the Wellcome Genome Campus to meet supervisors, research teams, current Excellence Fellows and the wider Sanger postdoc community. Interview preparation support was also provided.

• Interviews are conducted virtually by the Sanger Excellence Fellowship Review Panel, who identify the top candidates to appoint.
• Project supervisor(s) are not involved in the interview process.

The Fellowship was created to enable Black early career researchers to develop their research portfolio and thrive in the field of UK genomics science. It is designed to attract research excellence and provides Fellows with training, mentorship and tailored support to help drive their careers forward and strengthen a more diverse future talent pipeline.

This Fellowship scheme was created by drawing on the knowledge and experience of an Advisory Group who helped shape its overall approach. The group comprised internal and external stakeholders from across the academic ecosystem, including senior Black academics and Black-led community groups (roles may have changed since their participation):

• 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

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.

As we sought to continuously learn and improve on our processes in the early days, 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.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Targeted action to increase inclusion at the Wellcome Sanger Institute | eLife (elifesciences.org)

Targeted approaches to supporting people with black heritage backgrounds in academia and research